Structuralized: Rhetorical images

Rhetoric is the art of using language for the purpose of persuasion – to effectively convey the ideas of the speaker to their audience.

But how can you structure an image communicate a message?

As a communicator, you can still apply the four classical rhetorical methods (known as tropes) to the way you design with images;

The presentative image shows
Metonymy illuminates
Synecdoche indicates
Metaphors and similes compare

Presentative images

iPad 2 ad - presentative image

Presentative images are used when you want to show what something looks like, or to highlight certain features. The image is a literal representation of the subject matter.

Raising a presentative image to the rhetorical level requires some imagination. Vehicle images or packshots of computers are a classic example. The skill lies in the arrangement of the various components, choice of the right background, dramatic lighting or coloured gels, use of a wide-angle lens or a low camera angle. A hand holding the object gives an idea of scale. All these methods are ways of bringing the object to life.

Metonomy

Whitehall sign - metonomy image

You can make abstract concepts comprehensible to your audience by using the principle of metonomy. By creating a closeness between an abstract concept and a concrete idea, the latter is made to stand for the former. Examples in rhetorical terms might be the UK government represented by the street sign for Whitehall, or the idea of freedom being represented by an image of the Statue of Liberty.

Synecdoche

Stethoscope - synecdoche image

Rhetorical substitution, synecdoche, indicates something by having the part standing for the whole. For example, a stethoscope image can be used to represent a doctor (or a hospital). As the viewer engages with the image, they create the entire medical profession in their imagination.

Synecdoche is also used to prove that a visual message is relevant to its subject. By placing an object in its natural context, the viewer sees both the part and the whole together, and the message carried by the object is reinforced. For example a stethoscope around the neck of a figure in scrubs suggests a doctor. Because the two parts of the image support each other, the viewer is reassured that the entire message is believable.

Metaphors and similes

Guinnness 'Surfer' ad - similie

To help others to understand your message, you can use comparative language to illustrate, reinforce or clarify your point. Metaphors suggest similarities between things by substitution, for example, stating that something is something, whilst similes suggest something is like something.

For example, advertisers tend to use metaphor or similie in promoting alcoholic drink brands, because the rules on what you can claim for your product are very strict. Using visual metaphor or similie allows sophisticated brand characteristics to be quickly established in the mind of the audience.

In practice
It is possible to use all four tropes for the same topic, depending on your intended message.

For instance Land Rover (for no other reason than I like Land Rovers);