Rhetoric & Technical Communication
Rhetoric & Technical Communication
Toscano, Aaron, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Dept. of English

Resources and Daily Activities

  • Conference Presentations
    • SEACS 2021 Presentation
  • Dr. Toscano’s Homepage
  • ENGL 4182/5182: Information Design & Digital Publishing
    • August 21st: Introduction to the Course
      • Rhetorical Principles of Information Design
    • August 28th: Introduction to Information Design
      • Prejudice and Rhetoric
      • Robin Williams’s Principles of Design
    • Classmates Webpages (Fall 2017)
    • December 4th: Presentations
    • Major Assignments for ENGL 4182/5182 (Fall 2017)
    • November 13th: More on Color
      • Designing with Color
      • Important Images
    • November 20th: Extra-Textual Elements
    • November 27th: Presentation/Portfolio Workshop
    • November 6th: In Living Color
    • October 16th: Type Fever
      • Typography
    • October 23rd: More on Type
    • October 2nd: MIDTERM FUN!!!
    • October 30th: Working with Graphics
      • Beerknurd Calendar 2018
    • September 11th: Talking about Design without Using “Thingy”
      • Theory, theory, practice
    • September 18th: The Whole Document
    • September 25th: Page Design
  • ENGL 4183/5183: Editing with Digital Technologies
    • April 14th: Cohesive Rhythm
    • April 7th: Rhetorical Effects of Punctuation
    • Efficiency in Writing Reviews
    • February 17th: Verb is the Word!
    • February 24th: Coordination and Subordination
      • A Practical Editing Situation
    • February 3rd: I’m in Love with the Shape of You(r Sentences)
    • January 20th: Introduction to the Course
    • January 27th: Rhetoric, Words, and Composing
    • Major Assignments for ENGL 4183/5183 (Spring 2021)
      • Rhetoric of Fear
    • March 10th: Midterm Exam
    • March 17th: Choosing Adjectivals
    • March 24th: Choosing Nominals
    • March 31st: Stylistic Variations
    • March 3rd: Form and Function
  • ENGL 4275: Rhetoric of Technology
    • April 13th: Authorities in Science and Technology
    • April 15th: Articles on Violence in Video Games
    • April 20th: Presentations
    • April 6th: Technology in the home
    • April 8th: Writing Discussion
    • Assignments for ENGL 4275
    • February 10th: Religion of Technology Part 3 of 3
    • February 12th: Is Love a Technology?
    • February 17th: Technology and Gender
    • February 19th: Technology and Expediency
    • February 24th: Semester Review
    • February 3rd: Religion of Technology Part 1 of 3
    • February 5th: Religion of Technology Part 2 of 3
    • January 13th: Technology and Meaning, a Humanist perspective
    • January 15th: Technology and Democracy
    • January 22nd: The Politics of Technology
    • January 27th: Discussion on Writing as Thinking
    • January 29th: Technology and Postmodernism
    • January 8th: Introduction to the Course
    • March 11th: Writing and Other Fun
    • March 16th: Neuromancer (1984) Day 1 of 2
    • March 18th: Neuromancer (1984) Day 2 of 2
    • March 23rd: Inception (2010)
    • March 25th: Writing and Reflecting Discussion
    • March 30th & April 1st: Count Zero
    • March 9th: William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984)
  • ENGL 4750-090 & ENGL 5050-092 Video Games & Culture
    • Assignments for Video Games & Culture
    • August 25th: Introduction to the Course
    • November 10th: Aggression & Addiction
    • November 3rd: Moral Panics and Health Risks
    • October 13th: Narrative, ludology, f(r)iction
    • October 20th: Serious Games
    • October 27: Risky Business?
    • October 6th: Hyperreality
    • September 1st: History of Video Games
    • September 22nd: Video Game Aesthetics
    • September 29th: (sub)Cultures and Video Games
    • September 8th: Defining Video Games and Critical Theory Introduction
      • Marxism for Video Game Analysis
      • Postmodernism for Video Game Analysis
  • ENGL 6166: Rhetorical Theory
    • April 13th: Umberto Eco & Jean Baudrillard
    • April 20th: Moving Forward on Theory
    • April 27th: Last Day of Class
    • April 6th: Lyotard’s The Postmodern Condition
      • What is Postmodernism?
    • February 10th: St. Augustine, On Christian Doctrine [Rhetoric]
      • Oratory and Argument Analysis
    • February 17th: Knoblauch on Magical and Ontological Rhetoric
    • February 24th: Rene Descartes’ Discourse on Method
    • February 3rd: Aristotle’s On Rhetoric Books 2 and 3
      • Aristotle’s On Rhetoric, Book 2
      • Aristotle’s On Rhetoric, Book 3
    • January 13th: Introduction to Class
    • January 27th: Aristotle’s On Rhetoric Book 1
    • March 16th: Friedrich Nietzsche
    • March 23rd: Mythologies and Meaning of Meaning (part 2)
    • March 30th: Derrida’s (refusal to have) Positions
    • March 9th: Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women
    • Rhetorical Theory Assignments
  • LBST 2212-124, 125, 126, & 127
    • August 21st: Introduction to Class
    • August 23rd: Humanistic Approach to Science Fiction
    • August 26th: Robots and Zombies
    • August 28th: Futurism, an Introduction
    • August 30th: R. A. Lafferty “Slow Tuesday Night” (1965)
    • December 2nd: Technological Augmentation
    • December 4th: Posthumanism
    • November 11th: Salt Fish Girl (Week 2)
    • November 13th: Salt Fish Girl (Week 2 con’t)
