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Introduction The primary purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the application and synthesis of visual rhetoric methodologies encountered over the course of a semester’s reading. To accomplish this assignment I will describe a variety of definitions used to describe visual rhetoric and apply three of the methodologies encountered to the November 2011 cover of Popular Mechanics magazine. The Popular Mechanics magazine was established during a golden age of mechanical engineering and has always served to boost technology since its emergence in 1902. The publication’s emphasis on explaining technology through illustrations and plain text has remained consistent to the founding editor Henry Windsor’s motto, “Written so you can understand it” (Seelhorst, 1992, pg. 83). I find this value proposition attractive because it exemplifies my notion of effective and unvarnished technical communication. To examine the promotion of technical communication, I’m interested in analyzing how the designers of this magazine combine images to make meaning, how these combinations are assembled into a unified composition, and how this composition serves an ideological stance. To accomplish this analysis, I’m guided by the visual grammar of Kress and van Leeuwen, and the discourse analysis method described by Kenney. I’m also guided by a blend of Barton and Barton’s work and the mixed methods described by Rose.

Definition of visual rhetoric Before proceeding I first want to define the terminology used in this document. Visual rhetoric is a relatively new field, and my use of the term may be subject to misinterpretation. My reading for this project covered a wide variety of visual expression from the mundane and utilitarian to the formal and theoretical, all laying claim to expressing some level of credible meaning. These authors use an assortment of euphemisms to describe this visual expression including visual literacy, visual culture, visual thinking, visual grammar, visual argument, visual discourse, and visual communication, and each has a slightly different perspective on the subject. Kenney (2004) explains his sense of the field by using the terminology of classical rhetoric and its canons to analyze visual rhetoric (pg. 323). It is plain that visuals are often used to make a logical appeal, maintain credibility, or generate an emotional response. Visual rhetoric is used by governments to legislate, by advertisers to promote and celebrate, and by lawyers to argue cases. Blair (2004) gives careful consideration to the very existence of visual argument. There is also variety in how scholars view the relationship images have developed with other forms of expression, Hill and Helmers tie visual rhetoric to verbal rhetoric as part of the “Sister Arts Tradition” (2004, pg. 2) and Helmers specifically calls visual rhetoric “a frame of analysis for looking and interpreting”(65). For some, the range of visual rhetoric stretches beyond imagery. For example Goggins in her description of a needlepoint sampler notes, “[w]hen images and words appear

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together in one discursive space, they operate synergistically. In this sense, written and verbal rhetoric is visual rhetoric” (88). Goggins’s observation is echoed by Sturken’s analysis of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial where the names of fallen soldiers are listed as a continuum bound by the years 1959-1975. I’m reminded of a past visit to the site to locate my cousin’s name. These names did not function in the normal of fashion of text. To find an individual soldier a printed guide or index of the name’s position on the monument must be consulted. Once the name is located, text and monument combine to form a unique experience. In my experience, the letters on the monument face did not convey a verbal meaning. Instead they acted to trigger the full visual and cultural impact of the monument, and the memorial became an interface to personal memory evoking a sense of the collective experience and history of that era. For Finnegan, engaging in visual rhetoric is defined “as a category of rhetorical discourse that relies on something other than words or text for the construction of its meaning” (198). As a mode of inquiry, visual rhetoric is “defined as a critical and theoretical orientation that makes issues of visuality relevant to rhetorical theory” (198). Finnigan uses visual rhetoric to analyze a story in LOOK magazine and her framework for this analysis is an examination of the “production, reproduction, and circulation” methods used in this type of expression. (pg. 200). This examination of magazines resonates with my analysis, which follows. As cultural artifacts, magazines combined with text and imagery are particularly effective and compelling artifacts worthy of further study. Visual rhetoric has a compelling nature, and Hobbs is interested in applying this characteristic to teaching (pg. 55). She provides examples from ancient rhetoric where visual experiences were described using the rhetorical techniques of enargia or ekphrasis. She notes, “[v]isualization is the key to the most powerful means of arousing emotion” (pg. 57), and “the visual world is holistic and is seen instantaneously as a picture. Verbal language is linear, occurring sequentially in units over time” (pg. 65). This process of immediate comprehensive is further explored by Kenney, who writes “[v]isual communication follows a ‘mosaic model’ with massive parallel processing that creates chains of reaction with other stored memories” (Kenney, 2004, pg. 333). Continuing on this theme of parallel processing, Barton and Barton (2004), who incidentally subscribe to Barthe’s notion of visual discourse (242), explore the palimpsest (247) and collage (245). Because of its inter-textual nature, the palimpsest serves as an interface to underlying text. The visual dimension adds an interface to text that operates in a manner not unlike the modern magazine cover. How does this hybrid interface function? Bernhardt (2004) studies the “total visual impact of the text” (pg. 99) and uses the term “visual syntax” (pg. 100) in a description of its creation. Leborg (2004), on the other hand, writes in his Visual Grammar, “[v]isual language has no formal syntax or semantics, but the visual objects themselves can be classified” (5). Shauf counters with her two-fold definition, “the most robust tools of composition: metaphor and metonymy, analogy and description. This is the first visual grammar of electronic rhetoric. The second visual grammar is the logic is space” (2004, pg. 365). Kress and van Leeuwen, in their Grammar of Visual Design, analyze the process of how images express and communicate a variety of information when they are

