Bonsiepe Visual Verbal Rhetoric 2010

69 Visual-verbal rhetoric

Visual-verbal rhetoric

classical rhetoric

persuasion

moods and feelings

the interaction of speech and picture

the semiotic approach

the cognitive function of rhetoric

rhetorical figures

Literary rhetoricRhetoric is one of the scarcely researched areas of design, although thedesigner is confronted with rhetorical phenomena in his daily work.Owing to its origin in classical Antiquity, rhetoric is encumbered with tradition. At first it does not appear suitable for the study of modern communications, which is primarily based on retinal space, and the interplay of text and picture, sound and music.

SeductionRhetoric can be called a set of seductive heuristics, used to influence feelings and moods in the person to whom the message is addressed.Humberto Maturana defines feelings in this way: “Biologically, feelings arephysical dispositions through which domains of action are determined or characterized.Feelings are bodily processes through which the areas of action are specified withinwhich we move.” 1

Feelings, moods, attitudesFeelings are phenomena of short duration, which interrupt the flow ofeveryday actions. For instance, when a car suddenly skids on an icy road,

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fright passes as soon as the danger is over. Moods, on the other hand, aregenerally of longer duration. They are concerned with an approach tofuture possibilities of action. A depression is a mood characterized by thefact that there seem to be no future prospects. Specialists in advertising and corporate identity direct their rhetorical techniques to creating certainattitudes in the public or breaking them down, depending on the policyand strategy the company is using to present itself.

Visual differentiationThe designer is a specialist in, among other things, visual distinctions, andeveryday cultural semantics. He influences the feelings, moods and attitudesof the user by employing visual means assigned to formal and semanticcategories to convey messages. In the design field, practice is much moreadvanced than theory. The language-based rhetorical analyses of massmedia, advertising, video clips, and infodesign (diagrams, scientific illus-trations, maps, sign systems, interfaces for computer programmes) bypassthe essential in that they treat the visual components as a secondary ele-ment. That can be explained as due to the lack of an analytical, descriptiveset of instruments. Visual rhetoric is in a rudimentary state, compared withthe maturity of literary rhetoric.

Three areas of rhetoricRhetoric is the domain of logomachy, the battle with words. It can bedivided into two areas, firstly persuasive means, rhetorica utens, and secondlythe description and analysis of persuasive means, rhetorica docens.

In Antiquity rhetoric was practised as an art of speaking mainly inthree areas: politics, law and religious discourse. Rhetorics covered thestructure, the stylistic formulation, the method of delivery (diction) andthe gestures of speakers at public assemblies, in legal proceedings and onsolemn occasions. Persons in political, legal and religious life were mostadept at rhetoric, insofar as they tried to induce certain moods in their list-eners and bring about decisions using language and gesture. Any meansthat would contribute to the desired end was deemed appropriate.

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As K. Burke said, rhetoric is the right place for “... insult and offence, forquarrelsomeness and conflict, for cunning and lies, particularly for underlying cun-ning and deliberate lies.” 2

The purpose of rhetoricRhetoric is generally defined as the art of persuasion, or the study of themeans of persuasion that are available for a given situation. The purpose ofrhetoric is the efficient use of language in order to shape attitudes in othersand influence their behaviour. Where there is coercion, rhetoric is notnecessary. Where there is constraint, rhetoric is not even possible. Persuasionpresupposes the possibility of choosing. Again we can quote Burke, whosays rhetoric is directed to a person who is free: “...When people are forced todo something rhetoric is superfluous.” 3

SemioticsThe textbooks on rhetoric offer a wide range of subtle classifications, butthe terminology is based in Ancient Greek and Latin languages, making itdifficult to work with these definitions. It must be asked whether we needa new approach to rhetoric that would take into account modern semiotics.Since the combination of text and picture available in modern commu-nications was technically impossible in antiquity, it was never a concern inclassical rhetoric.

