Visual Arguments
Visual Argument:
Purpose and audience:
In today’s society, images play a large role in defining who we are, in communicating ideas, and in shaping what we think. For instance, controversy surrounded the President using images of the World Trade Center tragedy for purported political gain. The advertisement for drinking more milk (“Got Milk?”) is a popular image, while MTV moved young people toward small visual sound bites. Think about what type of images “speak” to you. Think about what certain images say. Think about how they are designed to elicit a response or draw attention to them (design features).
Then think about what you would like to say with your visual images. What point are you trying to make? What position are you trying to articulate? What is your argument? What image best represents you, your company, your school, your kid’s soccer team, etc?
Remember that argument doesn’t necessarily mean controversy or negative confrontation. Arguments can be positive. Stating a position and advocating that position is something many of us often do. With that in mind, think about what type of visual you would like to represent your company. The only difference is that your argument will come in the form of pictures/images and will be directed to the general public.
Gather Information:
As a pre-writing activity, you should take a tour of the school and gather some data about what the school “says.” If you visited a school (any school), what images would stick with you, what images would “speak” to you, and what would those images say?
Task:
Find 5 images that “talk” about ISU and then:
1. Describe the images
2. Tell what the images say
3. Explain what values are reflected by the images
4. Tell what appeal is present in the images and to whom the appeal is being made – who is the intended audience
Example: imagine a picture of a crowded parking lot. What might the picture say?
1. It might say that lots of students attend this school
2.
Purpose and audience:
In today’s society, images play a large role in defining who we are, in communicating ideas, and in shaping what we think. For instance, controversy surrounded the President using images of the World Trade Center tragedy for purported political gain. The advertisement for drinking more milk (“Got Milk?”) is a popular image, while MTV moved young people toward small visual sound bites. Think about what type of images “speak” to you. Think about what certain images say. Think about how they are designed to elicit a response or draw attention to them (design features).
Then think about what you would like to say with your visual images. What point are you trying to make? What position are you trying to articulate? What is your argument? What image best represents you, your company, your school, your kid’s soccer team, etc?
Remember that argument doesn’t necessarily mean controversy or negative confrontation. Arguments can be positive. Stating a position and advocating that position is something many of us often do. With that in mind, think about what type of visual you would like to represent your company. The only difference is that your argument will come in the form of pictures/images and will be directed to the general public.
Gather Information:
As a pre-writing activity, you should take a tour of the school and gather some data about what the school “says.” If you visited a school (any school), what images would stick with you, what images would “speak” to you, and what would those images say?
Task:
Find 5 images that “talk” about ISU and then:
1. Describe the images
2. Tell what the images say
3. Explain what values are reflected by the images
4. Tell what appeal is present in the images and to whom the appeal is being made – who is the intended audience
Example: imagine a picture of a crowded parking lot. What might the picture say?
1. It might say that lots of students attend this school
2.