Visual rhetoric is a theoretical framework of how images communicate, as opposed to their aural or verbal messages; what the visuals implicate rather than what the content reads. There is a very tight relationship between graphic design and visual rhetoric, being aware of this is something I always try to keep in mind.
I’m currently living in Rotterdam in The Netherlands and as you’d expect the majority of everything is in dutch. As I don’t speak any dutch I depend heavily on visual rhetoric and visual associations to understand the message. For example, I was looking for some biscuits I came across a shelf full of different varieties, I found what I wanted purely based on the colours. For some reason dark chocolate is nearly always associated with the colour red and milk chocolate with blue. I’m not sure exactly why but perhaps it’s because red is usually associated with being a rich colour, a regal colour, which links back to the rich dark chocolate.
There are a lot more examples; dark blue and light blue milk cartons, full-fat milk and semi-skimmed milk respectively. Red/White combination is closely connected with ‘Sale’ or ‘Value’. These colour associations are basic, perhaps somewhat obvious but are an intrinsic part of visual rhetoric. Aside from colours, images too are reliant on their rhetorical value. This is a tricky area as different cultures and environments will have vastly different reactions to the same image. A solid understanding of the audience you are trying to communicate to is imperative to appropriate rhetoric.
