Saturday 17 December 2016

COP3 - APPLYING FIVE CANONS OF RHETORIC INTO VISUAL COMMUNICATION

In order to apply any rhetorical theories discussed in my essay, we need to understand how they can be applied to visual communication. Understanding the definitions within the context of spoken and written language and then through keywords, we can start to understand how that can be connected to visual communication.

The following definitions are taken from my dissertation
Invention, the art of finding suitable arguments in any rhetorical situation or as Cicero described it “the discovery of valid or seemingly valid arguments to render one's cause probable.”

Arrangement, the structure of discourse, such as Introduction, body and conclusion.

Style, the way something is spoken. Quintilian distinguished three levels of style: Plain style, middle style and grand style. (Nordquist, 2016)

Memory, the process of learning and using all methods and devices to improvement memory in which can hep with impromptu speeches.

Delivery, management and delivery of the speech through using elements such as tone of voice, gestures and pronunciation. (Brett and McKay, 2011)

Below are ways each canon can be related to visual communication


Invention
Invention informs the initial stage of the process and coming up with the idea. Usually, it starts with the discovery of a problem. This problem could be with how people get to a certain venue and the details involved. To solve this problem you may create a poster to communicating the whereabouts and details of the venue or you need to create a responsive website because more and more people are viewing your website on their phones. Consider the options and don't jump to the first idea you have in mind. It's also important to consider audience as this can decide the directional approach to what you should be creating, will it be a website or a flyer? what one can be best communicated with your audience? Also, brainstorming, researching and gather statistics to inform your idea to make it stronger.

Arrangement
Arrangement regards the hierarchy and structure of your information. How are you going to organise the elements of your design? If you're creating a poster, what will the users need to see first? Will you use large, bold text in upper case to draw the attention of the audience or will you attract their attention with a large featured image? Logic should always consider the idea, randomly placed information, whether it be images or text can come across as painfully ambiguous, sloppy and unprofessional.

Style
Style is about the personality and the creative voice that you're projecting within the design. Personality may be constricted if your readers and viewers expect you to follow communication convention (Industries such as science or academic publishing) but in other areas such as commercial business, they are always coming up with new ways to express style. It's also important to understand if applying style is always appropriate or necessary to the brand or overall concept as it could be damaging if interpreted in the wrong manner or it gives off the wrong brand image. If style does apply then consider how you can use colours, tone, and imagery to suggest a very specific personality to your communication piece. Style has a tendency to affect a reader’s emotion, which is a very powerful persuasive tool.

Memory
Memory is the ability to recite information. Memory demonstrates that you know more information than what you actually portray. For example, designing an instruction manual for how to put together a desk but not knowing how to actually build a desk. If used wrong then your credibility and trust will be at risk. If you cite a fact or statement within your design your audience may want to know more about it and if you can't then that's where you can become disingenuous and with your audience losing trust in what you say, so it's important to be as knowledgeable as you can about the information you present in a communication piece so that you can pull it from memory. By understanding the subject area fully you will become much more trustworthy and capable and, as a result, more persuasive.

Delivery
Delivery is how you present your design as a whole, how it looks and feels. Is it fun, professional, serious, exciting, dynamic, or just plain boring? Delivery considers how and when it is being communicated. For example, if the final design was a book then the considerations should be stock weight, stock texture, binding, print finish, and stock colour. All these considerations will convey a certain message that should represent the brand image or your audience.







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