Visual Rhetoric

I think visual rhetoric is a decision we all make on a daily basis.  Sometimes we even create visual rhetoric without even realizing it.  Most of are already familiar with social media and the ability they create social circles and promote one's self.  I mostly use Facebook, Instagram, and Google+.  All three are social media networks but have different ways of using rhetoric.  Facebook users have a personalized profile to interconnect with other people, friends, and family.  It contains many forms of rhetoric from the "about me" section describing yourself, basic facts, education, work, music taste, likes and even dislikes.  This written form of rhetoric can allow someone to portray himself as a deep thinker, romantic poet, or whatever he wants the world to percieve him as.  There is also the photos that display a visual rhetoric.  Thanks to photo editing programs and photo effects, we can alter our photos to make them portray us in a different manner than the typical snapshot.  Many of these photo editing tools can be very effective in convincing your audience (in this case, your friends) to see you the way you want them too.  I may only post photos of me outdoors hiking, camping, and shooting.  My friends would naturally be lead to think, he is an outdoors guy.  The same can work any circumstance.  The actual photos can be made to create different emotional effects to the audience as well, when i posted a photo of me in the snow, I went on instagram and changed the effect to "Hudson" which added a blue color theme to my photo making the appearance that is was even colder.  The effect would have been totally changed if I put on "toaster", the audience might have had a warmer feeling that it wasn't that cold and my facial expression was sarcastic.  The last part of rhetoric in facebook, is the timeline in which we post comments on your wall and others.  To whom and what you post creates a "profile" of who you are and what you like/don't like.  Even the comments can add credibility to your profile. If Megan Fox likes a photo, instantly others may do so too because of her influence.  For my purposes, I like to use Facebook to keep up with friends over time, Instagram to put cool effects on my photos and just see current photos of my friends, and Google+ for my business related work (because it has a more professional look and has ability for google docs)  Before I learned about visual rhetoric in class, I always used it just didn't think so much about why.  Naturally most guys dress up to impress girls, or convey a sense of confidence.  Normally with the purpose that she notices him in a good way and is attracted to him.  I like a simple example my friend once used.  Men buy nice cars, not because they like nice cars, but because women like nice cars.  If a man had to, he would like in a box.  Although it may not also be true but I believe the general message is accurate, we use visual rhetoric every day to influence others around us.  This stems from the clothes we wear, the word choice we use, to the way we act.  So it is very useful to know if you want to express yourself as the "best" you.  Unless you just got married and don't give a flying anymore.  checkmate.

Daily Visual Rhetoric

Rhetoric makes its way in writing and in many other things that we create. But visual rhetoric can be seen in our daily and weekly lives. Visual rhetoric is shown through what we say, what we wear, and also what we do in our lives. This is because these three factors help in determining who someone is. When i wake up in the morning and decide to chose what i wear is visual rhetoric. The type of clothes that i chose to wear whether it be gym shorts, a baseball hat or sweats, shows that i am not going to do anything that requires nice clothing. This also shows that i enjoy sports and recreational activities. What i decide to say on a daily basis also shows visual rhetoric. Speaking with good word choice and speaking with out vulgarity shows what type of person that i am. Also when using words that are funny will show that i like being funny and that i like to laugh. If i don't say much it could mean that i am not in a very good mood. The third way that we usual visual rhetoric in our daily and weekly lives is through what we choose to do. I generally enjoy spending time with my fionce and family.  playing sports, listening to music, and playing video games.  What i enjoy doing visually demonstrates who i am as a person. Others can see that i enjoy doing things that are more active and can see that i am family centered kind of guy. Also going to school shows that i am interested in getting an education so that i can obtain a better paying job and better support a family. Almost everything that we do and say can be a form of visual rhetoric.

Visual Rhetoric

Visual rhetoric is a very powerful tool. From the way we portray our lives on Facebook, to the way we act around people we are providing information. The things we spend time doing, or improving give insight to others on what we find important. Getting ready in the mornings is often dreaded, and while spending too much time in front of a mirror can be vain, it is important to represent yourself well, as the way you take care of yourself sends a message to those surrounding you whether it be potential employers, colleagues, or professors.
It is also important to understand how we are affected by visual rhetoric. We are bombarded with media, Facebook posts, advertisements, all of which can have a negative impact. If we feel that we are "less cool" or become discouraged with tactics used by public information companies we are becoming victim to their methods, and are often worse off. The most common example is that associated with young girls and beauty ads and young boys and superheros or sports champions. If they are never told that this is not the expectation, and that they are loved under every circumstance, proper self-development can be interrupted.
Visual rhetoric is a very powerful tool, and we must use it ethically, while recognizing that not everyone does.

