Copyproof, a new method for design education. Edited by Edith Gruson and Gert Staal

Rhetoric is at this point no longer perceived as the art of speech, but
as a strategic simulation, and the return of the rhetoric of spoken
text in the medium of reproduced text. Graphic design, just as
classical rhetoric, is about reducing or eliminating the distance
between the sender of the text and the recipient. Design is thereby
a rhetorical practice of the second degree, an ability, a savoir faire
indeed, but also a theory of that ability, as is classical rhetoric.
The teaching of rhetoric comprises five central elements that are
also central elements of visual communications. These elements
are the inventio, the disposito, the elocutio, the memoria and the
actio. In graphic design, the retention and declamation of the text
are replaced by mechanical or electronic reproduction. The inventio,
disposito and elocutio remain in full force as part of the designer’s
package of tasks.
The inventio is the thinking up of an idea or ideas that one wishes
to spotlight. In this context, relevant material is selected that will
illustrate the subject and reinforce the concept or statement.
The dispositio is the composition of the arguments. These must be
arranged into an effective whole. The elocutio concerns the verb a-
lization of the thought, the packaging or adorning of the arguments
conceived. This is the stylistic refinement of the argument. It must
be coordinated to suit the threshold of public expectation, but at the
same time seduce and surprise that public. The arguments must be
understandable and clear, visualized and verbalized correctly and
effectively, and presented with a decorum appropriate to the circumstances.
Hanno Ehses succumbs to the trap of aesthetic reduction
of the design process by suggesting that it is primarily the elocution
– stylistic skill – that is most important to the designer. In contrast,
I would propose that (visual) communications is a more or less creative
manipulation of commonalities – whether out of date or otherwise.
The topica, therefore – the doctrine of commonplace – is at
least as essential to any designer who knows that effective communication
depends on that tiny twist applied to the familiar cliché.
The idea of graphic design as a rhetorical practice also makes it
possible to rethink the different paradigms of the history of design.
Looking first at the inventio, classic book typography made use of
the compositional codes of previous generations of printers and
typographers, albeit that the arrangement of text went hand in hand
with additional ornamentation. Inventing form used to be limited
to thinking up rules for standardization. In the post modern context,
in contrast, this orderly arrangement is not infrequently overrun
by illustrative elements in which invention has free rein, creating
style that can be all but impossible to follow. Stylistic complexity
and an excessive desire for decoration are characteristic of
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