Visual Rhetorical Analysis

            The image above came from the website of a company called ServoGlobe Inc. They provide asset monitoring and protection to businesses in order to make managing assets easier, faster and more secure. The image is on the company’s “About Us” page and is intended to show potential customers how their business operates. This visual is related to management information systems because ServoGlobe employs people in my career.

            In order to break down this visual and analyze it I approached it from many different angles. First, I analyzed color and why they chose blue as the main color. Then I looked at all the different shapes and objects involved; the people, the Earth in the background, all the lines streaked across the visual, the squares stemming from the center of the visual, the circles that seem to ripple out from the globe and lastly the different pages overlapping each other behind the people. I also observed that the entire visual is a graphic design, which means it is a digital image that was created with a computer.

            After I divided the image into all the different parts I was able to look at why each aspect was included and the affect that it has in conveying its message to the audience. Color is a big aspect in any visual whether it is a graphic, art or a photograph. If they had used red it would have given off the impression that their business is very intense and stressful. Blue represents calmness and ease. ServoGlobe wants to make people’s lives easier and save companies money by decreasing the amount of time spent managing assets. The other main color used is white which represents peace and happiness. This makes the audience feel good about ServoGlobe and curious as to how they make things easier and simpler. Shape is also important, especially for artists and graphic designers because shapes are what make a visual interesting but also help focus the audience’s attention towards certain aspects of the visual. The visual has a lot of people communicating with one another. They are also spread out across the entire visual, which connects with the globe behind them because ServoGlobe is a global company with many people communicating from across the world. Some of them are carrying briefcases, which implies they are traveling, others are talking on cell phones and many are communicating face to face with other people. On the far right of the visual is one person running which makes me feel like the company will do anything to get things done in a short amount of time to make their customers happy and keep their businesses running smoothly. Adding to the idea that ServoGlobe works at a fast pace is the streaks across the visual. Usually lines are used to show movement and fast speeds. After noticing this I realized one of the main purposes of this visual is to influence businesses to think that their company gets things done quickly. Then there are all the squares and circles surrounding the globe. I think they are meant to represent communication across the world. The circles represent a signal being sent out and all the squares are like a grid that divides up all the different areas. ServoGlobe operates worldwide so they will work with businesses across the world. Communicating with these businesses and staying in contact is important in order to meet all their needs as the economy changes and businesses adapt and evolve. The last two aspects, the overlapping images and the visual being a graphic image, required more analysis and thought as to why they were chosen. I think the overlapping images show that ServoGlobe is capable of working on many projects at once and is capable of maintaining relationships with many companies. It is a subtle addition to the image because otherwise it would be overwhelming and distract the audience from the focal points of the image, which are the globe and the people. Lastly, while they could have included photographs in the visual since ServoGlobe is a technological company that develops software and applications it makes sense for it to be digital.

            Overall, the image gives off the idea of worldwide communication and a company that does not waste time getting the job done. I think the image is very effective at achieving this goal because it has many aspects yet it is simple enough that it is not overwhelming to the viewer. All of the things discussed that ServoGlobe is trying to convey with this visual are very important to management information systems. A career in MIS means communicating with companies and people to find out what they need and then tell the developers how to accommodate their desires in the best way possible.

Works Cited

“About Us.” ServoGlobe Inc. 2014. N.p, n.d. Web. 9 Feb 2014.