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.
#26341
Graphic design is everywhere, in every product, package, poster, and product of the modern world. Although the graphic design discipline was created less than a century ago, the world has since come to rely upon it. The world simply cannot function without graphic design and graphic designers. Yet graphic design is broader than any other creative profession. It is the third largest profession in the United States, far ahead of more commonly understood and respected vocations such as attorney, accountant, and educator. Graphic designers, who run the gamut from after-hours moonlighter through freelancer, solo- and team-creative, to agency and corporate designers, work in every city, town, and village in the world. Graphic design impacts everything and everyone.
Burke, Pariah S. Designorati (2005). Design>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric
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Graphics and Ethos in Biomedical Journals 
This article describes a study that examined the tables and figures in articles from a basic research journal, The Journal of Cell Biology, and compared them to tables and figures from an applied medical journal, The New England Journal of Medicine. Comparison of graphics between the two journals shows sharp differences in terms of range of graphics types, visual consistency within and between articles, or use of color. As the articles take into account what is needed by different audiences, the graphics help to build the credibility of the journal. The study also addresses the question of how scientific visuals contribute to the persuasiveness of a writer, looking at how the graphics within an article affect the credibility or ethos of the writer.
Hutto, David. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2008). Articles>Research>Biomedical>Visual Rhetoric
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A Guide to Making Documents Accessible to People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired
This document contains a comprehensive discussion about how to make print and electronic information available to people with visual impairments in a variety of accessible formats. Consumers who have limited vision or are totally blind have unique access needs. These needs depend on the amount of vision each person has for reading. Some people have usable vision, allowing them to read large print. Others choose to read braille on paper, while a third group prefers to use a computer with synthetic speech, or refreshable braille display, to read electronic documents.
Sutton, Jennifer. American Council of the Blind (2002). Design>Usability>Accessibility>Visual
#10411
Guidelines for Designing and Evaluating the Display of Information on the Web
These guidelines are intended to assist Web designers, authors, and editors in their efforts to create Web pages that effectively reveal—rather than obscure or confuse—the information they are trying to present. These guidelines are also intended to be used to assist in the evaluation of existing Web sites. Of course, the design of a Web site can, to some degree, be modified by the user or by the characteristics of the browser or monitor enlisted to display it. The guidelines, consequently, acknowledge that in a very real sense, users may also assume the role of designer. The guidelines, therefore, are also intended to help users make informed decisions about how to make a display easier to use.
Williams, Thomas R. Technical Communication Online (2000). Articles>Web Design>Assessment>Visual Rhetoric
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Guidelines for Writing Accessible Online Help
This article describes how to write effective on-line help for blind and low vision users of text based readers. The authors draw on their collective experience in both using text (screen) readers like JAWS to access web applications as well as preparing accessibility help for web pages and applications. This article doesn't include specific information about building web interfaces or sites, use of controls for accessibility within web sites, Section 508 or WAI Standards and Guidelines, or specific information about hardware or software. We include JAWS instructions as an example because it is commonly used in the United States. Also, we don't include information about actual language used within an interface and how to write it to make the interface more accessible. We are only discussing how to write Help pertaining to the interface itself.
Reed, Will, Everyl Yankee and Wendi Fornoff. Usability Interface (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Visual
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Understanding the dynamic qualities of typography through analogies with sound and music.
Armstrong, Frank. AIGA (2005). Design>Typography>Visual Rhetoric>Audio
#25888
Getting that just-right color is part art, part science. We'll show you.
Before and After. Design>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric>Color
#23711
How to Use Images to Convey Themes 
Advances in technology have democratized the process of illustrating documents such as brochures, reports, and websites. With digital cameras, scanners, and a wide variety of stock illustrations available, technical communicators need not rely on graphic designers to choose images for their documents. However, conveying a theme or concept through a series of images can be a difficult task, and literature says little about choosing images to convey a theme. This paper synthesizes results of available literature and looks to theories of visual rhetoric to fill in the gaps regarding images and themes. Results of a survey show that readers of more easily identify themes when connections between words and images are clear
Willerton, Russell. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric
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Can an identity exude moral or ethical attitudes? In the past, product and business identities that functioned well were bound to a person or family that over long periods delivered quality and dependable goods or services. However, in these times of runaway and rollover mergers, restructuring, and reengineering, there is no time for anyone to assess the real characteristics that make up these newly emerging companies and conglomerates. What are they? Who is behind them? Corporate wolves or sheep in Gucci clothing?
