MEMORANDUM:

Date: To: From: Subject: 6 December 2011 Dr. X, Weber State University Sami Postma National Writing Project magnet Analysis

Introduction

The document to analyze is a simple magnet advertising the National Writing Project. The bold colors easily stand out against white refrigerators or boards that the magnet is meant to be on. The magnet conveys a simple yet powerful ethos that is meant to grab the passing attention of its reader. The purpose behind the magnet lays not what is actually on it, but what it directs readers to do.

Rhetorical Situation

The National Writing Project is an organization whose aim is to improve writing and learning for all learners. Despite the redundancy of the word choice, they utilize a network of teachers for early childhood level up to university level. According to their website, they believe that higher education is a basic right to all learners, and strive to bring equality to the education available to students. Recipients of the magnet are likely either members of the organization or possible members. It would have likely be included in a mail ad or given out at a conference or fair. It was likely sent out specifically to those who could benefit from or be a benefit to the organization namely educators from grade school to university level. The document is not intended to be looked at closely or read thoroughly. Like many ads on billboards and in newspapers, it is meant to catch the passing attention of its reader and make the person go searching for more information elsewhere. To that end, the magnet has succeeded. The colors are bold enough to catch attention in passing. The information displayed is kept short and simply: the magnet only includes the organizations name, abbreviation of that name, and a website where more information can be found.

Elements of Design

The colors are bold and striking. Red, the main color used, is a symbol of power. It garners attention to itself wherever it is used. The strong lines of the bottom gray bar offset the red in a pleasing way and draw attention to the website address printed on it. The font used on the W in NWP contrasts with the san-serif font of the N and P and is replicated on the website. Unlike the website, however, the National Writing Project is

in a serif font with only the beginning letters of each word capitalized. The website also hosts a heavier font for the N and P than the magnet includes. The central alignment of the magnet is safe and boring, as our textbook would say. Unlike the background color, it is not bold and daring. The alignment itself merits no special attention, as many ads with the same alignment can be found elsewhere. The magnet could have benefitted from a strong left alignment like the website employs. The colors complement each other nicely. The strong red background color is offset by the black text. The serif W mimics the gray used in the bottom website bar. The white text of the web address, while not repeated elsewhere, was a wise choice. Black would have been too dark against the gray background. Black worked with the red thanks to a contrast between a bright color and a dark text. The gray is a scale of black, and would have blended with it. The colors are not repeated on the organizations website. The website hosts a blue and white color scheme, leaving the magnet in conflict with it. Other than the repeated font of the W, none of the same elements are present between the website and the magnet. This creates a dissonance with what the reader was expecting when typing in the address from the card.

Typography

As mentioned above, the serif font used for the W contrasts with the san-serif fonts of the N and P. This creates a draw to the three letters as a whole, bringing the readers attention to the top of the card first. The National Writing Project line is also in a serif font, but different from the W. The swoops on the W make the two fonts different enough so as not to cause confliction. The web address is also in a different font than the organizations name, as evidence by the serifs. The two are close enough to create a sense of conflict. Unsure of the designers intent, I can only say the magnet was designed at a different time than the website and the fonts were picked either arbitrarily or as close to the fonts on the website as the designer could get. While the N and P are in san-serif fonts like the website, it is not the same font. The letters on the website are heavier than those on the card, leaving smaller gaps between the legs of the N and the hole of the P. The organizations full name is in san-serif on the website, closer to the font they used for the N and P on the card. On the card, the full name is in a serif font with only the first letter of each word capitalized, as opposed to the all-caps layout of the website. The only element repeated from the website, including font colors is the serif font used for the W.

Gestalt Principles

The strong contrast between the background colors, as well as the contrast between the backgrounds and the text colors, grounds the text. The eye does not have to strain against the card to try to read it. The strong contrast creates a pleasant, easy to read advertisement. The grouping of the text creates an easy-to-follow flow down the card, from top to bottom. The unique setting of the W draws the eye to the top first, to follow the text down from 2

there. Each line is equally spaced from the others, though the transition from red to gray at the bottom of the card gives it an illusion that the web address has a larger amount of space. The repeated spacing gives the piece a sense of cohesion, though it will be subconscious to most readers. With no graphics on the page, the unique design of the W comes the closest to serving that purpose. The closeness with the other two letters of NWP tie it to the rest of the document and helps draw the eye to where the designer wanted it.

Ethos

The bold colors of the magnet give it a sense of power. This ties in closely with the mission of the organization. They wish to empower students by giving them equal opportunities to better their education. The curly W is reminiscent of a writers signature, which calls to mind friendly memories of book signatures and literary discussions. The font used on the other two lines is similar to fonts used on typewriters and newspapers, also calling images of professional writers. The air of professional writing is undershot by the conflicting differences in the two serif fonts used on the card. In regards to font choices, they lack the repetition and cohesion that the color scheme and the website employ. The reader might by a little disappointed when going from the strong, bold colors of the ad to the more sedate colors of the website. While both have their purposes, it would better serve the organization to repeat the color scheme and create a sense of cohesion and repetition for the reader and make the ad look like it belongs to the website.

Effectiveness

The magnet seeks to convey the same professionalism and focus on writing that the website and the organizations mission statement employs. The fonts are reminiscent of typewriters and signatures in different places. The color scheme portrays the same sort of power that the mission and vision statements on the website do. The eye is drawn down the card, encouraging readers to visit the website. In fact, the main purpose of the card is to get readers to visit the website. The document failed to achieve some of these aims (namely the one of professionalism) by their conflicts. While a serif font is used on both the National Writing Project line and the website, they are different fonts with no clear reason why. The slight differences in the serifs and the spacing create a conflict that undercuts the designers intention. The card itself also creates a conflict with the website. Neither the fonts nor the color scheme are repeated online. The expectations the reader has when going from the stronger, darker colors of the card to the more sedate colors of the website are not met. One can almost feel like they accidentally went to the wrong website with the lack of repeated elements.

When compared to the website, the magnet is obviously made at a different time. Other than the W, no fonts are repeated between the website and the magnet. The fonts on the magnet seem almost to have been picked arbitrarily, as the closest fonts the designer of the magnet bothered to find.

Conclusion

While the overall impression of the magnet is favorable thanks to the strong colors and easy layout, it creates a sense of confusion and discord upon closer study. The randomly conflicting fonts of the web address and the National Writing Project hold no purpose or reason behind them. The colors are not repeated from the card to the website or vice versa. Other than the element of the W and the actual name of the organization, there is nothing to tie the website and the advertisement together. The designer is likely to get away with the conflicting elements thanks to the nature of the card. The magnet is not meant to hold up under closer scrutiny. Its purpose is to quickly offer information to the reader, merely sending them to the website where they can get more information. To this end, the designer achieved his or her end goal. The central alignment is well known and comfortable for most readers, so they will just glance for a moment at it. The proximity of the lines of text and key unique elements, such as the W, draw the eye from the top of the card to the bottom, where it is forced to stop by the different color background of the gray bar. This bar draws the eye to the web address at the bottom of the card, encouraging the reader to go to the website and find out about the organization. The sheer lack of information on the card suggests that its main purpose is to serve as a reminder to current members where they can go to get more information. Another possible purpose is that the lack of telling information can drive a reader to the website out of curiosity, to see what the card is about. In this second purpose, the card fails. Any element that may have attracted the reader to the magnet and then the website is not repeated online. A reader who came to the website out of curiosity for the card may quickly lose interest and move on. The magnet would greatly benefit from repeated elements, both within the body of text and from the website. A redesign is needed to create a sense of cohesion, making the card more effective.