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presented in combination. They forego the “denotative and connotative” (1999, p. 1) significance of imagery and instead focus on the grammatical arrangement of images and how their combination can create meaning. Accepting the premise of a visual grammar suggests the potential for expansion of the concept into a language with great potential. Jessica Helfand writes, “multimedia has introduced a new visual language, one which is not longer bound to traditional definitions of work and image and form and place (2004, pg. 278). Strope (2004) examines the theme of visual language as “ ‘media literacy’ [and] ‘visual rhetoric’ [as] … metaphors or tropes that attempt synthetically to describe one mode of communication in terms of another” (243). He argues that visual rhetoric is made up of “instrumental, bread-and-butter” skills that are coupled with an understanding of the “constitutive process” that visual language uses to create meaning. To communicate in a visual language, one must be skilled in its applications, aware of its potential, and thus visually literate. Henderson examines this literacy in terms of engineering culture, a community dependant on visual expression for its methods of invention and expression. According to Henderson, a visual literacy may be developed by “constant exposure to and interaction with a way of seeing” (44). In their practice, engineers have a wide range of visual expression. They provide logical direction and extremely precise instructions through diagrams, but they may also use visual artifacts to dazzle a banker during a pitch for financing or to persuade stakeholders in other ways. Henderson surmises visual literacy is “interactively learned knowledge that is situated in practice” (201), and this literacy is used to build and enhance the “visual culture” (pg. 44) of design engineering. Culture is a powerful social driver and Kostelnick defines visual rhetoric as “an intensely social process that entails convention building within discourse communities and a process of acculturation that fosters visual literacy among group members” (239). The conventions developed in discourse communities rely on the context of experience. Visual expression saturates our everyday experience, and rhetorical strategies, whether verbal or visual, are vehicles for communicating ideas about our culture. Birdsell and Groake note that visual culture is the overarching social convention that includes “what it means to see.” (p. 316). Rose defines visual culture “as those material artifacts, buildings and images, plus time-based media and performances, produced by human labor and imagination, which serve as static, symbolic, ritualistic or ideological-political ends, and-or practical functions, and which addressed the sense of sight to a significant extent” (p. 14). This visual culture that surrounds us all is engaged and expressed through visual thinking (Lanham, 2004, pg. 460, Helfand, 2004, pg. 281, Brumberger, 2007, pg 378), and my analysis of the Popular Mechanics magazine cover that follows will work to apply a synthesis of the visual thinking I’ve developed through my semester’s reading. For the purpose of this research project, I have settled on the meaning of visual rhetoric defined by Foss. She defines the term in two ways. First, visual rhetoric is the creation of artifacts that are “symbolic, involve human intervention, and [will] be presented to an audience for the purpose of communicating” (304). Second, visual rhetoric is a

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perspective or viewpoint that “constitutes a theoretical perspective that involves the analysis of the symbolic or communicative aspects of visual artifacts” (306). With Foss’s definition in mind, I’ve realized that, whether through interpretation or expression, all visual rhetoric involves some form of methodology, a term that also requires some clarification. Harding identifies methodology as “a theory and analysis of how research does or should proceed” (pg 3), and she defines a research method as “a technique for (or way or proceeding) gathering evidence” (pg. 2).

Reflexive Statement This paper will analyze how researchers may examine, conceptualize and relate the rhetorical strategies used in the deployment of the Popular Mechanics article. As I pursue this analysis, I also realize that I’m a part of the visual culture I’m describing, and I rely on my sense of the social conventions used in its description. I have a variety of biases and limitations that my color my observations of this particular artifact. For example, I grew up reading Popular Mechanics, I’m color blind, and I have corrected vision. Additionally, I’m male, and I work in the engineering field as a technical communicator and industrial illustrator and bringing my own pre-conceived notions about the craft. Finally, I am predisposed to the use of 3D software for technical communication and illustration.

Methodology #1 – Fragmentation Technique The Popular Mechanics magazine cover is a multi-modal document that also serves as an index to the store of information contained within the publication. The cover also presents a very complicated image. To reduce the complexity, Kenney advises that “fragmenting the content effectively de-contextualizes messages” (2004, pg. 241). To prepare an image for analysis Kress & van Leeuwen (1996, pg. 47) and Rose (2001, pg. 42) use a schematic technique that is generated through tracing or redrawing to isolate and identify the rhetorical strategies. Instead of their tracing technique, I’ve adapted the filtering techniques used by O’Halloran to decontextualize the cover, reveal details of the rhetorical decisions, and perform the compositional analysis of this magazine cover. In describing her technique she writes, “the ‘magic wand’ in Adobe Photoshop creates an outline of shapes based on colour matching. Shapes and objects can be captured and traced using digital technology. Digital technology offers means for capturing, changing and ultimately analysing colour, spatial position, shape and lighting in images and film texts” (O’Halloran, 2008, pg. 461). The method I’ve developed recognizes most magazine covers contain solid fields of color making up objects such as callouts and text boxes, which are used to convey important information about the magazine. To deconstruct the text/image objects, I use Adobe Illustrator software to fragment the high-contrast elements in the composition and isolate them into units that may be analyzed out of the context of the entire cover in order to discern the rhetorical strategies from the obscured patterns employed during the creation of the assemblage. Tracing the solid colors, changing them into vector objects, and placing them on layers converts the composite image into a visual database of discrete elements that may be rearranged for further study and combination. Additionally, these

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elements can be refined through the use of the vector selection and editing tools to isolate elements from the assortment of compositional elements and effects. Procedure for objectifying magazine cover Software required: Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. Time required: 10 to 15 minutes (depending on the complexity of the image)

1. Scan cover and save as Base image. 2. Use Photoshop to (A) select the continuous tone Rocket image. (B) Remove the

selected rocket from the Base image using the cut command and (C) paste into a new file. Preserve both images as separate files. See table below.

(A) Scan Artwork (B) Select and Cut contone Image to clipboard. Save remaining image as “Base”

(C) Paste contone image into new Photoshop document and save as “Rocket.”

3. Use “Place” command in Adobe Illustrator to insert Base image into a new

document.

4. The “Live Trace” command appears at top of window. Choosing “6 colors” preset produces the best results for this particular magazine cover.

5. When finished tracing colors, choose the “Expand” command and convert the

bitmap into vector objects.

