This paper describes the design considerations for a computer based interactive system for stylistic analysis and explains the advantages which such a system holds over previously used methodologies. The system allows the researcher, through a graphic interface, to break the design down into basic components and to formulate the relationships between these components. The data are stored in a database, and are subsequently available for statistical evaluation. The crucial concept with regard to the information structure is the socalled virtual image, that is the ultimate representation of the design in terms of components and relationships. An example illustrates how this virtual image is derived from the digitized image.