Signs (Wikipedia Page)

Visual Rhetoric (Wikipedia Page)

We live in a world of multimodal texts.

Example from the Pudding: https://pudding.cool/2017/03/music-history/index.html

Roland Barthes called “text” the tissue “worked out in a perpetual interweaving.

Text

Document

A work

Icon — clear representation of things

Index — points to something

Symbol/word — abstracts something

5 modes of communication:

Linguistic

—use of language, written or spoken words

—word choice, delivery, organization into phrases, sentences, paragraphs

—Development and coherence of individual words and ideas

Visual

—color

—size

—layout

—style

—perspective

Aural

—sound

—music

Sound effects

Ambient noise

Silence

Tone of voice

Volume of sound

Emphasis and accent

Spatial

==physical arrangement

—how does a brochure open and the way it leads a reader through the text

—the way a classroom is arranged

—arrangement

—organization

—proximity between people or objects

(Website for favorite retail, entertainment or news site: Notice how spatial mode is used. Where is your eye drawn? How are the elements of the page laid out? What effect does the spatial arrangement have on how you read, use and understand the information?

Gestural

—facial expressions

-hand gestures

—body language

—interaction between people

(Why does this matter for online and print?

5 modes are a set of tools — each mode has its own strength and weakness

Texts need to be created for a purpose, to persuade an audience to change in some way.

Rhetorical situation — set of circumstances in which the author creates a text

4 factors:

audience

Purpose for communicating

Context in which the text will be read

The genre they choose

Look at the university web page. It serves many purposes. What information is emphasized on the from tpage. Why is that the case? What does it say about the primary intended audience? What does the university assumed this audience is looking for? D you see more info that sells the university than you see standard university information? Why do yours this matter when it comes to the purpose of the home page for a university?

In sum, Semiotics is the “science” of signs and design is the “art” of making signs.