Winkler, Dietmar. University of Alberta (2003). Design>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric
#29831
"If You Can't Handle This, I Am Sorry"
Literacy has always been a material, multimedia construct but we only now are becoming aware of this multidimensionality and materiality because computer technologies have made it possible for many people to produce and publish multimedia presentations.
Faigley, Lester. University of Texas (1999). Articles>Web Design>Visual Rhetoric
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Increasing a Reader's Interest and Comprehension Through Basic Information Design
If you present information in multiple media, with complementary information, that address multiple learning styles, you increase a reader’s interest and comprehension by 65%.
Lynn, Michelle Corbin. Carolina Communique (1999). Design>Publishing>Visual>Visual Rhetoric
#29030
The syntactic aspect of semiotic theory, especially its "aesthetic principle," is very influential in document design theories and practices. It has its roots in Burke's and Lessing s gender-related theories of images. Thus, it is laden with ideologies: it embodies our patriarchal attitudes and our iconophobia. Employing the semiotic theory in document design, we are making choices to reinforce the gender-related ideology in Burke's and Lessing's theories. It is time for us to re-conceive the "aesthetic principle" by de-emphasizing it and to adopt the reconciliation approach to design effective documents targeted at various rhetorical situations.
Ding, Daniel D. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2000). Articles>Document Design>Visual Rhetoric>Theory
#14641
Integrating Graphics with Text
A teacher at the University of Memphis, Albers describes a two-tiered assignment he developed to help students address problems they encounter when trying to integrate text and graphics.
Albers, Michael J. Intercom (2000). Articles>Rhetoric>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric
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International Visual Literacy Association
IVLA is a not-for-profit association of educators, artists, and researchers dedicated to the principles of visual literacy. IVLA was formed for the purpose of providing education, instruction and training in modes of visual communication and the application through the concept of visual literacy to individuals, groups, organizations, and to the public in general. Our members represent a wide range of disciplines including the arts, sciences, education, communication, business, videography, photography, instructional technology, health, and computer applications. We hope you will feel free to join us in the lively debates of our field, and we look forward to forming lasting professional and personal friendships.
International Visual Literacy Association. Organizations>Graphic Design>Rhetoric>Visual Rhetoric
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An Introduction to Visual Communication
A reader's overall comprehension is best when text is appropriately combined with graphics in a document. This introductory workshop on visual communications explores different leaning styles and information mediums and examines how a communicator can best combine words with graphics to increase reader interest and comprehension. The workshop also examines basic rules of text and graphic design and finally discusses the appropriate integration of text and graphics.
Chiricosta, Tracey C. and Alice A. Jones. STC Proceedings (1993). Design>Document Design>Visual Rhetoric
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An Introduction to Visualisation
Visualising things makes them tangible and brings them into shareable form. Visualisation brings ideas to life and helps understanding. Visualisation techniques help elicit, communicate and analyse ideas and concepts.
Joe, Phillip. Design Council (2005). Articles>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration>Visual Rhetoric
#30859
Is Copyright Blind to the Visual?
This article argues that, with respect to the copyright protection of works of visual art, the general uneasiness that has always pervaded the relationship between copyright law and concepts of creativity produces three anomalous results. One of these is that copyright lacks much in the way of a central concept of 'visual art' and, to the extent that it embraces any concept of the 'visual', it is rooted in the rhetorical discourse of the Renaissance. This means that copyright is poorly equipped to deal with modern developments in the visual arts. Secondly, the pervasive effect of rhetorical discourse appears to have made it particularly difficult for copyright law to strike a meaningful balance between protecting creativity and permitting its use in further creative works. Thirdly, just when rhetorical discourse might have been useful in identifying the significance and materiality of the unique one-off work of visual art, copyright law chooses to ignore its implications.
Macmillan, Fiona. Visual Communication (2008). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>Visual Rhetoric
#29939
Karen A. Schriver: The InfoDesign interview
Karen Schriver is the author of Dynamics in Document Design: Creating texts for readers, an extensive, multidimensional portrait of what readers need from documents and of ways to integrate word and image in order to better meet those needs. She is the former co-director of the graduate program in technical communication and document design at Carnegie Mellon University. Her company, KSA Document Design and Research, helps organizations improve the quality of their paper and electronic communications through strategies based on research and best practices.