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6. After image is expanded to vector paths, pick an individual color field and choose

Select/Same/Fill Color to select all of that particular color in the document matching the field chosen.

7. With these vector

objects selected, create a layer and name it for the color selected. Select the small blue square on the layers panel and move the elements chosen by automatic selection to that layer.

The layer then may be turned on or off by clicking the “Eyeball” icon to isolate various colors. Each layer may be saved to create q unique image.

Black

Orange PMS 021 Process Yellow

Dark Gray Light Gray Continuous Tone Image

From Photoshop

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When exploring the layers isolated by the fragmentation process, previously unnoticed details appear, for example…

• There is a barely noticeable gradient at the top of the page that fades out into the masthead. This detail reveal a subtle design strategy to make the document appear to be encased under glass, and the fragmentation method also provides objects, which may be preserved and further explored using other methodologies.

Note: One might be tempted to use the histogram or densitometer feature in Photoshop to measure the gray tones. Because the gradient, when scanned, is converted into a composite RGB image, these tools will not provide accurate measurements. To determine these values, I used a magnifying loupe to examine the tones on the printed magazine cover and estimate their values.

• Two letters are completely missing from the Popular Mechanics masthead, and the “i” is missing its tittle. Although overlapping artwork over the masthead is a common technique in magazine publishing, I’m fascinated by the amount of masthead that may be covered before a recognition problem occurs.

Obviously the designers are confident in their deployment of the Gestalt principle of continuation. Most corporations would never allow the occlusion of any portion of their corporate identity, and this prominent (mis-) usage indicates the designers have confidence in the brand recognition of this logotype, and that it has reached the level of icon in the general culture. Obscuring the corporate identity is often seen as dilution of the brand value and is discouraged stylistically and legally. For example, the Texas Tech Official style guide advises that “[m]aintaining a 'clear space' around the Double T signature and Signature will help to avoid any confusion that may result when competitive logos, marks or organization names are included in marketing and communication materials…No graphic items or text of any kind should intrude into this clear space” (DoubleT).

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Conclusive Thoughts on Fragmentation Method This method uses tools that are readily available to technical communication researchers. The procedure described above provides an effective path for filtering the composite elements contained in magazine covers and removing them to layers that may be viewed in isolation. The objects may be recombined with other objects for additional comparisons. Viewing these fragmented and isolated elements provides the opportunity to analyze previously obscured details and reveal any design strategies that are hidden.

Method#2 – Mixed Methods

Introduction In her book, Visual methodologies, Rose reviews several methodologies that may be used in the evaluation visual artifacts. I’m using her advice on the use of mixed methods to develop a methodology for this magazine cover analysis. To complete my analysis, I’ll combine pieces of her methodologies from Compositional Analysis, Discourse Analysis I, Discourse Analysis II, a touch of Psychological Analysis, and some ideas form Barton and Barton’s Critical Analysis of visually expressed ideology. My research will be grounded in what Rose calls “visual culture” (p. 10) and the function of the Popular Mechanics magazine cover in this culture as it is expressed through the conventions of the Technology/Do-It-Yourself publishing genre to a general audience. According to Rose, “there are three site(s) at which the meanings of an image are made: the sites of the production of an image, the site of the image itself, and the site(s) where it is seen by various audiences” (p.16). These 3 sites have aspects that Rose calls “modalities” (16).

1. Technological modality 2. Compositional modality 3. Social modality

To analyze the Popular Mechanics magazine cover, I’ll use Rose’s framework as a guide, and to avoid confusion, I’ll identify each section of analysis in accordance with her terminology.

Description of the method Production Site

Technological Modality The artist used 3D software called Maya and Octane Render, which allows the geometry of the rocket ship to be easily posed and styled with materials in a compelling manner to be rendered and expressed in a variety of genre. The utility of the 3D software allowed the artist to generate multiple viewpoints for submission to the Popular Mechanics Editors.

Compositional Modality

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It is apparent from this composition that the layout artist used Photoshop or some other image editor to assemble the illustration and background image and to create the transitional drop shadow effect between background and foreground. The layout artist also introduced a light gradient at the top and bottom to simulate an illusion of the content being under a transparent screen as it might appear on an iPad or other computer screen. The overall composition suggests the collage effect explored by Barton and Barton (2004), who advocate the juxtapositioning of layered information as a collage. The Popular Mechanics magazine cover maps the content within the publication, and I would characterize the design strategy employed in the current issue as one using the "collage effect" (pg. 246) described by Barton and Barton. The authors also advocate for the “palimpest” (pg. 247) or media that is re-inscribed with additional information.

Social Modality To ascertain the social interaction involved in the negotiation to integrate the artwork inot the cover layout, I interviewed the illustrator. This interview confirmed his interaction with the staff at Popular Mechanics and shed some light on the instructions he received for styling the illustration (See Appendix A). In response to their recommendations, he provided a selection of multiple poses to the magazine editors. Typically, at this point, the layout artist and photo editors make the final composition of the cover.

Image Site Technological Modality

Following Rose’s advice, I next examined the image from a technological perspective. The illustrator used the features of the 3D software to provide

a cross-sectional or cut-away view inside the capsure to generate a compelling presentation that empowers the viewer with insider knowledge. In contrast to the blurred shadowing of the background, the bright light used by the artist to illuminate the inside of the capsule produced sharply defined shadows. The harsh lighting further supports the interrogative mood of the cut-away view. Compositional Modality The image is assembled on a background and foreground aligned with a vector establishing the apparent viewing angle. This composition follows a tradition of

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content, style, and exaggerated perspective that may be seen repeated over and over in the 110 years of Popular Mechanics publications. A feature unique to this issue is the isometric perspective displayed by the 3D text boxes. This feature creates an inconsistency across the composition as one box shows a vanishing point while another doesn’t. The additional vanishing point lies on a horizon line separate from the rocket vanishing point and this additional inconsistency tends to confuse the compositional integrity although it does reinforce the informal collage effect.

