Exploration of Rhetorical Appeals Operat
Exploration of Rhetorical
Appeals, Operations and
Figures in UI/UX Design
Omar Sosa-Tzec1, Martin A. Siegel1 and Paul Brown2
Indiana University Bloomington
1 School of Informatics and Computing
2 Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts
June 29, 2015 - The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
3rd International Conference for
Design Education Researchers
and PreK-16 Design Educators
Motivation
Allegory of Lady Rhetoric
Rhetorical handbook
An illustrated manual for graphic designers
‣ Ehses & Lupton (1988)
‣ NSCAD student work
‣ Application of rhetorical
concepts in graphic design
Modes of Appeal
Rhetorical Operations
Rhetorical Figures
Rhetoric
Graphic Design
Persuasion
Meaning
Argumentation
Connection with oral communication
Generation of concepts
?
Rhetoric
UI/UX Design
Persuasion
Meaning
Argumentation
Connection with oral communication
Generation of concepts
HCI
?
Rhetoric
Persuasion
Meaning
UI/UX Design
Design
Pedagogy
Argumentation
Connection with oral communication
Generation of concepts
beta
UI/UX version
Rhetoric
Persuasion
Meaning
HCI
UI/UX Design
Design
Pedagogy
Argumentation
Connection with oral communication
Generation of concepts
Project/Exploration
Structure
‣ “Rhetoric and Design” (Ehses, 1987)
Extracts
‣ Interview
Other references
‣ Selected Bibliography
(Online/Offline)
‣ Three modes of appeal
‣ Rhetorical operations
Illustration of
Concepts
(Desktop, Web, Mobile)
‣ Rhetorical figures
‣ More student work
beta
version
uxrhetoric.com
“Rhetoric and Design” - takeaways
1.Rhetoric is not about trickery of flattering
2.Rhetoric is about effective communication
and meaning generated in context
3.Rhetoric is infiltrated in all the forms of
human communication
“Rhetoric and Design” - takeaways
4.Applying rhetoric as design methodology
requires the comprehension of the use of
symbols and patterns that could be familiar to
a user
5.Both the design of interface and experience
have social, moral and political implications.
Rhetoric would help to become aware of those
implications
Observations
paper's
takeaways
1.The three modes of appeal (logos, ethos and
pathos) fluctuate throughout the user experience
paper's
takeaways
1.The three modes of appeal (logos, ethos and
pathos) fluctuate throughout the user experience
2.Rhetorical operations describe modifications
made on an interface for working on different
platforms
paper's
takeaways
1.The three modes of appeal (logos, ethos and
pathos) fluctuate throughout the user experience
2.Rhetorical operations describe modifications
made on an interface for working on different
platforms
3.Rhetorical figures (tropes and schemes) help to
describe conceptually the interface's composition
and interactions
Ethos, logos and pathos fluctuate
Ethos, logos and pathos fluctuate
Yahoo Weather App for iOS
(initial screen)
Yahoo Weather App for iOS
Rhetorical operations, interface modifications
and different platforms
Bloomberg Billionaires – The web version is the standard composition
Rhetorical operations, interface modifications
and different platforms
Bloomberg Billionaires – The mobile version is the result of the application of rhetorical operations
Addition + Subtraction +
Inversion
Subtraction + Inversion
Inversion + Subtraction
Tropes and figures, software as
composition, description of interactions
Alliteration repeats the
initial parts of elements in
a sequence.
(Ehses & Lupton, 1988)
Clear for iOS
Tropes and figures, software as
composition, description of interactions
Ellipses
deliberately omits
elements from a
statement.
