Entry #3 Visual Rhetoric

    When I first learned about the term visual rhetoric, I assumed it was one of those things that you learn at school and forget about shortly after. But the more I learned about it, the more I realized that we engage with it every day without even realizing it. It’s everywhere–from the billboards on the side of the highway, to the movies we watch, and the posts we see online.

    All those things were produced to create a message, invoke emotion, and influence the way we think. The colors, fonts, images, and layout choices are all intentional. They all work together to guide the audience’s thoughts and reactions. Once I started noticing these details, I realized just how powerful visual rhetoric is. It shapes our opinions and influences the choices we make in our day-to-day lives.

Let’s take a look at this ad. In this McDonald’s ad, the main focus is on the meal: the burger, Coke, and fries. There’s no way to miss it since it takes up half of the available space. It’s also intentionally placed on the left because English readers read left to right, so the first thing we would see is the meal. The next thing the audience’s eye is drawn to after the meal is the text above the image. They try to appeal to the audience’s pathos with the text. It taps into the feeling of craving and temptation, making you want to go out and buy a burger. The word “so” is bolded and the biggest to exaggerate the craving, and make it feel urgent and irresistible. The last thing we are drawn to is the McDonald’s logo. It’s there to tell us that they have what we’re craving for.

This McDonald’s ad is one of millions that show how important the use of visual rhetoric is. Every choice, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is designed to grab our attention and influence our decisions. Visual rhetoric is used in almost every aspect of life, and it’s important that we understand what the message is trying to convey, so we can make smarter decisions in our daily lives. Paying attention to how these visual media communicate allows us to be more thoughtful viewers, consumers, and creators.