Social Modality The composition as a singular image is designed to interact and provide an interface to the entire magazine. The composition also serves as a hook to draw the reader. The content reflects both the back-looking tradition of the publication and the forward-looking aspirations of the targeted culture.

Audience Site Technological Modality

The image is printed on glossy stock using a state-of-the-art four-color process with a fifth spot-color web press to create an attractive document that will appeal to the targeted audience. It is delivered to its audience via US Mail, or it may be viewed on a magazine rack or newsstand. The initial impression made by the magazine is the cover, which is first viewed while displayed for purchase or sitting inside a mailbox. In both cases, it serves as an overview of the magazine contents.

Compositional Modality When viewed from a magazine rack, in addition to providing an interface and overview, the cover art serves a marketing function to entice a purchase from the viewer. This requires an exciting and compelling arrangement. The exaggerated perspective is contrived to be eye-catching and attractive to the viewer, and this is facilitated by allowing the viewer to be dominant over this particular image and made to feel comfortable with unfamiliar technology. The collage effect displayed by the cover introduces an abundance of imagery to the composition. To support this design, the designers deployed a strategy of mixing a great variety of typographical styles (See Appendix B). From a usability standpoint, this collage strategy may be detrimental to an unfettered comprehension and navigation of the information model provided by the image.

Social Modality In normal use, one person views the magazine, but it might also be shared with another person to draw attention to a particular image or demonstrate a procedure. From a psychological perspective, the cover image appears to be primarily targeting a culture of men, and there is evidence this is a historical and purposeful institutional bias. Magazine covers reflect

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preferred expression of the dominant culture, and in this magazine the expression is consistent in its vision of technological triumph. Barton & Barton and others have described the power implications of institutionally biased expression, and as a map to magazine content, it is apparent this cover image serves to advance technological power. On the other hand, the magazine empowers individuals. In addition to its marketing and interface purpose, the image serves as technical communication to a general audience. It uses the cover illustration to make claims of truthfulness and credibility, and some readers of past issues have confirmed and demonstrated the usefulness of these claims to truth.

Findings from Analyzing Sites of Meaning using Mixed Methods In her explanation of mixed methods, Rose provides a series of questions to ask while examining each site where meaning is made. Her questions gave me the idea to contact the illustrator, and I based my questions, which may be seen in Appendix C, on some examples she provides in her chapter. Directly contacting the illustrator was a valuable experience, and if I had more time, I would also contact the production staff at Popular Mechanics and verify my speculations regarding the layout of this magazine cover. Rose comments on the paucity of research examining the impact of visual rhetoric on the audience, and she reviews some of the difficulty associated with this site of meaning. While examining this magazine cover, I discovered the Google Archives and the rich collection of Popular Mechanics magazines going all the way back to the initial publications. I had known my uncle built the 1951 “House of the Year” using the magazine plans, and I was able to locate this issue he used in the Google Archive (House). In this way, I have experienced first-hand the materialization of the illustrations and diagrams published by the magazine and their remediation into the “dream house” of my uncle. I am able to directly reflect on this aspect of “audiencing” (25). Additionally, the magazine encourages letters to the editor and the Google archives might be a rich resource for evaluating the material effect on the Popular Mechanics audience. Finally, Rose’s methodology allowed me to both recognize and evaluate some of the strategies deployed by the magazine production artists. The analysis of the compositional modality at the image site revealed a confusion of the horizon lines impaired by the perspective displayed by the images. Upon reflection, I’ve decided the collage effect advocated by Barton and Barton and employed by the designers may not be the most effective strategy for attracting and holding viewers, and if it is deployed, careful attention must be paid to usability problems generated by the informal aspect of this form of design.

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Method #3 – Visual Grammar

Introduction Kress and van Leeuwen provide a comprehensive analysis of visual grammar, but my application of their methodology will focus on their technique for Composition Analysis. This method analyzes the relationship formed by the arrangement of images. They deconstruct a compositional expression to reveal underlying strategies of visual rhetoric. These strategies, which may be of a singular or multimodal nature, combine multiple forms of code into meaningful compositions (pg. 183). According to the authors, the three following principles of composition interact to create meaning. Information value – The arrangement of the information being conveyed as it relates to other informational values. Salience – The relative size of the picture elements and their arrangement develops the compositional hierarchy. Framing – How elements are formed into the picture frame (pg. 183). The Narrative Representation The Popular Mechanics cover is made up of both verbal and visual components, and these heterogeneous participants combine in a page layout to form what Kress and van Leeuwen call “essential interchangeability” (pg. 55). They indicate this type of structure always creates meaning through visual means, and my analysis seeks to discern the rhetorical decisions that build this meaning by deconstructing the structure and analyzing the components. Kress and van Leeuwen also note that visual structures are constructed to either represent a narration of action or convey a representation of class, structure, or meaning (pg. 56). The image shown on this cover may be immediately recognized as an expression of technology. The rocket structure is offered for analysis and the meaning is one of information about great technological power made available to the magazine reader. The magazine cover forms a classification pattern that is composed of individual elements, which Kress and van Leeuwen call “participants” (pg. 46). The overall magazine cover page is called the carrier, and it carries the participants in a structure of meaningful information. The pose of the rocket creates a “vertical elongation” (pg. 55) that establishes a vertical hierarchy of the elements represented by the carrier. This verticality of the rocket is tilted 20° to create a vector suggesting movement and transformation. The cover is stratified into at least three levels and the rocket appears to

