Technical Communication Quarterly Apr 2002

Technical Rhetoricians and the Art of Configuring Images

Carlos Salinas

Abstract

Abstract Advances in computing technologies, growth of business involvement on the Web, and our culture's affinity for image-intensive communication have forced technical communicators to become more involved with making and using a wide variety of images in their compositions. Too often our theories about how to write and read images are limited to a functional view, which stresses objectivity, ignores interpretation, and sees design as preset layout formulae. Combining current graphic design theory with rhetoric's understanding of techne, I argue for a configural view of images that stresses their artificiality and cultural significance and articulates design in strategic terms.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2002-04-01
DOI
10.1207/s15427625tcq1102_4
Open Access
Closed
Topics
multimodality

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (12)

  1. Fanning (2023)
    Visual Representation & Visible Boundaries in Online Postpartum Depression …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Fanning (2022)
    Communicating an Outbreak: The Visual Genres of Zika Virus Reports
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Sánchez (2017)
    The Roles of Technical Communication Researchers in Design Scholarship
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  4. Zhang (2016)
    Illustrating Beauty and Utility
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Jones (2015)
    Information Graphics and Intuition
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Show all 12 →
  1. Dyehouse (2011)
    “A Textbook Case Revisited”: Visual Rhetoric and Series Patterning in the Ameri…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Sorapure (2010)
    Information Visualization, Web 2.0, and the Teaching of Writing
    Computers and Composition
  3. Miles (2009)
    Reconceptualizing Analysis and Invention in a Post-Technê Classroom: A Comparat…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Northcut (2007)
    The Relevance of Feenberg's Critical Theory of Technology to Critical Visual Li…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Willerton (2005)
    Visual Metonymy and Synecdoche: Rhetoric for Stage-Setting Images
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  6. Portewig (2004)
    Making Sense of the Visual in Technical Communication: A Visual Literacy Approa…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  7. Richards (2003)
    Argument and Authority in the Visual Representations of Science
    Technical Communication Quarterly

Cites in this index (2)

  1. Handa (2001)
    Letter from the guest editor: digital rhetoric, digital literacy, computers, an…
    Computers and Composition
  2. KOSTELNICK (1994)
    From Pen to Print:
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Also cites 1 work outside this index ↓
  1. Mitchell, W. J. T. Iconology: Image, Text, Ideology. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1986.
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 22 View in citation network →

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