Visual rhetoric is the study of how document design (including the use of illustrations, charts and graphs, typography and layout) communicate, as opposed to aural or verbal messages. Visual rhetoric examines also the relationship between images and writing.
#22934
Accessibility Testing on a Budget
How do you find out how your site sounds? Without dipping in to the wallet, here are some suggestions about how you can test your pages.
Accessify (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Visual
#26851
Accessibility Testing: Case History of Blind Testers of Enterprise Software 
How do software companies evaluate whether accessibility criteria mandated by law are met? Confirmation is often provided by filling out a checklist. However, the method used for determining compliance to the checklist is not specified. Typically the task of filling out the checklist is done by accessibility specialists, usability professionals, quality assurance testers, or, in one case we know of, the development team that wrote the software. We have conducted several types of accessibility evaluations, walkthroughs, and testing with scenarios by sighted test participants and testing by blind test participants. While testing with blind participants takes considerable preparation time, we have uncovered important findings that were not revealed with sighted participants. We consider accessibility testing by blind participants an important component of our evaluations.
Bayer, Nancy L. and Lisa Pappas. Technical Communication Online (2006). Articles>Accessibility>Testing>Visual
#29736
Adaptive Technologies and Techniques for People with Vision Problems 
Talk with Gloria Reece, a senior member of STC’s AccessAbility SIG who can help you understand vision problems and the technologies that exist to make information accessible. Get practical advice for implementing new technologies in your workplace.
Reece, Gloria A. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Accessibility>Visual>Workplace
#21214
Adaptive Technologies for the Visually Impaired: The Role of Technical Communicators
This column examines emerging technologies of interest to technical communicators to help them identify those that are worthy of further investigation. It is intended neither as an endorsement of any technology or product, nor as a recommendation to purchase.
Ray, Deborah S. and Eric J. Ray. Technical Communication Online (1998). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Visual
#10285
Aesthetic Experience and the Importance of Visual Composition
When considering the design of information and information structures, the focus tends to gravitate to general issues of content, information hierarchies, and in some instances, system usability. In discussions concerning system usability and human factors, the issue of the user experience, or overall aesthetic experience, with regard to a specific information structure is rarely addressed. Things such as the 'look and feel' of a website, for example, may get some attention by the designers and developers of the information structure, but the idea of 'look and feel' is essentially an issue of how to 'decorate' the information. Too often, when software developers or usability engineers discuss 'look and feel,' they do not consider it to be an integral part of the information design structure but an additive element applied only after the structure and content of the information have been resolved. What seems to be lacking in information design is a concern for the visual composition of information.
Greenzweig, Tim. Orange Journal, The (2001). Design>Web Design>Rhetoric>Visual Rhetoric
#31012
Annual Report Graphic Use: A Review of the Literature
Corporate annual reports typically include a narrative section and a financial section. The narrative section is not scrutinized by auditors as the financial section is, yet many readers rely heavily on its graphs to estimate the firm's financial situation. However, the graphs often misrepresent the financial data. To better understand annual report graphs' important role, this article examines more than 25 years of literature related to these four areas: (a) the ways financial graphs are prepared, used, and misinterpreted; (b) differences by country; (c) regulatory influences for accountants; and (d) the parts formatting and media selection decisions play in communication interpretation and persuasion. Across the literature, the author notes consensus that annual report graphs are widely used in many countries and that there is rampant disregard for the guidelines for their accurate, non-misleading presentation. The article concludes with seven proposed directions for future research.
Penrose, John M. JBC (2008). Design>Document Design>Business Communication>Visual Rhetoric
#23609
Assessing Visualizations in Public Science Presentations
Natural resource agencies and other technical and scientific organizations face an immense challenge of when communicating complex technical information to diverse publics. The laptop computer, presentation software, and projection unit have emerged as one of the primary presentation tools in many technical and scientific fields. Advances in software functions enable presenters to capitalize on a wide range of multimedia functions thought to make presentations more appealing, interesting, and effective. Our presentation reports on a specific research project and then provides guidance for enhancing their presentations.