Locative Clues

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travel across all three. These three levels are represented by locative clues such blurred drop shadows implying a transitional space, darker colors to suggest an aerial perspective, and gradients suggest a background and foreground. (pg. 44). James Cameron is posed as a reactor to the rockets transformational process. There is a transactional relationship suggested by the pointing finger of James Cameron towards the rocket, which forms an explicit vector between the two. This also implies an instrumental relationship in which James Cameron is reacting to the rocket through his pointing

gesture toward the mechanism. This minor action is in support of the major action, which is the display of the rocket in its transit across the backgrounds. Additionally, James Cameron appears as a spectator acknowledging the validity of the rocket and supporting the credibility of its display. The editors have contrived this transaction by supplanting the original context of Cameron’s photo and replacing it with the their invented background. In effect, they have co-opted his credibility and ethos accumulated by his motion picture career and adapted it to their promotion of the Dragon X rocket. Offer image The space capsule and rocket is presented as an analytic structure. It “displays the ways participants fit together to make a larger whole”

(Kress and van Leeuwen, 1996, pg. 49). Although posed as if in flight, the rocket is separated into stages, providing further analytic information.

Background Layer Middle Layer Top Layer

Although the rocket has a transaction relationship with the carrier images of the magazine cover, the rocket is the actor in this scene and departing the background is its goal. The

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Cameron image is the minor process and the rocket with background is the major transaction. Vectors and Participants The figure to the left shows three participants, the rocket, the figure of James Cameron, and an implied background. In this case, James Cameron is an embedded participant who is reacting to the process of the rocket transiting the background. The vectors are seen to depart from one participant and help to imply some action on another participant to form the narrative implied by the composition. Kress and van Leeuwen (1996) have shown that the top of the frame represents the ideal while the bottom represents the real (pg. 193). As the rocket moves from the real to the ideal, the image of James Cameron is posed to supply a reaction to this movement.

Compositional Flow of Superordinate or Subordinate Image structure may be analyzed as either “subordinate” or “superordinate.” Subordinate objects without a superordinate may be arranged in a “covert taxonomy” (pg. 81), but when the superordinate is present, a flow to the subordinate is suggested by the visual composition. When this arrangement is implicit, the relationship is called “inter-ordinate” (83). The “20 BOLD IDEAS” in the Popular Mechanics magazine cover are related by text and image to create a weak inter-ordinate relationship. In this diagram, the artwork is organized into an illustration that maps the structure and compositional flow. The rocket artwork is a carrier of the component elements, and the overlaps and drop shadows provide the “possessive attributes” that solidifies the compositional structure.

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Transport or Transformation of Superordinate and Subordinate Artwork An image with multiple participants represents either some form of "transport" (movement) or "transformation" (change) (pg. 61). The rocket image viewed in isolation

implies movement by its pose and the viewpoint offered to the reader. It is connected with a reactor in the form of James Cameron, and it is also surrounded by a variety of line artwork coupled through composition and association with the content contained within the magazine. An image that consists of one participant is considered to be “non-transactional,” a state considered to be “analogous to the intransitive verb” (61). In a narrative process the source of the vector is the action and the recipient is the goal (62). Most of the subordinate artwork contained in this image is posed with implied actions that amplify the salience of the superordinate rocket artwork. A portrayal of the goal may

confirm the receipt of an action back to the actor through a reaction to a process further defining the nature of the transaction or visual proposition.

Analysis of findings from using the method Kress and van Leeuwen’s compositional analysis provides an effective method to deconstruct the strategies employed the the artwork designers. A view of the compositional vectors and transactional relationships indicates the designers purposely arranged the image elements to amplify and support the dominant image of the Space X Reusable space Vehicle and Falcon 9 rocket.

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Method #4 – Discourse Analysis

Introduction Kenney wrote most of his compendium of methodologies for the evaluation of visual communication, but David Weintraub wrote the chapter examining the methodology of discourse analysis. Weintraub describes this flavor of visual discourse as “a combination of photographs and written texts that convey information-knowledge and create a particular version of reality” (pg. 198). His method of discourse analysis was not developed from a single scholar, but instead depended on a number of sources including “Marxism, psychoanalysis, anthropology, linguistics, literary criticism, and film theory” (pg. 199). Influenced by this wide variety of human interaction through communication, discourse analysis is especially concerned with the relationship between knowledge and power and the context that supports this relationship. Weintraub’s methodology for discourse analysis is facilitated by a process he calls “memoing, which is a systematic and organized form of note-taking” (214). He emphasizes the need for a “rich description” while memoing “the photographs and their accompanying texts; setting them in their appropriate historical, social, and cultural contexts; and explaining what social reality is being constructed for the audience” (215). I’m reminded of Stafford’s chapter in Handa’s “Sourcebook” where she comments on Geertz's "Thick Description" (211) and implies that text itself is not sufficient to provide a valid description.

Description of the method According to Weintraub, this memo-making or note-taking should account for three things:

• The content of an image • The context of use • The construction of a social reality

His chapter provides a list of elements to consider when analyzing an image, and I’ve adapted this list with a set of questions to ask while analyzing the Popular Mechanics magazine cover. Weintraub’s example is predicated on photography. Because I’m analyzing a magazine cover, I’m treating the graphical elements of the magazine cover in the same manner he recommends for the photographic subjects. He offers the following collection of characteristics that may be interrogated to inform his method of discourse analysis.