Information anxiety and the cognitive function of rhetoricThe flood of verbal and visual messages produced and distributed in indus-trial societies creates what Richard S. Wurman has termed ‘informationanxiety’. A situation with a low density of information has been replacedby a situation with high density. With such conditions, one could ascribe anew, cognitive function to rhetoric, where rhetorical means are used toclarify contexts and reduce cognitive entropy.


Five distinctionsClassical rhetoric is divided into five main areas:

• heuristics, to collect materials, especially to trace arguments• heuristics on the classification of the material collected• prescriptions and recommendations on the stylistic formulation of

the structured material• heuristics for learning texts by heart• recommendations on diction and gesture

The techniques in the third point that include the stylistic properties oftexts are the most important for an analysis of advertising messages. Thesestylistic properties are expressed mainly in the form of rhetorical figures ortropes. They are defined as “...the art of saying something in a new way” 4

and as “...giving words a new meaning or a new use, in order to make speech morepleasing, more lively and more penetrating.” 5

Rhetorical figures of speechIn the traditional view a rhetorical figure of speech is one that differs fromnormal usage to make the communication more effective. Figures of speechcan be divided into two classes:

• word figures; related to the meaning of a word, or the position of the words in the sentence

• thought figures; related to the formation and arrangement of the information.

Semiotic terminology enables the figures of speech to be clearly classified.Proceeding from the fact that one can distinguish between two aspects of a sign, namely, the shape and the meaning, one can identify two types ofrhetorical figures. A rhetorical figure can be based on:

• an operation with the shape of a sign (syntactic figure) or• an operation with the meaning of the sign (semantic figure).

These possibilities, inherent in language, have always made rhetoric appear


dubious. In language philosophy, persuasion is played off against infor-mation; influence against informing/teaching; the everyday language againstthe language of scholarship. The advocates of a purified language of scho-larship see rhetoric as no more than a compendium of verbal tricks. The flexibility of language expressed in metaphor, for example, seems tothem to be a defect, if not actually criminal. They brand rhetoric as a source of misunderstandings, of sloppy speech and falsification. In this viewrhetoric is only a decorative adjunct of the information conveyed. Thatargument assumes that human communication is possible without rhetoric- but that is a moot point. Communication without rhetoric, aseptic com-munication as it were, leads to the breakdown of communication. Inany case, pure information is an abstraction for the graphic designer. Themoment the information is shaped or made sensually perceptible, the process of rhetorical infiltration starts. On the other hand, advocates ofrhetoric argue that the many layers of meaning of spoken language inevitably result from the dynamic of language and are an essential meansof human communication. 6

Note on the catalogue of visual/verbal figuresThe following is a list of visual/verbal rhetorical figures that was originallydrawn up in 1964 for a seminar at the Institute of Design in Ulm (hochschulefür gestaltung, ulm). It was based on the semiotic work of Tomás Maldonado,which in turn was oriented to Peirce and Morris. Influenced by Frenchsemiotics, which completely ignores all the work of Peirce and Morris, thegeneral field of semiotics has become rooted in language and lost a goodpart of its analytical potential. About this Maldonado said: “Occasionally cer-tain histories of semiotics of a structuralist kind give the impression that only deSaussure and Hjelmslev have worked in the field that separates Peirce from Barthesand Greimas. This is to cast a shadow on the work of the neo-positivists in semiotics.” 7

This essay was probably the first attempt systematically to apply theterminological distinctions of verbal rhetoric to visual communication, andalso to create new distinctions, but it remained an isolated undertaking. A


rhetorical approach can still lead to a deeper understanding of the pheno-mena that a graphic designer confronts daily.

List of visual/verbal figures• analogy: a verbal comparison is transferred to the visual sphere

with equivalent semantic signs.• metonym: a meaning indicated verbally is set in relation to another

meaning, based on a thematic connection; e.g. cause instead of effect, instrument instead of result, producer instead of product.