Visual Rhetoric

Visual rhetoric is becoming one of the biggest ways we communicate to each other in today's society. Whether it is by the media, or for friends, it is the easiest way to communicate.  One of my newest favorite pieces of visual rhetorical media is a phone app for Iphones called Tinder.  Tinder is a dating app that matches individuals who click the "like" button for each other.  It pulls information from your Facebook and allows you to view individuals who are within 20-50 miles radius of where you are. It allows you to be anonymous in the since that, the only people who can see your activity are the individuals that you match up with.  You can even chat with the.  Now the people who you don't "like" will never that you disliked them.  It is pretty discrete.  For the short amount of time that I had this app downloaded, I enjoyed my time, however, I did have some racy experiences that lead me to deleting that app.  The entire app is made of mostly pictures with very few words.  It mentions age and name. Pinterest works the same way.  All pictures with very few words. You may like whatever picture is presented and you can post on your own boards to keep the links to the ideas that you like.  Facebook has the same appeal.  Even though we can post events and messages on each others walls, a huge part of Facebook is the image that you portray of yourself.  Thankfully they have settings that allow you to guard what you are tagged in.  As much as I enjoy visual images, I do think it doesn't convey everything that words can.  We would be a lost world with out words.  Things could easily be skewed without explanation.  Often times, a picture doesn't do justice.

Visual Rhetoric

Visual rhetoric is used every day in life. It’s a way that everyone can communicate to one another. When one uses visual rhetoric they are trying to convey an image to their audience. In my life I use visual rhetoric all the time. For social networking I always seem to be trying to portray myself in a good image whether I realize it or not. I guess everyone just wants to look good in front of their friends so they always try to post the coolest photos, funny photos, etc. Anyway the point is that most people try to create an image for them, including me. I think it is a good thing in social media for everyone to use visual rhetoric because it helps show the many different personalities and characteristic of each individual. I love art as well, however I’m not good at it. In art I try to make my invention just simply nice to look at and not look like a piece of trash. I try to make my piece something that has meaning to it, whether it be a symbolic meaning, a visual meaning, or and emotional meaning. A lot of visual rhetorical art piece have symbolic meaning. By showing one characteristic they symbolize a story, an idea, a moral, a feeling, or a something else. I love to show my personality through my art as well as how I present myself to others. I think this is helpful because it can be a great tool to help other get to know me better.

Visual Rhetoric-Sterling Paulson

Visual rhetoric is becoming more and more prevalent in our society. Social media is one of the main purveyors of this visual rhetoric, but every day people of all ages and demographics are bombarded with different colors, textures, fonts, images, and graphics. Television programs and advertisements, print ads, billboards, posters and many other examples of visual rhetoric can be seen. This can be seen as a beneficial addition to society. With visual rhetoric people can easily get their point across and draw attention to their argument or advertising.  It is much more succinct than a public speech or an opinion editorial, and has a good chance of drawing a larger and more diverse audience. We see this now even in boardrooms for global corporations or in the closing arguments for litigators in trial. In these settings traditionally dominated by oratory, we can now see PowerPoint slides, posters, and graphics being used to more effectively argue points. While this may seem fascinating and great, I still think that it is important to look at all of the effects of this shift. I think that it has some detrimental aspects, as grammar and writing become less influential and therefore less important in many industries. I think that it is important to remember that visual rhetoric is a great thing, but it cannot be our only form of communication that we use.

Visual Rhetoric

One of the ways we all use visual rhetoric is social media such as Facebook. Facebook is used by almost everyone these days and allows us stay connected with each other, but it also allows us to express ourselves. Facebook is a way that many people are able to see us without us even knowing. Like the profile picture we talked about in class Facebook is an opportunity for people to see us so it may be important how we show ourselves. While I’m not one to worry about my profile picture the types of music I listen to and some of my many interests are on display for people to see so they can get a general idea of who I am. This means I might not let someone post something offensive or off color on my Facebook because my mom might see or someone else that may get the wrong impression. So how you let others see you on Facebook is important. I think that visual rhetoric is very important to learn about because it is something we use on a daily basis in today’s society even more so than writing it seems. Every day we are exposed to visual rhetoric on TV and on the internet, it is everywhere we look. If the visual rhetoric is effective, that commercial might persuade us to buy their product or use their service. If not, we may just remember it as that cheesy commercial or change the channel when it comes on. So it is important to learn how to be effective with our visual rhetoric as well as our written.