    • November 18th: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Part 1)
      • More Questions than Answers
    • November 1st: Games Reality Plays (part II)
    • November 20th: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Part 2)
    • November 6th: Salt Fish Girl (Week 1)
    • October 14th: More Autonomous Fun
    • October 16th: Autonomous Conclusion
    • October 21st: Sci Fi in the Domestic Sphere
    • October 23rd: Social Aphasia
    • October 25th: Dust in the Wind
    • October 28th: Gender Liminality and Roles
    • October 2nd: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
    • October 30th: Games Reality Plays (part I)
    • October 9th: Approaching Autonomous
      • Analyzing Prose in Autonomous
    • September 11th: The Time Machine
    • September 16th: The Alien Other
    • September 18th: Post-apocalyptic Worlds
    • September 20th: Dystopian Visions
    • September 23rd: World’s Beyond
    • September 25th: Gender Studies and Science Fiction
    • September 30th: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
    • September 4th: Science Fiction and Social Breakdown
      • More on Ellison
      • More on Forster
    • September 9th: The Time Machine
  • LBST 2213/HTAS 2100: Science, Technology, and Society
    • December 10th: Violence in Video Games
    • December 15th: Video Games and Violence, a more nuanced view
    • December 1st: COVID-19 facial covering rhetoric
    • December 3rd: COVID-19 Transmission and Pandemics
    • December 8th: 500-word Essay
    • November 10th: Planet of the Apes. (1964) Ch. 27-end
    • November 12th: Frankenstein (1818) Preface-Ch. 8
    • November 17th: Frankenstein (1818) Ch. 9-Ch. 16
    • November 19th: Frankenstein (1818) Ch. 17-Ch. 24
    • November 3rd: Planet of the Apes. (1964) Ch. 1-17
    • November 5th: Planet of the Apes (1964) Ch. 18-26
    • October 13th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 5 and 6
    • October 15th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 7 and Conclusion
    • October 1st: The Golem at Large Introduction & Ch. 1
    • October 22nd: The Time Machine
    • October 29th: H.G. Wells and Adaptations
    • October 6th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology) Ch. 2
    • October 8th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 3 & 4
    • September 10th: Science and Technology, a Humanistic Approach
    • September 15th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 2
    • September 17th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 3 and 4
    • September 22nd: Collins & Pinch Ch. 5 & 6
    • September 24th: Collins & Pinch Ch. 7 & Conclusion
    • September 29th: Test 1
    • September 8th: Introduction to Class
  • New Media: Gender, Culture, Technology (Spring 2021)
    • April 13th: Virtually ‘Real’ Environments
    • April 6th: Capitalist Realism
    • February 16: Misunderstanding the Internet
    • February 23rd: Our Public Sphere and the Media
    • February 2nd: Introduction to Cultural Studies
    • January 26th: Introduction to New Media
    • Major Assignments for New Media (Spring 2021)
    • March 16th: Identity Politics
    • March 23rd: Social Construction of Gender and Sexuality
    • March 2nd: Foundational Thinkers in Cultural Studies
    • March 30th: Hyperreality
    • March 9th: Globalization & Postmodernism
  • Science Fiction in American Culture (Summer I–2020)
    • Assignments for Science Fiction in American Culture
    • Cultural Studies and Science Fiction Films
    • June 10th: Interstellar and Exploration themes
    • June 11th: Bicentennial Man
    • June 15th: I’m Only Human…Or am I?
    • June 16th: Wall-E and Environment
    • June 17th: Wall-E (2008) and Technology
    • June 18th: Interactivity in Video Games
    • June 1st: Firefly (2002) and Myth
    • June 2nd: “Johnny Mnemonic”
    • June 3rd: “New Rose Hotel”
    • June 4th: “Burning Chrome”
    • June 8th: Conformity and Monotony
    • June 9th: Cultural Constructions of Beauty
    • May 18th: Introduction to Class
    • May 19th: American Culture, an Introduction
    • May 20th: The Matrix
    • May 21st: Gender and Science Fiction
    • May 25th: Goals for I, Robot
    • May 26th: Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot
    • May 27th: Hackers and Slackers
    • May 30th: Inception
  • Teaching Portfolio
  • Topics for Analysis
    • American Culture, an Introduction
    • Feminism, An Introduction
    • Fordism/Taylorism
    • Frankenstein Part I
    • Frankenstein Part II
    • Futurism Introduction
    • Langdon Winner Summary: The Politics of Technology
    • Marxist Theory (cultural analysis)
    • Oral Presentations
    • Our Public Sphere
    • Postmodernism Introduction
    • Protesting Confederate Place
    • Punctuation Refresher
    • QT, the Existential Robot
    • Religion of Technology Discussion
    • Rhetoric, an Introduction
      • Analyzing the Culture of Technical Writer Ads
      • Rhetoric of Technology
      • Visual Culture
      • Visual Perception
      • Visual Perception, Culture, and Rhetoric
      • Visual Rhetoric
      • Visuals for Technical Communication
      • World War I Propaganda
    • The Great I, Robot Discussion
      • I, Robot Short Essay Topics
    • The Rhetoric of Video Games: A Cultural Perspective
      • Civilization, an Analysis
    • The Sopranos
    • Why Science Fiction?
    • Zombies and Consumption Satire