• synecdoche (pars pro toto): a part indicating the whole.• specification: a visual sign is accompanied by a minimum of text

in order to make it clear and narrow it down semantically. (Often the name of the firm making the product is used).

• fusion: a visual sign is incorporated in a supersign owing to its formal qualities. The syntactic linking suggests a semantic connection.

• parallelism: visual and verbal signs relate to the same meaning.• associative transfer (link) or mediation: from a number of verbal

signs, one is selected in order to illustrate the ideas associated with it(associative context).

• metaphoric reversal: the tension between primary and secondary meaning is utilized so that the visual signs show the original meaning, taking it literally, so to speak.

• typogram: the meaning of the typographic signs is illustrated by these signs. The text is, so to speak, short-circuited with the typographic signs.

• understatement: verbal understatement is made visual.• exaggeration: meaning is visualized through signs, the contents of

which go beyond the usual measure.• visual-verbal negation: the meaning of a sequence of words is

illustrated by a visual opposite.• visual-verbal comparison: two meanings are compared visually

through the mediation of language.• exemplification: meaning indicated verbally is illustrated visually.


Open questionsSince rhetorical figures are part of everyday language, their translation toother languages is limited. What can be a rhetorical figure in English maynot be so in German, and vice versa. Moreover, this rough outline of staticvisual/verbal rhetoric needs to be supplemented by the dynamic rhetoricfound in computer graphics (animation, picture sequences and their transitions). This is a large field for design research. It should help designers,not only to improve what they are doing, but also to understand what theyare doing. That would bring us closer to what Donald Schön has called‘the reflective practitioner’, that is, the practitioner who thinks about whathe is doing.

This is a revised and shortened version of the article first published in the periodical of the hfg ulm (Institute of Design Ulm) 14/15/16 (1965). The study presented here deals with the lowest level of rhetorical figures. The work of Judith Williamson, Decoding Advertisements. London: Marion Boyars 1978, deals with a higher contextual interpretation.

1 Maturana, Humberto, Emociones y lenguaje en educación y politica. Santiago: La Hachette 1990, pp. 15 and 88.

2 Burke, Kenneth, A Rhetoric of Motives. New York 1955, p. 19.3 loc. cit., p. 50.4 Quintilian.5 Lausberg, K., Elemente der literarischen Rhetorik. Munich 1949, p. 12.6 Richards, I.A., The Philosophy of Rhetoric. New York 1950, p. 40.7 Maldonado, Tomás, Reale e virtuale. Milano: Feltrinelli 1992, p. 63n.



Analogy “We sell sharp ideas”The sharpened pencil corresponds to the‘sharp’ ideas. Average advertising is visualized by unsharpened pencils.Moreover, another rhetorical figure is inclu-ded here, a metonym. The ideas are shownthrough a means with which they can be recorded on paper.

Examples

Analogy and metaphor“Announcing The Birth ofa New Publication-Environment QualityMagazine.” The publica-tion of a new magazine isset as an analogy like achicken emerging from itsshell.

Exaggeration and specifi-cation “It also stickshandles to teapots”The ‘it’ is specified as aglue, and its strength isvisualized by an automo-bile stuck to a poster ona wall.

Analogy and exaggeration “After 500 playsour high fidelity tape still delivers high fide-lity.” The quality of the tape is set in analo-gy to a current of air flowing from the loud-speaker. It is so strong that the listener hasto cling to his chair.


Metonym “Guaranteed to make you laugh”The effect of being tickled - you laugh - isvisualized by the instrument used to ticklethe foot.

List combined with metonym “For ‘Me Too’Holidaymakers it is not what is on your headthat counts, but what is in it.” The headgearstands for what is in the head. The rows ofhats visualize the different kinds of holidayon offer.

Synecdoche combined with a comparisonand a rhetorical question “Have you everwished you were better informed?” The television or radio cable represents a channel of information. The comparison thatstarts verbally: “...better informed than...” isconcluded visually (by showing a plug and asocket that do not match, so the informationchannel will not function).

