Aristotle's modes of persuasion, applied in graphic design (video)

Another video I found really interesting and can potentially be helpful to my practical work was Artistotle's Modes of Persuasion Applied to Graphic Design by Tyler Galloway, who is a lecturer at Kansas City Art Institute and is part of a team who run The New Programme site and blog.    As the title hints, the video covers the core of Aristotle's outlined modes of persuasion which centres around the potential for a speaker to appeal to an audience.  The opening points summarise the ways in which Aristotle descried persuasion:

"1) Persuasion is achieved by the speaker's personal character when speech is so spoken as to make us think him credible. 2) Persuasion is achieved by the speaker's personal character when the speech is so spoken as to make us think him credible. 3) Persuasion may come through the hearers when speech stirs their emotions." (Galloway, citing Aristotle).  The video also introduces the three key themes of persuasion according to Aristotle, which is Ethos, Pathos and Logos.

Ethos

Ethos, the ethical appeal, centres around elements such as credibility, respectability, likeability, reputation and the quality of the message.  In ethos, the author's reputation is respected, independent of the message.  In graphic design, this would apply to the use of celebrity spokespeople, or a "stamp of approval" such as the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.  Notice how the seal has been re-designed to look like a traditional stamp, to further suggest a history of high quality.



Another example of the effective use of ethos in graphic design is the label for Levi Strauss jeans.  The number of claims of authenticity and quality on the label alone signify that Levi jeans are a brand and a product with longevity and respectability.  The Levi Strauss company is arguably an example of extrinsic ethos, where we perceive something, in this case the jeans, based on what we know about the producer.  The opposite, intrinsic ethos, is the impression given by the product itself.

Pathos

Pathos is based around the strong, vivid, and emotional use of language; a sense of sympathy, conjuring  of the imagination and sensory visuals which describe smells, sounds and so forth.  Put simply, pathos is about how the message connects emotionally.



 Pathos in graphic design could be represented in the famous anti-war poster,  "And babies".  The sensory type, printed in blood red, frames a question and answer format that at the time was confronting to the public about the Vietnam War.  The use of photography establishes credibility and ethos, rather than a subjective illustration.  The photograph heightens the realism and pressing immediacy of the situation at the time.

Logos bases itself on clear statement,s logical reasons and factual elements.  The message is based on facts, evidence or logic.  Examples of logos in graphic design are those that record and organise data - basically visual statements of fact, as seen below.

Many graphic design example use combined ethos, pathos and logos, such as this piece by the Guerrilla Girls.  Here we see logos "Less than 5% of the artists…", pathos in the loaded headline question, and ethos through the reputation of the Guerrilla Girls.

References

Galloway, Tyler. 2014.  artistotle's modes of persuasion, applied to graphic design [online video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXp0PPGnB-0
[Accessed 13th January 2015]