Contact Me

Office: Fretwell 280F
Phone: 704.687.0613
Email: atoscano@uncc.edu
ENGL 4182/5182: Information Design & Digital Publishing » November 6th: In Living Color

November 6th: In Living Color

Color, Color, Color
It Turns Me Upside Down
Color, Color, Color
It’s Like a Merry-Go-Round

…Color is Magic!


Plan for the Day

We’ve got a few things to do today, so below is a list:

  • Your information design critique is due in two weeks (11/20)
  • ELECTION DAY is tomorrow (11/07)–go out and do your civic duty
  • Ethos, pathos, logos
    Ethos of Campaign Web sites: V. Lyles – K. Smith – S. Haugh
  • The Non-Designer’s Design Book Ch. 7
  • Turn in your Document #3: Tutorial or Brochure

Also, many students start to get sick this time of year. If you’re coughing, sniffling, or blowing your nose constantly, please reconsider if you’re able to participate in class tonight. Not only is coughing distracting, but it spreads germs!

Color and Perception (Short reading on Canvas)

Go to Canvas and find the Alter article “The Color that Prevents Mistakes” by clicking on the link on this class’s Canvas page. It might be best to save it to your computer and then open it with Adobe Acrobat Reader. It should be clear when you do that.

You just need to read the first sub-story “Color affects creativity”–it’s very short. Then, in groups of 2-3, consider Alter’s statement about red being associated with less creativity: “The explanation may be a combination of culture and biology” (para. 6). Does biology really have anything to do with how we interpret color? He mentions fire and blood, but we also interpret red with love. Obviously, anything associated with love is calming, so I’m not sure what to think. Can you reconcile this? Remember, you’re supposed to just show you’re thinking–there’s no right or wrong answer here.

Alternatively, consider whether or not the author’s arguments can help you in professional contexts.

For class: The article mentions red. In education, red is a common marking color for papers and tests. What have you heard about the color red?

