Persuasive interface: designing for the WWW

The design of Web documents is approached from the perspective of visual rhetoric and important aspects of persuasive discourses (e.g. the role of emotion) are presented in connection with the World Wide Web (WWW). The origin of the rhetorical figures is first briefly outlined. Then, a few rhetorical figures such as metaphor, metonymy or visual pun are described and illustrated in relation with Web pages. The figures pertain to every aspect of Web design, images and concepts used to convey meaning, and the detailed visual characteristics of all Web components. Subsequently, their application to the design of Web pages is discussed. The rhetorical perspective suggests manners in which to express the most efficient statement. Rhetorical figures are techniques that are employed to enhance documents or to find original solutions to design problems. The concern here is to make Web authors aware of rhetorical figures and to lay the foundation of a rhetoric framework grounded in Web design.