h t t p : / / u w p . a a s . d u k e .

e d u / w s t u d i o

Overview:VisualRhetoric/VisualLiteracy

Introduction
Areyoutryingtoreadapictureorwriteawebsite?Haveyoubeenaskedtoevaluateorreflectona
symbolorvisual image?Hopefully,thishandoutandtheothersinthisserieswillgiveyouaplaceto
think abouthow theelementsofcommunication andpersuasionare embeddedintextsyoudontjustread
butsee.Images,notjustwords,provideuswithinformationandchangethewayswethink,reason,and
act.Theycan speaktousinpowerfulways.
Thesimplestdefinitionforvisualrhetoricistheuseofvisualimagesto communicatemeaning.Itisalso
importanttonotethatvisualrhetoricisnotjustaboutsuperiordesignandaesthetics.Itis alsoabouthow
cultureandmeaningarereflected,communicated,andalteredbyimages.Visualliteracyinvolvesallthe
processesofknowingandrespondingtoavisualimageaswellasallthethoughtthatmightgointo
constructingormanipulatinganimage. Inotherwords,visualliteracyistheabilitytoreadandwrite
imagesandthemeaningsthoseimagescommunicate.
IdentifyingFundamentalElements
Accordingto The OnLineVisualLiteracyProjectatPomonaCollege,someofthefundamentalelements
ofvisualcompositioninclude shape,direction,texture,color(hueandsaturation),value(presenceand
absenceoflight),scale,dimensionandmotion.
DonisDondisidentifiesthesevisualelementsasthebuildingblocksfromwhichavisualspaceiscreated,
organizedsyntactically,andexpressedmetaphorically.Thesearethecomponents,then,ofvisual
rhetoricarhetorictiedintobeingvisuallyliterate.1
UsingPrinciplesofPerception
Principlesofperceptionandvisualinterpretationareatworkinmediaandfilmstudies,culturalstudies,
art, literature,photography,electronicmedia, andinpubliceventssuchasconcerts,sportseventsand
othervenues.
AccordingtoCarynTaltyinherKairos articleTeachingaVisualRhetoric:

DonisA.Dondis, APrimerofVisualLiteracy(Cambridge,MA:MITPress,1973),15.

TheoristsofhypertextsuchasGeorge LandowandJayDavidBoltertendtoemphasizethe
associationalcharacterof(hypertextual)writing.Connectivityoftextsandideastakes
precedenceoverthelinearassumptionsofprintforms(142).Simplyput,theauthorofaWeb
siteunderstandsthatheorshehasnocontroloverthedepth,breadth,orrouteareaderwilltake
whenviewinghisorhersite.Thecontrolisnotinthewriterswords,butwiththereaders
choices.Thisalteredattitudeabouttheroleswemustplayinordertocommunicate,the
considerationswemusthaveaboutthewrittenandvisualword,andtheimportanceof
disseminatinginformationinareaderfriendlymannermakesusbetterwriters.2
Inadditiontoproducingtraditionaltexts,itsimportanttopayattentiontoelectronicspaces,theirform
andfunction,intheacademy.Byprivilegingcomposingasthemainsiteofinstruction,saysJohn
Trimbur,theteachingofwritinghastakenupwhatKarlMarxcallsaonesidedviewofproductionand
therebyhaslargelyerased thecyclethatlinkstheproduction,distribution,exchange,andconsumptionof
writing.3 Inotherwords,Trimburwantsustopayattentionnotonlytotheprocessofwriting,buttohow
writingisconsumed.Learningmoreaboutvisualrhetoriccanhelpusproducedocumentsthatspeakmore
readilytotheirintendedaudience.Itcanalsohelpustoevaluatevisualimagesweencounterinany
varietyofsettings,whetheronTV,inmagazines,onbillboards,orintheclassroom.
EmployingVisualMetaphors
Justasimportantasanyotheraspectofvisualrhetoricistheuseofvisualmetaphorandtherecognition
thatweoftenusevisualmetaphorsasawayofunderstanding theworld.
RobertN.St.ClairinVisualMetaphor,CulturalKnowledge,andtheNewRhetoric,providesthis
exampleofthewaymetaphorsfunctionascognitivemodels,orwaysofknowing:
Ateacherwhoseesstudentsasfragilehumanbeingsisusingmetaphor.Hetreatsthemaseggs
andisafraidtohurtthem.Hedoesnotwanttoseethemcrack.Anotherteachermayhavea
differentmetaphorwhendealingwithchildren.Hemayseetheclassroomasabattlefield.He
wantshisstudentstohitthetarget.Hisapproachisoneoftougheningupthestudentforbattle.
Theymustcombattherealworld.Metaphorstellusmuchaboutthosewhousethem.They
provideinsightintohowtheseindividualsviewtheworld.4
Questionstoaskaboutanassignmentthenmightbe:
Asacreatororevaluatorofavisualtext(whatevermediumorformittakes)doyouseeavisual
metaphoratwork?
Howmightthearrangement,content,symbolism ofthevisualtextprovidethebasisforametaphor
thatgrantsaccesstoalargermeaning,ortoacognitivemodel/concept/wayoflookingattheworld?
Whatexperiencesfromyourownlifeareevokedbytheimage?
Whatemotionsareprovokedinyoubytheimage?
WhatcanyouSEEtheauthormightbeSAYINGthroughtheelementsofdesigninthisimage?

http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/7.3/response/Visual_rhet/ctalty2002pt3.html.
JohnTrimbur,CompositionandtheCirculationofWriting,CCC,52:2,December2000,190.
4
http://epistemicforms.com/VisualThinking.htm.Thearticlesreferencesarelistedat http://epistemic
forms.com/Visualmetaphorreferences.html.
3

OtherHandoutsintheVisualRhetoric/VisualLiteracySeries
WritingAboutComicsandGraphicNovels
WritingAboutFilm
WritingAboutPainting
WritingAboutPhotographs
Using PowerPointandKeynote Effectively
CraftingandEvaluating WebSites
Creating ScientificPosters
Bannerimages:
1. DukeUniversityWritingStudiohomepage,http://uwp.aas.duke.edu/wstudio
2. NASA GoddardSpaceFlightCenterImage,TheBlue Marble,2002,
http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=2429
3. ClaudeMonet,TheRegattaatArgenteuil(RgateArgenteuil),1872
4. DukeUniversityWritingStudiohandoutUsingPowerpointandKeynoteEffectively,
http://uwp.aas.duke.edu/wstudio/resources/documents/powerpoint.pdf
5. DukeUniversityWritingStudiohandoutWritingAboutComicsandGraphicNovels,
http://uwp.aas.duke.edu/wstudio/resources/documents/comics.pdf
6. OrsonWelles,TouchofEvil (1958).