Every page away from the index features a "Home" link. Having a clear method of returning to the site's "center" prevents the audience from becoming lost amidst the many pages of a site. A site that is easy to navigate is more likely to convey information to the audience in an effective fashion.
Charles A Hill's "The Psychology of Rhetorical Images" discusses the term presence, as used by Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca. Presence refers to the extent to which an object remains in the audience's mind after viewing an idea or image. By presenting the audience with a collection of Clarke's work at a time, I believe that I am able to increase the rhetorical presence of a visual. Also, clicking on each of these images presents the viewer with a larger, more focused version of the piece. Thus, the audience must decide which image to select, and then the image is rhetorically pushed into their mind through the larger version of the same image. Thus, I hope to mimic Hill's methodology of maximizing the rhetorical presence of an object: physically presenting it to the audience. Since this is not an option, different sized images and collections of visuals are used to increase the rhetorical power and presence of Clarke's plates.
One of my goals in creating this site was creating a place where words and images work together in a hybrid structure. I desired a working relationship between all aspects of the site. The majority of the words are concealed in these tooltips, thus the audience must seek them out. However, the images are always present; they do most of the meaning-making on this site. Craige Stroupe discusses nuances between the textual and visual in "The Rhetoric of Irritation: Inappropriateness as Visual / Literate Practice." He turns to Ulmer's "Metaphoric Rocks" to explore the way that visuals often drive the hybridity of a page. Similar to the 23+ images on this site, Ulmer's text contains 21 images interspersed in a way that prevents the audience from knowing which of the visuals the written text is discussing. Of course, unclear design is not wise in web decision making, but obtaining a close mix between words and images is a possibility. I wanted this site to be a conversation between myself and the audience, a discussion rather than a lecture.
I wanted to incorporate visuals into this site for a multitude of reasons. Much of what I do as a teacher and a student involves visuals in some way. Throughout my schooling, I hesitantly considered myself a visual learner, but, as I began to teach with visual techniques, I became more and more aware that images are both central to my learning and my argumentative style. In "Toward a Theory of Visual Argument" by David S. Birdsell and Leo Groarke, they hope to combat the idea put forth by David Fleming in "Can Pictures Be Arguments?" that visuals are incapable of creating an argument. Despite concerns of vagueness and ambiguity, Birdsell and Groarke indicate that these deficiencies are not great enough to prevent visual from containing and creating arguments (310). Therefore, I think an exploration of Poe's writing amidst the visual arguments of Clarke's plates is an interesting supplement to this site. By clicking this link, I hope that you will find a world that meshes digital and visual rhetorics.
"The Rhetoric of Visual Arguments" by J. Anthony Blair suggests that visual mediums are, argumentatively, more powerful than printed texts because they are capable of conveying a large number of messages in an instant. For example, television commercials bombard viewers with continuous streams of information. On my website, I wanted the audience to be presented with a number of visual at a time, thereby creating a sense of interactivity. The audience is presented with visual choices, and the decisions that they make determine the type of experience that they have on the site. Also, Blair indicates that visual arguments have more permanence than the spoken word. Visual arguments are open to interpretation by all people, regardless of culture or language background.
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Anne Francis Wysocki argues in "Monitoring Order" that web design should incorporate elements borrowed from historical aspects of page design to create an environment familiar to the audience (636). Therefore, where possible, the text on my site will appear amidst white space with black font. I want my writing to mirror the appearance of what the audience may have seen in a text book or novel; thus, there exists a sort of familiarity to the entirety of the site. Also, instead of using centered text, I felt that I could appeal to transparency by maintaing a left-justified appearance. I believe that the description of the site is extremely important because it is the gateway to the page, a roadmap of sort. If the audience is confused at the beginning of their adventure on this site, then they will likely remain disoriented throughout their navigation. Through the use of familiar, transparent font and alignment style, I believe that visitors will feel comfortable on the site.
Richard Buchanan's "Rhetoric, Humanism, and Design" traces design theory from its beginnings in the ancient world to the twenty-first century. In order to provide a general framework for modern design, he proposes five themes that govern designer decision making: communication, construction, strategic planning, systematic integration, and styling. During the creation of this site, particularly when tweaking the layout, I kept these elements in mind. Communication was significant because I want the site to efficiently convey information. Moreover, the construction and strategic planning of this site were connected; specifically, the site was created in three phases - design and code integration, theory, and data entry - each of which was central to constructing a large website. Integration on this site occurs through my decision making regarding such facets as color. I chose red and black to appeal to the expectations of visiting a Poe site - horror. Moreover, most pictures were changed to black and white to fit into this scheme. Lastly, the styling of the page was one of consistency. The tooltips and roll-over images are stylistic, but they add a sense of interactivity, which is important in grabbing the attention of the audience.