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Content

Subjects Composition Camera Position and Camera Angle Tonality and Color

Look and Gesture Size Relationships

Headline, Caption, and Article Caption Details

Context

Production Context Distribution Context

Reception Context

Construction (of a social reality) Image Myth Ideas and Concepts

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Using the method CONTENT ANALYSIS The typical content analysis examines and compares a body of work, but for the purose of this demonstration, the scope of this analysis is limited to a complete and comprehensive analysis of one document, the November 2011 Popular Mechanics cover. This magazine cover is comprised of two types of graphic subjects, text elements and image elements. Subjects Text Elements: The masthead or logotype, which contains the words “POPULAR MECHANICS,” is set in a massive typeface that implies utility and power. This publication identity device is partially occluded by the rocket illustration and the top portion of the headline. This occlusion suggests the designers are confident the consumer will recognize the corporate identity. This overlapping of masthead and rocket illustration associates the massiveness of the masthead with the masculine nature of the rocket illustration. Image Elements: There are three 1-color line illustrations and two 2-color line illustrations. In the bottom right quadrant there is one small continuous-tone photo of James Cameron pointing to the left quadrant. A clipping mask that reveals only the top half his body. The cover is dominated by a continuous-tone image of the Falcon 9 rocket and Space X Dragon reusable space vehicle. There are three text boxes projected in an isometric fashion painted with gradients to suggest dimension and mimic 3D space. There are also three color fields with pennant shapes, and three drop shadows generated by Gaussian blurring. On the subscription version, there is a white box with dashed border that provides an addressing space, and on the retail version there is a white box enclosing a barcode. The illustration of the Space X Dragon capsule with rocket and its accompanying subhead is the most salient image. The seven other “Bold Ideas” fill the surrounding layout area. Each bold idea is also represented by an illustration and a subhead. Composition All available space of the Popular Mechanics cover is filled with text or some form of imagery. The top of the page is crowded with the phrase, “USED-CAR BUYING SECRETS: OWN A FERRARI...FOR LESS THAN A CAMRY!” Situated at the top, this large blurb about purchasing used cars occupies a privileged position, but it is also between the page edge and the masthead, which flows off each side of the page. This composition effectively marginalizes the subhead and subjects it to the less powerful outlier status. The headline “20 BOLD IDEAS” is positioned to the left of the rocket and is sheared to match its angle. The explicit verbal characterization of boldness is amplified by the use of a bold typeface, and the individual letters echo the shape of the rocket.

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There appears to be 3 layers or strata of imagery, a background with the majority of text elements, a mid level, which is implied by 3D isometric shapes, and the top layer. The rocket transcends all three layers. Additionally, There is a device on the binding edge magazine that suggests a fourth invisible layer below the background. Finally, the 3D-like text boxes, although part of a print composition, are reminiscent of a “clickable” webpage buttons. Camera Position and Camera Angle Camera Viewpoint – The viewer is on a parallel plane facing the background while viewing the rocket as it passes directly overhead at an oblique angle perpendicular to the viewing plane. The rocket is positioned to provide the illusion it is emerging from the page and the surrounding collection of graphical devices and text. Because the rocket background has been completely clipped away, it appears as a singular object. This is a collage form of composition, and each individual line illustration is posed on separate planes. All of the subordinate illustrations are posed in an oblique angle as offer images inviting interaction. Tonality and Color The cover is spotted with 4 tints of 25%, 50%, 65%, and 80% black. The 100% black used for the text and line drawings is enhanced with an overprinted process screen. In additional to process color halftone builds, the cover also includes 100% yellow and PMS 021C Orange. A casual examination indicated the presence of this spot color, but it was accurately measured with a Pantone Capsure color measuring instrument. There are also several white fields. According to Weintraub, white signifies “purity” (2009, pg. 210), and I think in this case, it also evokes a sense of scientific content and credibility. There is a barely perceivable gradient ranging from 20% to 0% black that extends approximately 1.5 inches from the top margin and approximately .75 inches from the left margin. The overall impression of the cover is one of brightness and lightness imparting a sense of utility empowering to the user. Some elements cast shadows implied by Gaussian blurring to convey a sense of depth and establish a layering dimension that amplifies the dynamic nature of the image. The orange color continues a corporate tradition that it is apparent in every issue since first appearing in 1905 and this graphic tradition signals a sense of stability to the user. Look and Gesture James Cameron is gesturing with a pointed finger to direct the viewer’s attention to the emerging rocket. All of the line art except for the Flying Wind Turbine is posed to face the rocket, and the figures encircle it almost as a set of spectators. Although posed as if in flight, the rocket is displayed in separate stages and the capsule is shown with panels removed to offer the reader an interior view of the passenger compartment. Size Relationships The rocket is the largest and tallest item on the cover and is easily the most salient graphic element. Each of the secondary illustrations are approximately equal in size. The

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headline, because of its large size and occlusion of all other elements in the composition is the most salient element in the text hierarchy. Headline, Caption, and Article The headline reads “20 BOLD IDEAS” and is set in 175 and 125 point in a face similar to Swiss 911 Ultra Compressed Italicized with 100 point leading. The angle and vertical dominance of the all-cap letters echo the rocket shape and join the text to the rocket’s power statement. Surrounding this dominant headline, there are eleven subheads of varying sizes and seven blurbs. Also included in the cover page layout is one pull-quote, one pennant title, one call-to-action, one announcement, one page number, five keywords, and one price. The headline, “20 BOLD IDEAS” refers to “THE 2011 BREAKTHROUGH AWARDS.” Three of these bold ideas are displayed on the cover in boxes with 3D-like projections to generate interest and attract readers. Four others are located on the background layer, and one anchored on the bottom layer is associated the James Cameron photograph, which floats above the other text boxes. Caption Details The 3D box elements containing the line illustration, subhead, and blurbs act as previews or vignettes of the content within the magazine. The icon-like illustrations attract the readers and invite interaction. The text provides additional relevant information. These vignettes serve as an interface or index to the enclosed content. CONTEXT The Popular Mechanics magazine has been produced for over 110 years and has a historical record that demonstrates an enthusiasm for innovative technology. The long-standing life of this publication has an inter-generational influence on its readers, and its practical advice has a resilient nature that stands the test of time. Production Context An illustrator from Russia named Vladimir Shelest created the rocket illustration. Trained as an artist, he developed the rocket illustration individually as a freelance assignment. It was created exclusively for this issue of Popular Mechanics, and he has created other illustrations for the magazine in the past. The editors provided Vladimir with image references to give him a sense of what they were looking for to complete the cover layout. Vladimir provided the editors with a variety of poses and angles, and they settled on the version shown on the cover. This illustration is realistically created with Maya and Octane Render software using 3D objects (2011 Vlad). The style of rendering evokes an impression of scientific credibility supported by engineering accuracy and hints at the power associated with this technology. The 3D software provides the illustrator with the capability to generate a wide variety of images including cut-away views, and these cut-away views empower the user to analyze the image and make judgments about the viability of the technology portrayed. Distribution Context There are two versions of this magazine cover printed for circulation. One issue is for mail circulation and includes functional artwork to accommodate a mailing label. The

