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4. Rhetoric and Code

Having delved into the code level aspects of website design, you are now ready to understand some basic tenets of rhetorical theory that will help you better communicate your ideas to particular audiences via the Web. For more than 2,000 years, rhetorical theory has helped speakers and authors fashion their communication for individual audiences. While not all rhetorical ideas can be applied to Web design, some fundamental concepts of rhetorical theory are especially helpful in designing websites.

One such concept is that of the rhetorical triangle, which was developed by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle to describe three basic elements of any communication situation:

Rhetorical Triangle

Ethos - ethos, from which we get the word "ethical," has to do with reputation or character, in other words what other people think of us and whether they feel they can trust us. In terms of digital design, ethos or credibility is extremely important for you to keep in mind because online trust determines whether people feel your site and its message are credible. Digital ethos can be constructed by a number of factors, such as visual appeal, organized navigation, and rich information content. Yet the ancient Greek word ethos also had another basic meaning, that of habitual gathering place, and in some regards, online ethos can also be seen as whether a designer has constructed a site to which people will return again and again, or whether the site creates a sense of online community through user interactions.

Logos - logos, from which we get the word "logical," concerns the logic and consistency of the message being communicated. In other words, does the content of your site make sense and is it written in a consistent tone or style? Consistency also becomes important in terms of overall site structure. A poorly organized site with visually confusing pages can undermine the concept of logos, which in turn can reduce the site's overall ethos. For Aristotle, all points of the rhetorical triangle were interrelated.

Pathos - pathos, from which we get the words "pathetic" and "empathy," deals with the emotions, specifically those of the audience. In classical rhetorical theory, playing on an audience's emotions was seen as a primary vehicle of persuasion, but in more modern times, pathos has come to mean any rhetorical act that addresses audience expectations or information needs. In this regard, it is extremely important that you understand and analyze the audiences for your website, anticipating their informational and navigational needs at every click of your site. That is why Steve Krug advocates using concise, scannable text in all Web documents—because web users only scan the page.

In your site analysis, due September 25th, you'll be asked to compose a rhetorical and structural analysis of an organizational website. In this analysis, you should examine all three points of the rhetorical triangle and how well the designers have addressed these three elements in their site design. In other words, you'll be discussing how the designers constructed ethos, logos, and pathos.

Audience Analysis

Identification and analysis of your website's audience is perhaps the most crucial step you can take in the early stages of your design process. Factors to examine in any audience analysis include:

For general Internet use, your audience may be so broad as to defy description, but in most situations, you can gain a very detailed sense of who your audience members are and what their informational needs are. In professional digital design firms, audience analysis and user testing are primary components of the design process and are conducted for many weeks before the first line of code is ever written.

Why?

Such testing helps designers fashion both content and structure of the site in order to reduce the need for changes once the site is being constructed. Such user testing includes everything from focus group interviews to unsability studies in which people navigate through prototype sections of a site and report problems they experience. As part of your website proposal due October 23rd, I expect you to include a fairly extensive analysis of who your audience is for your proposed site.