Bogaards, Peter J. InformationDesign (2005). Articles>Interviews>Document Design>Visual Rhetoric
#21630
El lenguaje escrito no es más que un caso particular del lenguaje visual. En realidad hay muchos lenguajes visuales que parecen tener reglas en común. Pensar en el lenguaje visual nos puede ayudar a transmitir nuestros mensajes de forma más efectiva.
Dursteler, Juan Carlos. InfoVis (2003). (Spanish) Articles>Language>Visual Rhetoric>Technical Illustration
#30514
Literature Review: What is Visual Literacy?
This paper takes a look at what is being said in various disciplines (technical writing, journalism, education, psychology, user interface design, and visual arts) in an attempt to answer the question 'What is visual literacy?' A corollory is 'How will I know when I have achieved it?' A working definition of visual literacy has many implications for how we train technical writers in order to meet the professional challenges of the future.
Couse, Mary M. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Graphic Design>Research>Visual Rhetoric
#29829
In this article, I examine a historical information graphic--Charles Booth's maps of London poverty (1889-1902)--to analyze the cultural basis of ideas of transparency and clarity in information graphics. I argue that Booth's maps derive their rhetorical power from contemporary visual culture as much as from their scientific authority. The visual rhetoric of the maps depended upon an ironic inversion of visual culture to make poverty seem a problem that could be addressed, rather than an insurmountable crisis. This visual rhetoric led directly to significant features of and concepts in western societies, including the poverty line and universal old-age pensions (social security).
Kimball, Miles A. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2006). Articles>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric>Geography
#29104
Making Sense of the Visual in Technical Communication: A Visual Literacy Approach to Pedagogy
We employ an array of terms to denote the visual; however, we have not yet agreed on a clear framework for understanding the function and relationship between visual concepts. I propose a literacy approach to the visual so that as educators, researchers, students, and practitioners, we acquire more than skills that rely on changing definitions and technologies but an intellectual faculty that provides the knowledge, understanding, and abilities that the visual affords. Through an analysis of arguments for visual instruction, I present the wayS in which scholars justify their claims about the visual. These arguments uncover the breadth and depth of the visual and contribute to a taxonomy of visual terminology.
Portewig, Tiffany Craft. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2004). Articles>TC>Education>Visual Rhetoric
#29539
Making the Strange Familiar: A Pedagogical Exploration of Visual Thinking
Scholarly conversation within the field of professional communication increasingly has focused on the practice, research, and pedagogy of visual rhetoric. Yet, visual thinking has received relatively little attention within the field. If our programs produce students who can think verbally but not visually, they risk producing writers who are visual technicians but are unable to move fluidly between and within modes of communication. This article examines the literature and pedagogical practices of visually oriented disciplines to identify strategies for helping students develop the ambidexterity of thought needed for the communication tasks of today's workplace.
Brumberger, Eva R. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2007). Articles>Education>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric
#22351
La tragedia del 11 de Marzo en Madrid ha creado una catarata de informaciones (y de emociones) algunas de las cuales se han convertido en representaciones visuales que nos acercan al qué y al cómo de lo que ha pasado en estos días horribles.
Dursteler, Juan Carlos. InfoVis (2004). (Spanish) Design>Information Design>Visual Rhetoric
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Measuring the Success of Visual Communication in User Interfaces
This article discusses three key areas of visual communication we address in user interfaces (UIs): conventional—emphasis on imitating generic forms that meet readers' expectations; icon recognition; visual appeal or 'look-and-feel'. The article uses five case histories to demonstrate how usability research has helped the authors evaluate the quality of visual communication in navigation, icon recognition, and look-and-feel. It describes some of the research methodology the authors use, with examples from the case histories. For each of the three topic areas, we discuss the lessons we learned from the case histories about both usability testing methodology and visual communication guidelines. We mention, but do not concentrate on, related topics such as visual clutter.
Rosenbaum, Stephanie L. and J.O. 'Joe' Bugental. Technical Communication Online (1998). Articles>User Interface>Assessment>Visual Rhetoric