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version printed for retail has a slightly different layout and accommodates a price and barcode. There are also two versions expressed in digital form. A modified version of the cover may be viewed on the Dragon X website, and a version of the retail cover is also available as part of an iPad application. The several versions of the magazine cover and the digital artifice built into the print version indicates the publishers actively consider the design of multi-purpose document during their invention process. Reception Context This image is designed to explicate and promote complex technical concepts to the general public. It follows a tradition established by the founder to create a publication that explains technology with text supported by an abundance of illustrations. Because many of these technological concepts are speculative, illustrations are especially effective in the communication of these novel ideas. Each of the “20 BOLD IDEAS” is a complex technical concept, and the illustrations provided are rendered in a form that is compelling, digestible, and designed to appeal to a wide audience. The effect on the audience may be reflected in the letters to the editor where readers provide feedback reflecting their support for technology described by the magazine and relate their success or failure in following the do-it-yourself procedures. Popular Mechanics also supports a live Twitter feed that provides instant and continuous feedback to the editors from users. CONSTRUCTION The Popular Mechanics archives on Google and other Internet sites reveal a pattern of content and composition that has been consistently displayed over the life of the publication. As part of its mission, the magazine embraces a form of technical communication that works to promote general interest in a wide variety of novel technology. Some content such as automobiles, airplanes, rockets, military equipment, and ships reappear on a consistent basis and provide evidence of the magazine’s mission to construct a normalized impression of technology in the eyes of its viewers. Some aspects of technology are not expressed in this illustration. What is not shown is the potential for disaster that could happen if this technology is mishandled. Also the expenditure of resources necessary to lift the rocket into space is not portrayed. The value proposition is skewed to emphasize the rocket as a triumph of technology and ignores the wastage associated with the lifecycle of this technology. Images The rocket image constructs an image of space travel as an empowering process. The illustration arranges the spacecraft in a pose that invites analysis and comprehension, and the entire composition is presented in a way that naturalizes the process. The seven other “Bold Ideas” have casually drawn illustrations and sound-bite-like blurbs that provide an inviting face to the story featured inside. Myth The dominant image promotes the myth of safe space travel in a re-usable spacecraft, and

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the subsidiary images valorize other complex technical constructions such as robotics and miniaturized cell-phone communication. A psychological myth of male dominance over technology is also implied by the selection of content used in the magazine cover and the manner in which it is posed. Ideas and concepts The images represent technological power and convey the idea that technology will improve life and lead to a brighter future. It also conveys a sense of empowerment with phrases such as “OWN A FERRARI…FOR LESS THAN A CAMRY!” The keywords of Science, Technology, Automobiles, Home, and Adventure continue the technology connection with the magazine’s history and also construct an identity for the reader for the reader to pursue.

Analysis of findings from using the method What is my interpretation of what I have found? What did I find? While looking at my Popular Mechanics magazine cover, I’ve noted features and characteristics from each of the categories recommend by Weintraub. The close examination and rich description allowed me to notice the potential of a fourth implied layer. Additionally, the compound design formed by masthead and illustration reinforces the male-oriented worldview. Finally, this close examination also caused me notice the lack of a barcode and retail price and this omission prompted me to purchase a newsstand copy and make comparisons between the two versions.

Conclusion Conclude by giving an overall reading of this cover. What do I know about analyzing images that I did not know? What have I learned about the rhetorical effectiveness that I haven’t lerned before. What is the “So What” of the analysis? What I learned from this method. A detailed accounting of all elements in the composition reveals patterns. One rhetorical purpose of this magazine cover is to advance technology Decisions about the composition of a magazine cover are made at several levels and is at best a compromise catering to audience requirements and delivery technology. The driving philosophy behind the magazine also has an effect. My uncle built the 1949 “House of the year”. There must be may others who have used this practical form of visually dominant discourse that has materially affected the lines of their families.

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Are there strategies and motivations that are subtlety expressed but become revealed when filtered properly. What do these strategies reveal about assumptions made about the audience? The cover has design features that suggest an online or digital presence. The magazine design appears to consciously or unconsciously promote a male dominated worldview of technological culture. The editors do not hesitate co-opting a person’s image and using graphic techniques to recontextualize the image with new back and reapplication of gesture. This is made possible by the application of these methods, which refines and isolates to reveal strategies. Magazine covers that cater to a male audience all seem to feature an exaggerated perspective. This may be seen in magazines featuring weapons, vehicles, boats, and airplanes. It not a stretch to image the 3D objects drawn as simple line drawings. The composition is an interesting mix of the traditional modernist content and post-modern composition. After conducting this research project. I am unable to pass another magazine rack without accessing the visual rhetoric use by the various publishers. The publishers of Popular Mechanics are unabashedly male-centric. The name of the publishing group is. The Popular Mechanics cover has a simple function, which is pursued in a very sophisticated manner. Which is better, one concept to grab the reader or a collection of items to interest the reader? References (O’Halloran,2008, pg. 461). O’Halloran: Systemic functional-multimodal discourse analysis (SF-MDA) Use the definition from Foss “Framing the Study of Visual Rhetoric: Toward a Transformation of Rhetorical Theory

1. Barton, B., F., and Barton, M., S. (2004). Ideology and the map: Toward a postmodern visual design practice.” In Johndan Johnson-Eilola & Stuart A. Selber

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(Eds.), Central works in technical communication (pp. 232-252). New York: Oxford University Press.