Metonymy, exaggeration and rhetoricalquestion “How many reasons do you needto cut out blades?” Cuts are shown verballythrough the word ‘blades’, and the word‘cut’ also suggests doing without them.


Visual-verbal comparison, combined with a‘quotation’ “Contemporary Dutch Master-piece.” The historical masterpiece byVermeer is compared with a contemporaryDutch masterpiece - Gouda cheese.

Comparison with metaphoric reversal“For quality colour prints you need the rightattitude.” The primary meaning of theexpression ‘attitude’ is visualized in an exaggeration.

Exaggeration and metonym “Temptation beyond endurance.” The impossibility ofresisting the temptation of the peanuts isvisualized in the broken shop window.

Visual-verbal comparison and metonym“Many people drink König-Pilsener. Orsomething that is just as good.” The qualityof the drink is visualized in a metonym (thecap of the beer bottle) and visualizedthrough the comparison with the champagnecork.


Parallelism “You never run out of air”The air that is always available is visualizedthrough a homogeneous, light-grey surface.

Typogram “Full? - Empty?” The letters illustrate the verbal contents - the transitionfrom full to empty.

Metaphoric reversal and rhetorical question“Is just the top of the news enough?” Theprimary meaning of the word sequence ‘topof the news’ is taken literally in the visualization (top of the letters).

Synecdoche, metaphoric reversal and rhetorical question “Are just two sides of thequestion enough?” The question is visualizedthrough the question mark. The primarymeaning of the ‘two sides of the question’ istaken literally in the reversed questionmarks arranged symmetrically.


Metaphoric reversal “Geizkragen (lit. tightcollar = tight-fisted).” The advertisement isfor information provision and punch cards;here the cards are bent into a collar in aliteral illustration of the metaphor.

Fusion “Baumann Light Metal Shutters -Robust and Durable.” The illustration of theshutter has been integrated into a suit ofarmour that visualizes the verbal message.

Specification “Elizabeth Stewart Swimwear”The beach scene with two people is nar-rowed down from its semantic breadth tothe producer.

Analogy and exaggeration “It’s the mostexciting fashion change in liquor industry”The change in fashion that includes the product is illustrated by the primary attributeof fashion - the mannequin and the rolls offabric.


Metaphoric reversal “The Point of aScrewdriver is Smirnoff.” The secondarymeaning of the word ‘screwdriver’, a cocktail, is shown by illustrating the primarymeaning in the picture of a screwdriver.

Exemplification “Our soap has nothing to hide.” The verbal suggestion that thesoap is transparent is visualized.

Associative link “It’s got to be Gordon’s”Link between the green of the bottle, thegreen of the traffic light “Go” and the firsttwo letters of the name of the gin -Gordon’s.

Visual-verbal negation “All our fork lifts are1.72m high and have arms 96 cm long”. Thestatement that anthropometric standardvalues exist is negated by the illustration.


Rhetorical question and visual analogy “Are just two shades of opinion enough?”The two shades of one opinion are set inanalogy to the contrast between black andwhite.

Parallelism and fusion “We just put Jaffa forshort.” Word and image both refer to thesame content. The typographic signs areintegrated with the surface of the fruit.

Understatement and speci-fication “That’s all wehave to sell.” The state-ment, which is put as aconcession, is visualized.

Specification, synecdocheand visual comparison“That’s something weGermans have in common”The ‘something’ is shownto be brandy, the differentpeople who are drawntogether are illustrated bythe different arms andhands (a workman and amanager).

Rhetorical question, com-parison and exaggeration“Is this how YOU want tobe treated by your firstbank?”

Fusion and metaphoricreversal “The Peak ofEnjoyment.” The primarymeaning of the verbal-metaphoric word ‘peak’ isillustrated by the pyramidof chocolate.

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Bonsiepe Visual Verbal Rhetoric 2010