Category Archives: rhetoric

final aiga gun control poster

CAUTION

 

the dominant mode of appeal would be pathos. the gun being wrapped in caution tape plays with the imagination. the imagery alludes to, and makes your mind picture, crimes scenes and other dangerous situations. the poster uses the rhetorical trope of synecdoche. the viewer is given a piece of information with the gun and caution tape, for which they are left to use their knowledge to make  connections to the more complex scenarios that demonstrate the consequences of guns. there is also a bit of a pun with the wording, another word for caution can be beware. and in this case for gun control we also need to “be aware” of the dangers surrounding gun usage. maybe that’s stretching it. i believe the design’s simplicity is bold and gives off a clear, straight forward message.

aiga gun control// 3 concepts

narrowed/refined to 2//

 

words of wisdom//

rhetoric catches your attention, then aristotle’s modes of appeal pull you in closer and keep your attention. modes of appeal focus on the details that give a message substance and really define what is being communicated. ethos applies to the credibility of the source, pathos applies to the emotions and senses, logos applies to the brain’s need for logical and stats to back up a claim; all three of the appeals make a message believable. modes of appeal are present in all realms of design, every form of design is going to at least appeal to the senses and emotions through the simplest choice of color or typeface, so therefore contain pathos.

rhetoric makes you think and use prior knowledge to form the clever connection. rhetoric works best with a clear and concise message being supported with vivd imagery. advertising is bursting with rhetoric. humor easily fits into a range of rhetoric forms,  it’s seen in commercials from car insurance to fast food. a specific one i’m thinking of are the allstate commercials. they use metaphor for mayhem while sneaking in a bit of parody; the message is made very evident. rhetoric makes something more interesting, humans are attracted to the explanation of abstract concepts.

i’m sorry,..i love puns.

rhetoric// a speaker persuading an audience through the use of figures of speech or tropes
pun// play on words, exploits the multiple meanings or spellings of a word
hyperbole// exaggeration to bring emphasis to a given quality or element
irony// expressing the opposite of what is expected
antithesis// juxtaposing opposing ideas to intensify their contrasting qualities
personification// giving humanistic characteristics to nonhuman subjects
metonomy// the use of a simplified term to represent a more complex thing
metaphor// 2 very different ideas are compared to one another through a shared attribute
synecdoche// a piece of information used to represent the whole or vice versa
parody// using humor, irony, or satire to create an imitation of something

examples for each type of figure of speech//