To find these signs, I walked around campus and looked at the different ideas that these signs show. Even though there may be many of each, all of them are different from one another. They all show different modes of communication that everyone can perceive to be different.

 

A very common type of visual rhetoric that is on Western Washington’s campus are the signs that mark each building. Every building on campus has a sign out front that states what it is. It’s very basic in design and conveys a concise message. The sign is a dark blue, with white writing that is symmetrical in design. There is no design or art work. The signs are purely to show information.

On the contrary, there is a large neon sign outside of Carver Gym. It hangs from the roof and is bright, cycling through different signs. They are glowing, with pictures and color on all parts of the sign. It conveys excitement and is almost entertaining. It too is informational, but in a different way. It gives the times and places for games or events, but also invites you to come and join everyone else going.

There are also promotional signs. One example is the sign outside of Zoe’s Bagels. It is bright with color and is very organized. It also shows a picture of a bagel. This sign conveys a different message than the other two. It not only is giving you information. But it is trying to convince you to come buy something. The bagel is placed so that you can see what you could get with your money. And if you’re hungry you very well might go buy one.

All across campus are fliers. These fliers are different from one another. Some are symmetrical or abstract or use artwork on their paper. These are normally colorful, but are set apart from other signs in the fact that they normally have a call to action. They ask you to come take part in something or join a group. Most want to make a change or an impact and do that by the words they use. They convey a need for something through the minimal information given on one.

Directories that are inside building show pure information. They do this differently than the signs outside of buildings by giving names and numbers of places. From this, the user must deduct what the numbers and name mean. It shows different floors and where different teachers will be. There is nothing flashy about them, just a means of directing people inside the building.