Context

In creating promotional marketing materials for the upcoming Robot Revolution exhibit at the Franklin Institute, I completed a rack card project that entailed both writing the content and designing aspects of the piece. The rack card was to be distributed in the main lobby of the museum leading up to and throughout the duration of the exhibit.

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Rhetorical Decisions

Both the written and designed content were created with the idea of Cicero's rhetorical canons of style and delivery in mind. The written content was either taken from the Robot Revolution website to maintain a consistency of language, or was provided by the exhibit itself. Because the exhibit was independently funded and sourced, there were some content that were out of my control. In terms of content, there were necessary taglines and sponsorship that were necessary to include on the rack card. The concept of Aristotle's deliberative rhetoric was an important consideration in regard to the content of the rack card because it kept me connected to the greater rhetorical purpose of the rack card. The purpose was to inform the audience of the museum of a future exhibit in a persuasive way that focused on the benefits and takeaways that would occur if the exhibit were visited. In doing this, though most of the information was recycled from what I had already written for the Robot Revolution website, it was still important to organize the content in a style that was exemplary of the positive emphasis and reader benefits of the exhibit.

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Much like the content of the rack cards, there were certain design elements that were out of my control. Logos, color schemes, and certain images were selected either by the exhibit or by the museum and were presented to me for consideration when combining the content and design. While looking at examples of other rack cards, I wrote the content and selected the image with the layout in mind. The images I selected both displayed the interactive nature of the exhibit and displayed visitors enjoying the exhibit as to act as a form of pathos. The selected design elements were essential to maintaining consistency between The Franklin Institute's rack card and the additional promotional material being produced by the museum for the exhibit. This consistency maintained the level of professionalism that is necessary for a museum like Franklin Institute and strengthens the ethos of both the museum and the exhibit. Though I finalized the content and necessary layout elements before finishing my internship, I wasn't able to see the final product. However, upon recently returning to the museum, I came across the rack card being distributed in the main lobby.  Below is the front and back of the finished rack card. To view the full sized rack card, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflection

The project showcases both my professional writing and my rhetorical design skills. Though certain aspects of the project were difficult to move around, It was useful to be in a situation where some of the variables were controlled and selected for me because it allowed me the opportunity to work within certain set parameters. Additionally, I found it valuable to rework content that I had already written for the exhibit into a new material type and style. This practice of multimodal design strategies is something that I will carry with me through the duration my education and into my professional life and career.