VISUAL

RHETORIC
P R E S E N T AT I O N

P R E PA R E D B Y:

JEMIR L.
MONDEJAR
 MAIN POINTS:

• DEFINITION(S) OF
VISUAL RHETORIC
• WHY VISUAL RHETORIC
OVERVIEW IS
I M P O R T A N T T O D AY
• VISUAL RHETORIC AND
• TEXT
• COLOR
• GRAPHICS
• OVERALL DESIGN
 WHAT IS
VISUAL
RHETORIC
VISUAL RHETORIC INCLUDES:

THE USE OF IMAGES AS AN ARGUMENT;

THE ARRANGEMENT OF ELEMENTS ON A PAGE;

THE USE OF TYPOGRAPHY (FONTS, ETC.); AND

THE ANALYSIS OF EXISTING IMAGES AND VISUALS.

 RHETORIC
VISUAL WHY IS VISUAL RHETORIC IMPORTANT

WE USE visual thinking as a major part of our

cognition (thinking process).

WE LIVE IN A visually dominated

world, so…

BECAUSE
? WE MUST BE ABLE TO read,
dissect, and produce
effective visuals.
 TEXT ELEMENTS
•How type functions and
choosing appropriate
fonts
COLOR
VISUAL
•Headline versus body
text

RHETORIC VISUALS AND

AND... GRAPHICS
•Illustrations and
diagrams
OVERALL
•Graphs DESIGN
•Photographs and
manipulated images
HOW TYPE FUNCTIONS

TYPE HAS DIFFERENT

“PERSONALITIES”:
FONT PERSONALITIES
•There are formal and informal fonts

•The consequences of font choices:

•Consider the effect of each font

•What is the selected font’s personality

and appropriateness?
CHOOSING APPROPRIATE FONTS

• Your font choice can either build or harm your

ethos (credibility) as an author.

• The context and purpose of the document are

important.

• The cultural and visual associations of the fonts

should fit the purpose of the document.

FONT
CHOICE:
EXAMPLE #1:

VISUALR H E T O R I C
 H E A D L I N E V E R S U S B o d y Te x t

HOW T E X T FUNCTIONS EXAMPLE:

•TYPE OF TEXT
D I C T AT E S F O N T C H O I C E :
•Emphasis and attention
•Information
•Sustained readability

VISUALR H E T O R I C
 COLOR AND
CONTRAST
COLOR IS THE MOST BASIC AND MOST CRITICAL CHOICE YOU, AS AN AUTHOR,
CAN MAKE: EXAMPLE#1:

Black text on white background shows

high contrast and is the most common
choice. EXAMPLE#2:

White text on a black background,

however, is not ideal.

VISUALR H E T O R I C
 ILLUSTRATIONS &
DIAGRAMS
VISUALS TO STRIVING FOR VISUAL
CLARITY:
INFORM: AV O I D C L U T T E R
CONVEY SPECIFIC
INFORMATION
CHOOSE SELECTIVE PICTURES
OF REALITY
RELATE TO CONTENT IN
THE DOCUMENT B R EAK U P LA R G E A M O UN T S
O F IN FO R M ATIO N

VISUALR H E T O R I C
 GRAPHS
CHOOSING HOW TO REPRESENT
Q U A N T I T AT I V E LY
information:

PIE GRAPHS BAR GRAPHS LINE GRAPHS

S H O W I N G PA R T S O F NUMERIC
PLOTTING
A WHOLE C O M PA R I S O N S
CHANGES
PHOTOGRAPHS
FOUND IMAGES VS. CAPTURED IMAGES

C O N S I D E R AT I O N S

COMPOSITION ACHIEVING
COPYRIGHT AND EFFECTS WITH
QUALITY PHOTOS
PHOTO EXAMPLES
 DESIGN
C O N S I D E R AT I O N S :
• S T R I K I N G , E Y E - C AT C H I N G
ELEMENTS. C R E AT I N G
PAT H S
• F I N D I N G I N F O R M AT I O N
E A S I LY. FOR THE EYE:

OVERALL DESIGN AS

DESIGN RHETORICAL
O R G A N I Z AT I O N

CONSISTENCY IN
• AV O I D “ K I T C H E N - S I N K
SYNDROME.”
DESIGN:

• Pitfalls of pre-fab
templates.
THANK
YOU!