Copyright (c) 2009 Sheffield Hallam University All rights reserved. http://digitalcommons.shu.ac.uk/drs2008/session10/track_d Recent Events in Theory, Creativity en-us Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:27:28 PDT 3600 http://digitalcommons.shu.ac.uk/drs2008/session10/track_d/3 http://digitalcommons.shu.ac.uk/drs2008/session10/track_d/3 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:00:00 PDT The paper presents a research, the aim of which is to find out how graphic expressions and visual language can be used for persuasion. The research material consists of outdoor advertisements photographed in their actual exhibition places in a city environment. Outdoor advertising media, which are used to communicate visual messages from a sender to several addressees, participate in building the visual city culture and open manifold solutions in design. The visual language used in the research material is analyzed in order to find out how advertising messages, their denotations and connotations, are constructed and how arguments used for persuasion are visualized. The first analysis is based on the knowledge and methods used in graphic design practice, which has been defined to be the process of making, choosing and arranging marks in order to convey a message. The analysis shows that different modes, techniques and visual elements are applied to attract the attention of spectators and arouse interest towards the message of an artefact. The second analysis is based on communication studies and semiotics, especially on Roman Jakobson's theory about the functions of communication. The method of combining two analyses reveals different ways of using visual language and syntaxes to announce the excellence of an advertised product, service or subject. It also shows various types of visual arguments used in advertisements. Three types of visual rhetoric emerge from the research material. They are called brand rhetoric, personalized rhetoric and poetic rhetoric. The taxonomy of visual rhetoric exemplifies how visual language can be constructed and used for persuasion. It shows that the decisions in design influence the messages and meanings created. The research calls for further studies as regards the reception of visual rhetoric and suggests that the taxonomy of visual rhetoric could be applied in visual communication design and in the analysis of advertising messages. Keywords: Outdoor Advertisement/Advertising; Visual Rhetoric; Visual Language; Graphic Design; Visual Communication Design; Advertising Message Marja Seliger http://digitalcommons.shu.ac.uk/drs2008/session10/track_d/2 http://digitalcommons.shu.ac.uk/drs2008/session10/track_d/2 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:30:00 PDT Design Archeology combines communication design with archeological methods for evaluating material culture to produce new forms of graphic identity. It is a research methodology for examining cultural practices and activities of the moment in order to create a "snapshot" of a community's identity from its material culture. Graphic Reconstructions of Kreuzberg Berlin is a graphic identity developed from ephemera (receipts, tickets, posters and flyers) collected from the streets of Kreuzberg, Berlin over a three-week period. The project examines the language of transactions and advertising and its impact on community identity. The final series of posters were installed back at the original site in Berlin. Surrounded by a plethora of advertisements, receipts, tickets, receipts, junk mail and more, this ephemera offers an immediate "snapshot" into a very specific moment in time. What if the information contained within could be captured, recorded, and interpreted? What would it tell us about that specific moment in time, identity, cultural patterns, and the relationship of language and media? These Graphic reconstructions manifest itself in the form of posters and receipts. The content used in the posters came from transaction-based ephemera, and the content used in the receipts came from advertising-based ephemera. The inversion of media was used to "make strange" and change the context in which these items are normally seen, in an effort to reexamine cultural patterns and information that normally go unseen. This was done as a tool to evaluate transaction language, consumption and selling patterns and the locality of Kreuzberg. While the outcome does not offer a cohesive identity, it reveals ethnic backgrounds, trends in purchases, travel patterns based on transaction, nightlife locations, and a globalized and "businessfied" culture. Keywords: Design; Design Archeology; Ephemera; Artifact; Research; Found Object; Berlin Amy Sheppard http://digitalcommons.shu.ac.uk/drs2008/session10/track_d/1 http://digitalcommons.shu.ac.uk/drs2008/session10/track_d/1 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:00:00 PDT An assumption behind this paper is that research aimed at improving interaction design practice is not as successful as it could be. We will argue that one reason for this is that the understanding of what constitutes designerly tools is not enough recognized among those who propose new tools for interaction design. We define designerly tools as methods, tools, techniques, and approaches that support design activity in way that is appreciated by practicing interaction designers. Based on a two empirical studies, we have developed a framework and a way of studying designers and their tools. We discuss some insights about what characterizes designerly tools and what kind of implications these insights might have for the further development of tools aimed at supporting design practice. Keywords: Design, Tools, Interaction Design, Activities, Support For Design Erik Stolterman