(Ehses & Lupton, 1988)
Vine web interface
Discussion
1.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook would be used as
a framework to engage designers in discussion
and reflection upon possible meanings conveyed
by the interface composition as the user interacts
with the software
‣ Denotation
‣ Connotation
2.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook offers a vocabulary
for UI/UX designers to analyze, conceptualize, and
critique interfaces
‣ To go “beyond” the figures of metaphor and metonymy
‣ To move away from the skeuomorphic “origin” of interfaces
‣ To consider interfaces as a kind of visual artifacts with its
particular materials and ways to be shaped
‣ To consider interfaces as visual artifacts that affect
people's lives, beliefs, and attitudes
3.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook would
function to introduce UI/UX designers to
rhetoric (classic and contemporary)
‣ To consider software as a form of argument
‣ To have a better comprehension of persuasion and
persuasive technology
‣
To create a link with other contemporary approaches in
HCI, including interaction criticism, sustainability and
feminism
Conclusion
‣ Interfaces are quite different from the examples
analyzed and presented in the original handbook
‣ Interfaces are quite different from the examples
analyzed and presented in the original handbook
‣ There is a fluctuation in the weights of each of the
modes of appeal
‣ Interfaces are quite different from the examples
analyzed and presented in the original handbook
‣ There is a fluctuation in the weights of each of the
modes of appeal
‣ Tropes and schemes support such a fluctuation
‣ Interfaces are quite different from the examples
analyzed and presented in the original handbook
‣ There is a fluctuation in the weights of each of the
modes of appeal
‣ Tropes and schemes support such a fluctuation
‣ Tropes and schemes help to describe conceptually,
not only the composition, but also interactions
Limitations and future work
‣ More examples are needed; simplification of
language
‣ We found difficulties to interpret chiasmus* and
anastrophe**
‣ We expect to create a repository of cases
‣We aim at motivating other design scholars to
join this project and make it grow
* Chiasmus symmetrically arranges elements so that one side reverses the order of the other
** Anastrophe inverts normal grammatical order
uxrhetoric.com
@omitzec -tzec.com
Thanks!
profmartysiegel.com
ptbrown@indiana.edu
This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant Award
no. 1115532. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
the views of the entire research team or the NSF. Thanks to Ian B. Wood for the
discussion about ideas and examples presented in the UI/UX rhetorical handbook.
Appeals, Operations and
Figures in UI/UX Design
Omar Sosa-Tzec1, Martin A. Siegel1 and Paul Brown2
Indiana University Bloomington
1 School of Informatics and Computing
2 Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts
June 29, 2015 - The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
3rd International Conference for
Design Education Researchers
and PreK-16 Design Educators
Motivation
Allegory of Lady Rhetoric
Rhetorical handbook
An illustrated manual for graphic designers
‣ Ehses & Lupton (1988)
‣ NSCAD student work
‣ Application of rhetorical
concepts in graphic design
Modes of Appeal
Rhetorical Operations
Rhetorical Figures
Rhetoric
Graphic Design
Persuasion
Meaning
Argumentation
Connection with oral communication
Generation of concepts
?
Rhetoric
UI/UX Design
Persuasion
Meaning
Argumentation
Connection with oral communication
Generation of concepts
HCI
?
Rhetoric
Persuasion
Meaning
UI/UX Design
Design
Pedagogy
Argumentation
Connection with oral communication
Generation of concepts
beta
UI/UX version
Rhetoric
Persuasion
Meaning
HCI
UI/UX Design
Design
Pedagogy
Argumentation
Connection with oral communication
Generation of concepts
Project/Exploration
Structure
‣ “Rhetoric and Design” (Ehses, 1987)
Extracts
‣ Interview
Other references
‣ Selected Bibliography
(Online/Offline)
‣ Three modes of appeal
‣ Rhetorical operations
Illustration of
Concepts
(Desktop, Web, Mobile)
‣ Rhetorical figures
‣ More student work
beta
version
uxrhetoric.com
“Rhetoric and Design” - takeaways
1.Rhetoric is not about trickery of flattering
2.Rhetoric is about effective communication
and meaning generated in context
3.Rhetoric is infiltrated in all the forms of
human communication
“Rhetoric and Design” - takeaways
4.Applying rhetoric as design methodology
requires the comprehension of the use of
symbols and patterns that could be familiar to
a user
5.Both the design of interface and experience
have social, moral and political implications.