Zimmerman, Donald E., Carol A. Akerelrea, Jane Kapler Smith and Garrett O'Keefe. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Presentations>Visual Rhetoric
#24100
Attributing Meaning to Corporate Logos: A Cross Cultural Comparison 
Visual symbols are an essential part of corporate communication. The development of an appropriate corporate logo is an expensive and a time-intensive process. This study examines the meaning of visual form as perceived via corporate identity. Global economies demand that such symbols carry consistent meaning across cultures. 170 subjects from the U.S. and Hong Kong participated in a survey that identified positive business attributes associated with six logos. Another 60 subjects (30 from the U.S., 30 from Hong Kong) participated in focus groups and collectively discussed and collectively identified attributes as related to certain logos. Results indicate that there was agreement between and within groups on the perception of attributes with specific shapes. There were no significant differences between cultural groups.
Martinson, Barbara and Sauman Chu. University of Alberta (2003). Design>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric>International
#31232
Being Good for Goodness' Sake: Corporate Social Responsibility Imagery
It sees you when you’re sleeping. It knows if you’re awake. 'It' is the world, and it knows if your company has been naughty or nice. The digital revolution has put a photographic device, be it a camera or camera-phone, in the hands of virtually everybody everywhere—so you can be sure someone besides Santa is constantly watching your company’s behavior. For that and other good reasons, corporate photography is looking very green this season.
Salvo, Suzanne. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Design>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric
#18438
When we come to accessibility of web design, we will say that accessible web design is a sign of good web design. A lot of the information on the Web is not accessible to people with disabilities because of poor design. While many web site managers and developers accommodate various browser constraints, most of them do not realize that they are developing sites that people with disabilities have difficulty in navigating, or in many cases, cannot navigate at all.
Hung, Edward. Universal Usability. Design>Usability>Accessibility>Visual Rhetoric
#23397
The Blue Background in PowerPoint
Why is the default color of PowerPoint dark blue? People prepare the best slides man can create - and yet they leave the default color stay dark blue.
Fuchs, Amo. TC-FORUM (1999). Articles>Presentations>Visual Rhetoric>Color
#30012
Canonical Abstract Prototypes for Abstract Visual and Interaction Design
Abstract user interface prototypes offer designers a form of representation for specification and exploration of visual and interaction design ideas that is intermediate between abstract task models and realistic or representational prototypes. Canonical Abstract Prototypes are an extension to usage-centered design that provides a formal vocabulary for expressing visual and interaction designs without concern for details of appearance and behavior. A standardized abstract design vocabulary facilitates comparison of designs, eases recognition and simplifies description of common design patterns, and lays the foundations for better software tools. This paper covers recent refinements in the modeling notation and the set of Canonical Abstract Components. New applications of abstract prototypes to design patterns are discussed, and variations in software tools support are outlined.
Constantine, Larry L. Constantine and Lockwood (2003). Articles>User Interface>Interaction Design>Visual Rhetoric
#30397
Clarifying Abstract Concepts Through Multimedia: Principles for Technical Communicators
Multimedia can sometimes convey meaning in ways that text and graphics alone cannot. This paper offers two principles for understanding how multimedia can clarify abstract concepts. The first principle is that multimedia is excellent for conveying any kind of change, such as change in quantity, size, shape, or relationship. The second principle is that multimedia can help present complex concepts by providing information in both the visual and auditory modes simultaneously. These principles can guide technical communicators in evaluating whether multimedia is a cost-effective way to present their information.
Garb, Rachel and Claudia M. Hunter. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>TC>Multimedia>Visual Rhetoric
#24857
An interactive experience of color communication and color symbolism.
Cortés, Claudia. mariaclaudiacortes.com (2003). Design>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric>Color
#20575
Color: The Newest Tool for Technical Communicators
Asserts that color must be used to make information clear, lucid, powerful—faster; its logical application must be controlled by the editor. Provides a comprehensive checklist to help editors use color effectively.
White, Jan V. Technical Communication Online (2003). Design>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric>Color
#23927
En matière de visuels, même si la plupart des acquis des médias traditionnels restent valables, tels que les rapports sémiologiques entre le texte et l'image, certaines règles spécifiques devraient pouvoir s'appliquer à Internet.
Hardy, Jean-Marc. Redaction (2004). Design>Web Design>Visual Rhetoric
#24096
Communication as Participation
A discussion of the relationship between visual language and participation is important in light of globalization and the homogenization of the visual landscape, forces that breed marginalization and diminish invention.
