This reading discussed the power of visual arguments and how they can affect people's perception, emotions, feelings, reasoning. The reading talked about various forms of visual arguments such as images, statues, logos, television etc. In particular I'd like to focus on logos/images. Logos can leave a mark on the eyes of the beholder. For example, think of a Mercedes-Benz or McDonald's logo. The Mercedes-Benz logo is pretty much a three-pointed star with a circle around it, but it garners much respect. People see it as a symbol indicating a person's high status. The McDonald's logo is also fairly basic; it is made of two yellow arches known as the "golden arches." People see the logo and quickly recognize that it stands for McDonald's. These examples also hold for Jeep, Coke many other universal brands. It just goes to show that something as simple as the Mercedes-Benz logo can affect a person's logic. If you were to take the logos off of all the cars on the road, one could argue that some less expensive cars look just as nice as some luxury cars which people will pay a hefty amount for. The logo and name is what may set something such as a Benz apart from other cars. Another sort of logo or image that arguably left a large mark was this portrayal of President Barack Obama:
In the 2008 general election cycle, this portrayal was distributed via T-Shirts, pamphlets, the internet, etc. People even put their own faces on this image through programs that allowed them to do so. In this particular photo, the word "Progress" is labeled on the bottom. In another variation of this image, the word "hope" is written on the bottom. You can see how this image would appeal to some voters. First off, it has patriotic colors. Secondly, Obama's face makes him look determined which corresponds with words such as "hope" and "progress." Lastly, there is an "O" on his suit which is there to remind the audience of his last name. Regardless of political affiliation, this is a strong visual argument.
