Toward a Topos of Visual Rhetoric: Teaching Aesthetics Through Color and Typography. (April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Welhausen, Candice A.
• Is Part Of: Journal of technical writing & communication. Volume 48:Number 2(2018)
• Page Start: 132
• Page End: 150
• Publication Date: 2018-04
• Subjects: technical communication -- pedagogy -- visual rhetoric -- visual commonplaces -- visual topoi -- aesthetics -- document design; Technical writing -- Periodicals; 808.0666
• DOI: 10.1177/0047281616646752
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0047-2816

Abstract

This article proposes a heuristic that teachers and students can use together to create a vocabulary for discussing the aesthetic aspects of color and typography in document design work. By using this framework, teachers and students can generate a collection of shared visual topoi or commonplaces for describing the aesthetic value of color and typography that they can then draw from to inform visual analysis and production work.