Rhetorical Invention in Design

Abstract

Though scholars have begun to explore how texts mediate design, little is known about rhetorical invention in design. To investigate how heuristics used for rhetorical invention and design might be related, the author analyzed how one disciplinary design heuristic, the information system cliché, influenced the production of both a computer system and a specification text for the system. The cliché was used to generate design proposals, which designers evaluated using at least three criteria: projected context of use, correspondence between the proposals and their textual inscriptions, and system coherence. Results indicate that disciplinary heuristics and rhetorical topics overlap in design; however, the rhetorical character of disciplinary heuristics is obscured in textual representations of the design. Both types of heuristic serve as interpretive instruments and are used dialogically to develop the parts of a design or text within the context of the whole.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2000-07-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088300017003002
Open Access
Closed
Topics

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Written Communication
  2. Written Communication
  3. Computers and Composition

Cites in this index (6)

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Written Communication
  3. Written Communication
  4. Written Communication
  5. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Show all 6 →
  1. Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Also cites 7 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1016/S0142-694X(98)00031-3
  2. Norms of rhetorical culture
  3. 10.2307/356600
  4. 10.2307/378062
  5. 10.2307/357774
  6. 10.1525/rh.1983.1.1.23
  7. 10.2307/357883
CrossRef global citation count: 4 View in citation network →