Field of Research Design and Rhetoric

Rhetoric, which is thousands of years old, holds great potential in terms of concepts for describing and implementing effective communication. The research field „Design and Rhetoric” uses these rhetorical models to explore the practice of communication design.

Visual design and rhetoric have been closely intertwined since antiquity: from ancient visual theories to Renaissance visual programmes and 20th century advertising graphics. However, the explicit study of these connections is relatively recent, beginning in the 1960s when Gui Bonsiepe first presented a modern elocutio of visual-verbal rhetoric. Initially, the focus was on rhetorical figures: Do hyperbole, metonymy or ellipsis exist not only on a verbal but also on a visual level?

The projects in the research field expand the rhetorical view of communication design to include its diverse modes of action, with rhetoric understood as the art of persuasion in a comprehensive sense: Not only the blatant advertising poster, but also the restrained signage of public transport or the plain stationery of a law firm are considered from the perspective of impact-oriented communication. Another key similarity between design and rhetoric is the close interplay between theory and practice: Both can be taught theoretically, but ultimately, however, expertise comes only with practice. Theoretical knowledge about rhetoric and design is also enriched – indeed can only arise – through the precise observation and analysis of one’s own and other’s practice. The research projects in the field are based on this feedback process of theory, practice and analysis.

In January 2014, the 1st International Bern Workshop on Visual Rhetoric brought together the most important researchers on visual rhetoric in the German-speaking world. In 2016, the 2nd International Bern Workshop on Visual Rhetoric continued this tradition under the title „Terror und Legitimation”. Both symposia are documented in the web journal designrhetorik.de.

Core Competences

Rhetorical design analysis according to the Bern model
History and theory of visual rhetoric, design rhetoric, media rhetoric
Practice-based research in all areas of visual design
Empirical observation of impact models and rule aesthetics in design

Co-ordinator

Arne Scheuermann

Ongoing Projects

Selection

CH Ludens – A Swiss History of Digital Games, Play and Game Design 1968–2000

The goal of this interdisciplinary project is to examine digital games developed in Switzerland during the second half of the last century as sources for the study of Swiss society from the perspectives of history, computer science, sociology, design, media studies, cultural studies and gender studies. In this way, we also want to consider the extent to which the different language regions of Switzerland experienced digitalisation independently, or in interaction with each other.

Link to the research project

Queering Public Spaces

This preliminary project will develop a research project that addresses the improvement of urban planning processes through the involvement of members of the LGBTIAQ* community with the aim to improve public health.

Link to the research project

Kommunikationsdesign im gewaltfreien Aktivismus

The project analyses communication design in the context of nonviolent activism using methods of design research and design anthropology. The aim is to set up a knowledge basis about how nonviolence as an activist practice is reflected in the design of relevant campaigns. Based on this, new insights into the relationship between violence, nonviolence and design will be gained.

Link to the research project

Completed Projects

Selection

Augusta Raurica – Zielkonflikte

Horror – Game – Politics

Contact

Get in touch with us! We will be happy to inform you about other projects in this research field and answer your questions.

Bern Academy of the Arts HKB
Research
Institute of Design Research
Secretariat: Edona Idrizi
Fellerstrasse 11
CH-3027 Bern