Bowers, John. University of Alberta (2000). Design>Graphic Design>Community Building>Visual Rhetoric
#19442
Copyright and Persons with Print Disabilities in the Digital Age
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) stands squarely in favor of reasonable and prudent technologies to assist in ensuring that copyright holders are fairly compensated for the sale, or other forms of digital access, of the content they publish in digital formats. However,most proposals we have seen to date purporting to establish technologies to prevent illegal copying or publication of copyrighted content simply do not consider, or address in any way, the fair use rights of persons who are blind and visually impaired. We would regard it a serious breach of faith with disabled persons to establish new technologies and copyright provisions which, once again, regard our needs as peripheral and expendable. To this end we offer the following positions on this issue of fundamental importance to this community.
American Foundation for the Blind (2002). Articles>Intellectual Property>Accessibility>Visual
#30850
Creating Appropriate Graphics for Business Situations
Charts and graphs are ubiquitous in business documents, and most students in my business communication courses are well aware that they need to be able to create many different types of data representation. Most of them have had a great deal of experience working with spreadsheet applications, and they know how to manipulate data and present it in the various forms permitted by their software.
Katz, Susan M. Business Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric>Charts and Graphs
#29511
Creating Effective Poster Presentations: An Effective Poster
An effective poster is not just a standard research paper stuck to a board. A poster uses a different, visual grammar. It shows, not tells.
Hess, George, Kathryn Tosney and Leon Liegel. North Carolina State University (2006). Design>Presentations>Posters>Visual Rhetoric
#25971
Creating Text Equivalents for Images
This article is for developers and content editors seeking to supplement the visual elements of a user interface with text equivalents. This article describes what text equivalents are, why they are required, how to create them, and the best approach to writing and editing them.
Microsoft (2002). Design>User Interface>Accessibility>Visual
#24978
Creating the Vision: Developing Graphic Strategies
Making documentation more visual is a two phase process. First comes the brainstorming, where ideas bubble up: the weird the funny, the wonderful, the breakthrough, the lame brain — no idea discriminated against, all equally enjoying the bright, spring air of the creative process. Once You begin to brainstorm you may find putting concepts into graphics is easier than you thought. Then comes the second phase: the hard realization that even if you throw out all the crazy ideas, you still have to pick and choose. You have to develop a strategy for graphic use, one that goes beyond the basic visual unity a good graphic designer can give a document. You have to see the graphics in light of the user's need.
Malone, Jacquelyn. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Visual Rhetoric
#24969
A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Visual Literacy Challenges for Technical Communicators
Many emerging nations have pre-technological cultures. These nations are striving to develop a new technological literacy that is heavily dependent on visual literacy, or the ability to 'read' images. This paper discusses some challenges for technical communicators in presenting technical graphics to users who are not fully functional in learned Western conventions and skills of pictorial representation, pictorial literacy, and pictorial perception aspects such as conceptualization, perspective and depth, scale, and analysis of component details.
Ausburn, Floyd B. and Lynna J. Ausburn. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Communication>Visual Rhetoric
#22694
One of the advantages that print journalists have is that they learn document design on the job. Today, thanks to computers and design packages, design awareness is very high. Even the novice computer user becomes proficient in designing documents within a few days, if not weeks. Usually, templates are available for brochures, reports, books, etc. All you need to do is fill in the contents in the readymade template.
Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2003). Articles>Document Design>Document Design>Visual Rhetoric
#30687
Dam Visuals: The Changing Visual Argument for the Glen Canyon Dam
Arguments manifest in scientific visuals through graphic representation, content placement, and overall document structure. These arguments, designed to influence public perception, change over time in relation to sociopolitical climate. Analysis of a series of documents constructed deliberately to influence perception can help to determine patterns of argumentation and perceived exigencies. In this article, four self-guided tour brochures produced for distribution to visitors to the Glen Canyon Dam in 1977, 1984, 1990, and 1993 are analyzed in order to identify rhetorical strategies designed to influence public perceptions of the dam site, and examine how public perception of the dam, and related argumentation, is structured by sociopolitical climate.
Ross, Derek G. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2007). Articles>Scientific Communication>Technical Illustration>Visual Rhetoric
