Advances of research on Interaction Design Rhetoric - HCI Rhetoric - UX Rhetoric. INFO I609: Advanced Seminar I in Informatics. Indiana University Bloomington. School of Informatics and Computing. Fall 2015.

1. InteractionDesignRhetoric
OmarSosa-Tzec
School of Informatics & Computing
Indiana University Bloomington
info I609 HCI Seminar
Fall 2015
A quest for an account of the rhetoricity of HCI
and the so-called UX… whatever that means

2. Whatisthis
presentationabout?

3. Checking-in

4. Checking-in
• Persuasive Technology 2015
10th International Conference on Persuasive Technology

5. Checking-in
• Persuasive Technology 2015
10th International Conference on Persuasive Technology
• LearnxDesign 2015
The 3rd International Conference for Design Education Researchers

6. Checking-in
• Persuasive Technology 2015
10th International Conference on Persuasive Technology
• LearnxDesign 2015
The 3rd International Conference for Design Education Researchers
• Critical Alternatives 2015
5th Decennial Aarhus Conference

7. Rhetoric
Visual
Rhetoric
HCI
Design
User
Experience
?
Visual Argumentation
Visual Appeal & Persuasion
Rhetorical Composition & Criticism
Interaction Criticism (IC) + HCI Hermeneutics
Semiotic Engineering
Metaphor in HCI
Comm Des
Infodesign
UID
Motivation + Quest

8. Explorationofrhetorical
appeals,operationsand
figuresinUI/UXDesign
Sosa-Tzec, O., Siegel, M.A., and Brown, P. (2015). Exploration of Rhetorical Appeals,
Operations, and Figures in UI/UX Design. InProc.ofLearnxDesign2015.The3rd
InternationalConferenceforDesignEducationResearchers.DRS//Cumulus//Design-ed

9. Argument
• The three modes of appeal (logos,ethos,pathos)fluctuate
during the UX

10. Argument
• The three modes of appeal (logos,ethos,pathos)fluctuate
during the UX
• Rhetorical operations (addition,subtraction,inversion,
substitution) provide a vocabulary to describe the
adjustments of an interface from one platform to another

11. Argument
• The three modes of appeal (logos,ethos,pathos)fluctuate
during the UX
• Rhetorical operations (addition,subtraction,inversion,
substitution) provide a vocabulary to describe the
adjustments of an interface from one platform to another
• Rhetorical figures (tropes and schemes) provide a
vocabulary to describe both interface and interactions

12. What did we do?

13. Rhetoricalhandbook
An illustrated manual for graphic designers
‣Ehses & Lupton (1988)
‣NSCAD student work
‣Application of rhetorical
concepts in graphic design
Modes of Appeal
Rhetorical Operations
Rhetorical Figures

18. ‣ “Rhetoric and Design”(Ehses,1987)
‣ Interview
‣ Selected Bibliography
‣ Three modes of appeal
‣ Rhetorical operations
‣ Rhetorical figures
‣ More student work
Extracts
Other references
(Online/Offline)
Illustration of
Concepts
(Desktop,Web,Mobile)
What is our beta version about?

23. What did we observe?

24. Logos, ethos, and pathos fluctuate UX-wise

25. Logos, ethos, and pathos fluctuate UX-wise
YahooWeatherAppforiOS
(initialscreen)
YahooWeatherAppforiOS

26. Rhetorical operations describe UI adjustments
BloombergBillionaires–Thewebversionisthestandardcomposition

27. Rhetorical operations describe UI adjustments
BloombergBillionaires–Themobileversionistheresultoftheapplicationofrhetoricaloperations
Addition + Subtraction +
Inversion
Subtraction + Inversion Inversion + Subtraction

28. Rhetorical figures describe interaction design
Alliterationrepeatsthe
initialpartsofelementsin
asequence.
(Ehses&Lupton,1988)
ClearforiOS

29. Ellipses
deliberatelyomits
elementsfroma
statement.
(Ehses&Lupton,1988)
Vinewebinterface
Rhetorical figures describe interaction design

30. What does it mean?

31. 1.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook would be used as
a framework to engage designers in discussion
and reflection upon possible meanings conveyed
by the interface composition as the user interacts
with the software
‣Denotation
‣Connotation

32. 2.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook offers a vocabulary
for UI/UX designers to analyze,conceptualize,and
critique interfaces
‣To go“beyond”the figures of metaphor and metonymy

33. 2.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook offers a vocabulary
for UI/UX designers to analyze,conceptualize,and
critique interfaces
‣To go“beyond”the figures of metaphor and metonymy
‣To move away from the skeuomorphic“origin” of interfaces

34. 2.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook offers a vocabulary
for UI/UX designers to analyze,conceptualize,and
critique interfaces
‣To go“beyond”the figures of metaphor and metonymy
‣To move away from the skeuomorphic“origin” of interfaces
‣To consider interfaces as a kind of visual artifacts with its
particular materials and ways to be shaped

35. 2.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook offers a vocabulary
for UI/UX designers to analyze,conceptualize,and
critique interfaces
‣To go“beyond”the figures of metaphor and metonymy
‣To move away from the skeuomorphic“origin” of interfaces
‣To consider interfaces as a kind of visual artifacts with its
particular materials and ways to be shaped
‣To consider interfaces as visual artifacts that affect
people's lives,beliefs,and attitudes