Learning From The Past: Verbal and Visual Literacy in Early Modern Rhetoric and Writing Pedagogy Catherine L Hobbs House http://books.google.com/books?id=29kDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA154&as_pt=MAGAZINES&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false Foss—

Foss, S., K. (1994) A rhetorical schema for the evaluation of visual imagery. Communication Studies, 45 (Fall-Winter).

Foss, S. (2004) Framing the study of visual rhetoric: Toward a transformation of rhetorical theory. In Charles A. Hill, & Marguerite Helmers, Defining Visual Rhetorics, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Harding Double T, http://www.depts.ttu.edu/communications/identityguidelines/idguidelines/ttu/official/double-t.php Seelhorast, 1992, Popular Mechanics pg. 83 Appendix A – Interview with Illustrator Vladimir Shelest Hi, Tom. 1. Did you create this artwork in a studio? Can you describe your work environment? I create this artwork alone by myself. 2. Was it created exclusively for the Popular Mechanics cover? Yes.

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3. What type of software and hardware do you use to create this artwork, and do you import the 3D geometry from other 3D software or engineering software such as Solidworks? I used Maya and Octane Render (http://www.refractivesoftware.com/). All geometry made by myself. 4. Have you created artwork for Popular Mechanics in the past? Yes. 5. What is your background? Are you formally trained as an engineer or artist? I am artist. My personal page www.e-sh.ru 6. Did you refer to previous Popular Mechanics covers prior to executing this design? No. 7. Did Popular Mechanics provide a style guide or ask for artwork to conform to a certain look or mood? Yes. They give me image references. 8. Did you use the 3D software to generate a variety of viewing angles for this artwork in order to provide options for your client? Octane Render help me in choose the right angle. But I presented them a lot of different options before they choose one. 9. Did you modify the viewing angle to better accommodate the typography and other illustrations on the magazine cover? I am just created only 3d spaceship and renders it. 10. Does your original image include a background to provide context such as that shown in the capsule-only image with callouts accompanying the article inside the issue? I am just created only 3d spaceship and renders it.:) Thank you Mr. Shelest for your attention! I know your time is very valuable, and any help you can spare is very much appreciated. Sincerely, …Tom Burns Appendix B

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Typeface Usage

Text Element Font Type

Size/Leading Function Upper/ Lower Case

Color

Masthead and Logotype

Similar to Geometric Slabserif 703 Bold

118/87 Magazine Identity Upper and Lower

Black

Headline Similar to Swiss 911 Ultra Compressed Italicized

175/100 125/100

Major Theme of Magazine

Upper PMS 021 85% and 100% Black

Headline Blurb

Times Roman Bold Italic

15/14

Clarifies Headline Upper Black

Large Top Blurb

Times Roman Bold Italic

36 Introduction and Framing Mechanism

Upper 85% Black

Small Top Blurb

Times Roman Bold Italic

14 Expansion of Top Blurb

Upper Black

Yellow Pennant Text

Times Roman Bold Italic

18/14 Points to Magazine Content

Upper Black

Gray Pennant Text

Similar to Arial Narrow Bold Italic

13/13 Clarifies Headline Upper Black

Major Illustrated Text Element (1)

Similar to Swiss 911 Ultra Compressed Italicized and News Gothic MT Bold

60/48 9/8

Points to Article for Rocket as “Bold Idea” Article

Upper Upper and Lower

Black 60% Black

Minor Illustrated Text Elements (6)

News Gothic MT Bold

26/22.5 (subhead) 9/8 (blurbs and pull quote).

Points to 6 other “Bold Idea” Articles

Upper and Lower

Black White 60% Black

Call to Action Times Roman Bold Italic

10.75 Promotes iPad app.

Upper Black

Plus and Carat symbols

Undetermined Approximately 45 and 17 point.

Tie text elements to Rocket.

N/A Black

Appendix C – Questions Visual Grammar Vectors and Participants

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Does the image form a vector that represents an action or suggests a narrative through locative prepositions? Is this image interactive and does it have embedded components? Does this image have multiple participants? Is there a movement or change suggested by the combination of images? What is the nature of the source of action suggested by the vector and what is the goal? Are any reactions in this image portrayed by graphical devices? Does the image suggest a subordinate” or “superordinate” (81). hierarchy? Subordinate objects without a superordinate may be arranged in a “covert taxonomy” (81). When the superordinate is present, a flow to the subordinate is suggested by the visual composition. Does the image demonstrate a compositional flow? How can the relationship between participants in this image be characterized? Is this image a carrier of a subordinate image and are there identifiable possessive attributes that can be identified? Does this image display component parts that form a larger assembly? Does the image show artwork describing an abstract, logical concept? Does this image demand an interaction from the viewer or does the image offer information to the viewer? Does it suggest an objective detachment? How is the image framed? Is it available and within reach? Is it distant and out of reach? Does the image appear to be drawn in perspective? Is it objective or subjective? Is the angle perpendicular or oblique? Does it invoke a sense of engagement or detachment? Does this image confer power? Does it engage as a tutorial or formally display classifications and categories? Is there a cross-section or cut-away view visible? What level of Representation modality is shown by this image? How would you characterize the creator’s intention in developing this image, Scientific/technological, Abstract, Naturalistic, and Sensory? How is this image expressed? Has it been transcoded into other expressions? Kress and van Leeuwen What is the primary information value that may be derived from the complete composition? How does the arrangement of participants assist in communicating the primary information value contained in this image? How are the subordinate images connected or disconnected within this image?