Chapter 7 in the The Non-Designer’s Design Book

As usual, Robin Williams gives us the artist’s perspective on designing with color. She even gets technical in this chapter with CMYK vs RGB. Notice how she describes the primary, secondary, and tertiary colors on the color wheel (pp. 92-93, 3rd ed; pp. 96-97, 4th ed). What do you do to make these different colors?

  • For printed color (CMYK), “black is actually the combination of all colors, and…white is an absence of all colors” (p. 93, 3rd ed; p. 97, 4th ed).
    • What happens when we talk about black and white on screen?
  • Notice she suggests that complementary colors “often work best when one is the main color and the other is an accent” (p. 94, 3rd ed; p. 98, 4th ed).
    • That makes sense for our practices this semester with other design techniques. Why?
  • Analogous “colors all share an undertone of the same color, creating a harmonious combination” (p. 97, 3rd ed; p. 101, 4th ed).
    • Could one say that “analogous colors evoke a pathos of…”
  • A hue is a “pure color”;
    “Add black to a hue to create a shade“;
    “Add white to a hue to create a tint” (p. 98, 3rd ed; p. 102, 4th ed).
  • Shading and tinting change the ______________ of a hue. Check out this hue-saturation color circle.
  • Wildflower Theory of Color: it’s not different colors; it’s finding the most effective tones (p. 102, 3rd ed; p. 106, 4th ed).
  • “[C]ool colors recede into the background, and warm colors come to the front” (p. 103, 3rd ed; p. 107, 4th ed).
    • Hot colors have more of an impact; therefore, they can be overwhelming if used excessively.
  • Let audience and purpose guide your color choices (and other design choices).
    • Use “analogous colors to keep the project sedate and calm”;
    • Use “complementary colors to add some visual excitement” ” (p. 104, 3rd ed; p. 108, 4th ed).

This isn’t in Robin Williams, but we should discuss how color may convey the ethos of luxury or wastefulness with regard to color: schemes, printing, and clothing.

More Groupwork on Color

So you’ve perceived the colors. Now what? Well, what can be said about color from cultural and rhetorical perspectives? In groups of 2 or 3, search or recall from your perspective the cultural and rhetorical significance of the following colors:

  • red
  • orange
  • yellow
  • green
  • blue
  • violet

Look at that. The above 6 colors in 6 categories match the number of rows in class…

Color combinations (and colors by themselves) need context for meaning. Consider these versions of Red & Black:

  • “Black, the dark of ages past, Black, the night that ends at last.”
  • We love the Cardinals!
  • Chicago Bulls

Time permitting, in your groups of 2 or 3, based on your rows, look at the following web pages and think about these questions:

  1. How would you describe the color scheme?
  2. How does the webpage use color for emphasis?
  3. What rhetorical tone (ethos, pathos, logos) do you think this color scheme mainly conveys or invokes? Is the message successful?
  • Red Robin
  • Orange Julius
  • McDonald’s
  • Carolina Panthers
  • Charlotte Observer
  • Prince Fan site

Row 0–Key West Restaurant
Hotshots Sports Bar

One of you should type this up and post it to your website under “Website Color Scheme Discussion–11/06/2017” or something that identifies the work. List your group members and have them link to this page from their pages.

Now, let’s go over some more of the designing with color issues that might come up in InDesign.

Ethics and Visuals

Let’s jump back to last week’s “stuff” if needed.

Photoshop And Mischievous Behavior

Don’t forget to do a little digital graffiti if you didn’t finish last week. Use the “Clone Stamp Tool” or, if that’s beneath you, try out the lasso tool.

Please put this up on your webpage.

Next Week

Make sure you read Ch. 6 in Design for Information for Nov. 13th. In your information design critique, I want you to explain your reasons for choosing colors. Don’t just state what a color means based off some out-of-context web page or your own “tastes.” Instead, you should let me know why a color means what it does. There are several interpretations possible.

  • Why is Blue calming?
  • Why is Yellow for sickness? {What’s wrong with my using this color? What design principle or theory am I violating?}
  • Exceptions: Green for environmental stuff and Red for danger or love…those are pretty common, but state that is your purpose for choosing them and defend more thoroughly another reason for choosing those colors.

Those of you who haven’t turned in these portfolio assignments will definitely want to get them to me ASAP.

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