DTC 355 - Comics, and, Myself as a Technorhetorician

Comics

Despite the fact that I found it very difficult to read through McCloud's comics this time around, I do find his argument to be a decent one (and by that I mean a true one). Technology is constantly evolving and changing to suit our needs and fantasies; it changes with our newest discoveries. From what I gathered, McCloud is arguing that the evolution of the comic through time is due to our development of different technologies. From the tomb and cave drawings to the screens on our computers, comics have existed in many forms. Comics, McCloud defines, are "juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence" (McCloud 200). Though I could argue that not all comics are more than one frame, this is a fantastic definition.

When it comes to the medium in which comics are presented, whether on a wall in a cave or in the comics section of the newspaper, the only thing that changes is the way in which comics are viewed. As McCloud shows, comics have been presented on the screen in the digital world where they "remain a still life" (McCloud 229). This comic still life however, is explored differently on a screen or on the Web. You can click to turn the page, or use the hand tool to drag a .pdf file back and forth. You can zoom in to see the detail. With the constant new discoveries and developments of digital technology, the way in which we explore comics can and will change. With one of the newest technologies being touch screen interaction, users can touch their fingers to a comic and move it across the page to continue reading.

In the last few pages of McCloud's comic, I became confused on whether or not he thought comics had a place in the world of digital technology or if he thought comics were going to explode like the splitting of an atom and disappear. I don't see comics going anywhere at this point, but maybe McCloud is losing hope for his favorite medium of communication. Comics may be presented in different ways but their purpose remains the same.


Myself as a Technorhetorician

Throughout the course of DTC 355 we have read many texts--some good, some bad, and some... very boring (sorry Paul). Once I graduate from WSU, I plan to find a career in some sort of design whether it be print or digital media. A few of these texts that I think will be imperative to keep in mind as I continue to develop as a technorhetorician include:

1. Robin Williams' "Non-Designer's Design Book"
2. Rudolph Arnheim's "Pictures, Symbols, and Signs"
3. Nicholas C. Burbules' "Rhetorics of the Web: hyperreading and critical literacy"

Williams' book really lays out the most important concepts of design. I consider myself a designer, and already knew what a good design looked like (or so I would like to think). However, reading a book about design principles put a name and purpose to everything I do. CRAP, my new favorite acronym, (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity) helps me (and will help me in the future) make conscious decisions about design. Thank you, Robin Williams!

Arnheim's "Pictures, Symbols, and Signs" will also help me in the future when I am placing images in my work. Different images have different purposes. The way Arnheim defined the three functions of an image really hit me and, as Williams did, will help me give purpose and direction through my choices in design. I will be able to make a conscious choice whether or not to use a picture, a symbol, or a sign.

Burbules is one of the authors I really enjoyed reading from. Links are incredibly important on the Web and I certainly will be making some of my own in the future--whether it is on my own personal site or for clients' pages. As Burbules discussed, links are more than just to move the user from A to B and there are many methods to make this move possible. I certainly wont be using catechresis in my links (unless there is a purpose!). Metonymy though, I will use. This cool new word I'd never heard of, will now be something I try to use when making links.



Works Cited

McCloud, Scott. "Reinventing Comics."