GRAPHIC RHETORIC: THE ART OF PERSUASION IN POSTER DESIGN

Abstract

The success of a visual communication depends on how the designer engages the target 
audience and achieves the desired reaction. Sometimes a message needs instant action and should be 
clear and simple. Most often, a visual image is used to evoke a certain emotional state in the viewer, 
which allows him to better perceive the intended message. A clear and powerful visual style is 
essential for a designer to convey information accurately. Thus, the tone of the visual language plays 
an important role in shaping the specific form and rhetoric of the design statement. Rhetoric is the art 
of persuasion through words. However, its role is not limited to oral expression only. Visual 
communication, especially in graphic design, is also full of elements of rhetoric that can impact the 
audience and convey specific messages. To build powerful rhetoric, ancient philosophers used 
something akin to modern design thinking to define and refine the categories of message, 
arrangement, style, memory, and presentation in a persuasive dialogue graphic images that can 
inform, persuade, inspire or entertain millions of people. Giving a visual voice to symbols and signs  is associated with a huge responsibility, and it is necessary to be aware of the role of media design in 
shaping public ideology and worldview. In the context of visual communication, rhetoric plays an 
important role in creating effective design solutions. It is the art of persuasion through visual elements 
and composition that form specific emotional and cognitive responses in viewers. This article 
examines the techniques for using elements of rhetoric, methods for using these techniques, and 
provides guidance for recognizing and including these elements in visual appeals.