CBQ BOOKNOTESCondensed Reviews

Abstract

The Politics of the Superficial: Visual Rhetoric & the Protocol of Display by BrettOmmen (Tuscaloosa, AL: TheUniversity ofAlabama Press, 2016 —$44.95, hardcover, ISBN 978-0-8173-1918-2, [e-book available], 176pp., introduction, 5 chapters, conclusions and caveats, notes, bibliography, and index) examines the use of surface space for rhetorical messages. Ommen opens the book with a discussion on the multibillion dollar highway billboard sign industry that included a congressional hearing. Chapter one addresses the job of a graphic designer, including its various dynamics and cites sources such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In chapter two, Ommen addresses the meaning and fundamentals of graphic design. Chapter three, the protocol of display, discusses content, concealment, public artifice, visual communication, and other related areas and topics of debate within the field. In chapter four, the public chamber of fear, Ommen calls graphic design “a cultural force” and uses a Nike campaign in China with NBA player LeBron James as the star as a case story to highlight several points.Chapter five addresses someof the politics in the field of graphic design and display. The text is also peppered with industry information, historical elements, and addresses numerous controversies and debates. Ommen, an independent scholar, has written several books on a variety of communication topics.