36. 3.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook would
function to introduce UI/UX designers to
rhetoric (classic and contemporary)
‣To consider software as a form of argument

37. 3.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook would
function to introduce UI/UX designers to
rhetoric (classic and contemporary)
‣To consider software as a form of argument
‣To have a better comprehension of persuasion and
persuasive technology

38. 3.The UI/UX rhetorical handbook would
function to introduce UI/UX designers to
rhetoric (classic and contemporary)
‣To consider software as a form of argument
‣To have a better comprehension of persuasion and
persuasive technology
‣ To create a link with other contemporary approaches in
HCI,including interaction criticism,sustainability and
feminism

39. Softwareas
rhetoricalargument
Sosa-Tzec, O., Stolterman, E., and Siegel, M.A. (2015). Gaza Everywhere: exploring
the applicability of a rhetorical lens in HCI. InProc.CriticalAlternatives2015.The5th
DecennialAarhusConference.

40. Argument
• Software could be regarded as a visual(interactive)
enthymeme,the form of the rhetorical argument
• “Gaza Everywhere”illustrates a case of application
software working as enthymeme
• The paper suggests the use of rhetoric as a generative tool
to be part of HCI/UX design pedagogy

41. Why do we care?

42. Rhetoric HCI
The applicability of
a rhetorical lens in HCI
?

43. Rhetoric HCI
Enthymeme
?
Speaker delivering arguments
in order to win an audience
Truncated syllogism
(leaving a premise unstated)

44. Rhetoric HCI
Enthymeme
Visual Argumentation
?

45. Rhetoric HCI
Visual Argumentation
Enthymeme
?

46. Rhetoric HCI
Visual Argumentation
Enthymeme
?

47. The possibility of visual arguments
“Hearts”by United Colors of Benneton (1996)

48. What did we do?

49. Source/screenshots from:
http://ahmadnassri.github.io/gaza-everywhere/
Gaza Everywhere

50. Source/screenshots from:
http://ahmadnassri.github.io/gaza-everywhere/
Gaza Everywhere

51. Source/screenshots from:
http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/gaza-everywhere-app-highlights-true-scale-of-humanitarian-crisis--lJ7Dz3JgQg
Publication on i100 from The Independent

52. Source/screenshots from:
http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/gaza-everywhere-app-highlights-true-scale-of-humanitarian-crisis--lJ7Dz3JgQg
Publication on i100 from The Independent

53. Source/screenshots from:
http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/gaza-everywhere-app-highlights-true-scale-of-humanitarian-crisis--lJ7Dz3JgQg
Publication on i100 from The Independent

54. •Gaza Everywhere's intent is not oriented to provide a
territorial truth

55. •Gaza Everywhere's intent is not oriented to provide a
territorial truth
•Each user has a different awareness of the conflict in
the Gaza Strip,which affects the perception of the
application's intent

56. •Gaza Everywhere's intent is not oriented to provide a
territorial truth
•Each user has a different awareness of the conflict in
the Gaza Strip,which affects the perception of the
application's intent
•Not only the interactive map,but the whole user
interface (interactive map,stats,information design,
and Twitter embedded timeline) functions to support
the detected or interpreted claim

57. What did we observe?

58. •Unlike other traditional forms of visual enthymeme,
Gaza Everywhere allows the user to play with the
composition at will

59. •Unlike other traditional forms of visual enthymeme,
Gaza Everywhere allows the user to play with the
composition at will
•Interaction and experiential knowledge help the user
to fill in the unstated premise

60. •Unlike other traditional forms of visual enthymeme,
Gaza Everywhere allows the user to play with the
composition at will
•Interaction and experiential knowledge help the user
to fill in the unstated premise
•The user might revisit the detected or interpreted
claim,which makes the rhetorical/persuasive effect of
Gaza Everywhere evolve with the user

61. What does it mean?

62. user
user
designer
i
j
k
user
user
UserExperience
Context of Use
appl.software
(visualenthymeme)
Discourse

63. Future
Directions

64. •Dialecticalorrhetorical(visualinteractive)argumentation?
If software is about argumentation…

65. •Dialecticalorrhetorical(visualinteractive)argumentation?
•HowdotheseeffortsandideasrelatetoProceduralRhetoric
(Bogost,2010),PersuasiveDesign(Buchanan,1985;Redström,
2006),andPersuasiveTechnology(Fogg,2003)?
If software is about argumentation…

66. •Dialecticalorrhetorical(visualinteractive)argumentation?
•HowdotheseeffortsandideasrelatetoProceduralRhetoric
(Bogost,2010),PersuasiveDesign(Buchanan,1985;Redström,
2006),andPersuasiveTechnology(Fogg,2003)?
•HowdotheseeffortsandideasrelatetoInterfaceCriticism
(Andersen&Pold,2011),InteractionCriticism(Bardzell,2011),
andotherworkinHumanisticHCI(Bardzell&Bardzell,2015)?
If software is about argumentation…

67. Do you have questions?
Because I have many…
tzec.com