Blog Post 1: Topic Interests - On Visual Encyclopedias

Recently, I glanced at a scholarly article concerning the visual rhetoric of design principles. Although I don't recall the title off the top of my head, I've always been fascinated by the incorporation into written and textual works (especially for pedagogical purposes), which has led me to an interest in the rhetoric of visual encyclopedias and their contents.

As a kid, visual encyclopedias helped sate my artistic side by giving me all sorts of cool illustrations and diagrams to pour over, which were often labelled and annotated with all sorts of helpful information that pointed to specific items or parts of the images in question (though I either couldn't read or simply glossed over the main paragraphs and texts). Fast-forward to my twenties, and I'm still fond of this, yet have also paired it off with not just noticing the illustrations and diagrams on their own, but also the rhetorical and technical-communication dimensions that they're conveying.

Potential areas of exploration include cutaways and cross-sections of an item that more thoroughly dive into its inner workings, such as that of a structure or mechanism; highlights and color-coding that emphasize particular aspects or portions of the item, stressing a quality or implication that's particularly important to convey what the writers and illustrators want the readers to know above all else; different angles and perspectives the item might be examined from, showcasing it more fully in ways that seeing or examining it from one vantage point can't; and of course, the familiar notes and annotations that point to specific spots or points on the item and explain what their significance is. These elements make visual encyclopedias multidimensional and multifaceted, laying out a host of different media in a careful, yet thoughtful and comprehensive way that catches the reader's eye with striking visuals while subtly encouraging them to notice the descriptions.

In hindsight, I can see why this rhetorical strategy worked on me when I was 8 or 9. While I never struggled with reading (at least, no more than your average 8 or 9-year-old), I was always drawn to the art and artistic elements I could parse or use as inspiration first, which just happened to be adjacent to little notes, annotations, and even full sentences and paragraphs that provided context (which I wound up reading, or at least skimming). In that sense, it made reading and learning a hair more enjoyable for me; even if it wasn't a substitute for dedicated reading sessions or spelling tests, it was a supplement that both sated my curiosity about the artwork and visuals and kept me hooked enough to "read on" without me necessarily realizing it. But now, I know better — and now, I'd like to dive deeper.