Rhetoric would help to become aware of those
implications
Observations
paper's
takeaways
1.The three modes of appeal (logos, ethos and
pathos) fluctuate throughout the user experience
paper's
takeaways
1.The three modes of appeal (logos, ethos and
pathos) fluctuate throughout the user experience
2.Rhetorical operations describe modifications
made on an interface for working on different
platforms
paper's
takeaways
1.The three modes of appeal (logos, ethos and
pathos) fluctuate throughout the user experience
2.Rhetorical operations describe modifications
made on an interface for working on different
platforms
3.Rhetorical figures (tropes and schemes) help to
describe conceptually the interface's composition
and interactions
Ethos, logos and pathos fluctuate
Ethos, logos and pathos fluctuate
Yahoo Weather App for iOS
(initial screen)
Yahoo Weather App for iOS
Rhetorical operations, interface modifications
and different platforms
Bloomberg Billionaires – The web version is the standard composition
Rhetorical operations, interface modifications
and different platforms
Bloomberg Billionaires – The mobile version is the result of the application of rhetorical operations
Addition + Subtraction +
Inversion
Subtraction + Inversion
Inversion + Subtraction
Tropes and figures, software as
composition, description of interactions
Alliteration repeats the
initial parts of elements in
a sequence.
(Ehses & Lupton, 1988)
Clear for iOS
Tropes and figures, software as
composition, description of interactions
Ellipses
deliberately omits
elements from a
statement.
(Ehses & Lupton, 1988)
Vine web interface
Discussion
1.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook would be used as
a framework to engage designers in discussion
and reflection upon possible meanings conveyed
by the interface composition as the user interacts
with the software
‣ Denotation
‣ Connotation
2.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook offers a vocabulary
for UI/UX designers to analyze, conceptualize, and
critique interfaces
‣ To go “beyond” the figures of metaphor and metonymy
‣ To move away from the skeuomorphic “origin” of interfaces
‣ To consider interfaces as a kind of visual artifacts with its
particular materials and ways to be shaped
‣ To consider interfaces as visual artifacts that affect
people's lives, beliefs, and attitudes
3.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook would
function to introduce UI/UX designers to
rhetoric (classic and contemporary)
‣ To consider software as a form of argument
‣ To have a better comprehension of persuasion and
persuasive technology
‣
To create a link with other contemporary approaches in
HCI, including interaction criticism, sustainability and
feminism
Conclusion
‣ Interfaces are quite different from the examples
analyzed and presented in the original handbook
‣ Interfaces are quite different from the examples
analyzed and presented in the original handbook
‣ There is a fluctuation in the weights of each of the
modes of appeal
‣ Interfaces are quite different from the examples
analyzed and presented in the original handbook
‣ There is a fluctuation in the weights of each of the
modes of appeal
‣ Tropes and schemes support such a fluctuation
‣ Interfaces are quite different from the examples
analyzed and presented in the original handbook
‣ There is a fluctuation in the weights of each of the
modes of appeal
‣ Tropes and schemes support such a fluctuation
‣ Tropes and schemes help to describe conceptually,
not only the composition, but also interactions
Limitations and future work
‣ More examples are needed; simplification of
language
‣ We found difficulties to interpret chiasmus* and
anastrophe**
‣ We expect to create a repository of cases
‣We aim at motivating other design scholars to
join this project and make it grow
* Chiasmus symmetrically arranges elements so that one side reverses the order of the other
** Anastrophe inverts normal grammatical order
uxrhetoric.com
@omitzec -tzec.com
Thanks!
profmartysiegel.com
ptbrown@indiana.edu
This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant Award
no. 1115532. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
the views of the entire research team or the NSF. Thanks to Ian B. Wood for the
discussion about ideas and examples presented in the UI/UX rhetorical handbook.