Slides of the paper presented in "LearnxDesign" 3d 3rd International Conference for Design Education Researchers and PreK-16 Design Educators, held in Chicago, IL at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. === Abstract == In this paper, we introduce a first pass of a rhetorical handbook intended for UI/UX designers. This handbook is based on an earlier version for graphic designers, introduced by Ehses & Lupton in 1988, in which diverse rhetorical concepts are illustrated through graphic work. For the UI/UX version, we examined desktop, web and mobile interfaces in order to illustrate the same concepts. In this first pass, we observe that the three modes of appeal (i.e., pathos, ethos and logos) fluctuate throughout the user experience. Additionally, we learned that rhetorical operations aid describing the adjustments made on an interface to work in different platforms. Further, the rhetorical figures (tropes and schemes) help to describe conceptually the interface’s composition and interactions. The concepts presented in the handbook provide a framework to examine and critique user interfaces, through which the disciplines of user experience and rhetoric connect.

1. ExplorationofRhetorical
Appeals,Operationsand
FiguresinUI/UXDesign
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

2. Motivation
AllegoryofLadyRhetoric

3. Rhetoricalhandbook
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

8. Rhetoric Graphic Design
Persuasion
Meaning
Argumentation
Connection with oral communication
Generation of concepts

9. Rhetoric UI/UX Design
Persuasion
Meaning
Argumentation
Connection with oral communication
Generation of concepts
?

10. Rhetoric UI/UX Design
HCI
?
Persuasion
Meaning
Argumentation
Connection with oral communication
Generation of concepts
Design
Pedagogy

11. Rhetoric UI/UX Design
HCIUI/UXversion
Persuasion
Meaning
Argumentation
Connection with oral communication
Generation of concepts
Design
Pedagogy
beta

12. Project/Exploration

13. ‣ “Rhetoric and Design”(Ehses,1987)
‣ Interview
‣ Selected Bibliography
‣ Three modes of appeal
‣ Rhetorical operations
‣ Rhetorical figures
‣ More student work
Structure
Extracts
Other references
(Online/Offline)
Illustration of
Concepts
(Desktop,Web,Mobile)

14. uxrhetoric.com
beta
version

15. “RhetoricandDesign”-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

16. “RhetoricandDesign”-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

21. Observations

22. 1.The three modes of appeal (logos,ethos and
pathos) fluctuate throughout the user experience
paper's
takeaways

23. 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

24. 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
paper's
takeaways

25. Ethos,logosandpathosfluctuate

26. Ethos,logosandpathosfluctuate
YahooWeatherAppforiOS
(initialscreen)
YahooWeatherAppforiOS

27. BloombergBillionaires–Thewebversionisthestandardcomposition
Rhetoricaloperations,interfacemodifications
anddifferentplatforms

28. Rhetoricaloperations,interfacemodifications
anddifferentplatforms
BloombergBillionaires–Themobileversionistheresultoftheapplicationofrhetoricaloperations
Addition + Subtraction +
Inversion
Subtraction + Inversion Inversion + Subtraction

29. Tropesandfigures,softwareas
composition,descriptionofinteractions
Alliterationrepeatsthe
initialpartsofelementsin
asequence.
(Ehses&Lupton,1988)
ClearforiOS

30. Tropesandfigures,softwareas
composition,descriptionofinteractions
Ellipses
deliberatelyomits
elementsfroma
statement.
(Ehses&Lupton,1988)
Vinewebinterface

31. Discussion

32. 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

33. ‣ 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
2.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook offers a vocabulary
for UI/UX designers to analyze,conceptualize,and
critique interfaces

34. ‣ 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
3.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook would
function to introduce UI/UX designers to
rhetoric (classic and contemporary)

35. Conclusion

36. ‣Interfaces are quite different from the examples
analyzed and presented in the original handbook

37. ‣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

38. ‣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

39. ‣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

40. Limitationsandfuturework
‣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
*Chiasmussymmetricallyarrangeselementssothatonesidereversestheorderoftheother
**Anastropheinvertsnormalgrammaticalorder

41. Thanks!
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.
@omitzec-tzec.com
profmartysiegel.com
ptbrown@indiana.edu
uxrhetoric.com