Monday, March 26, 2007
Before i was assigned the task of building a serious weblog for this module, i have already been an avid blogger for some years. My blog served as my personal diary. A space my friends update themselves about me, where i share my favourite links and videos and of course somewhere i post my complains and share my pictures, etc. It is just so much easier to not follow rules nor pay regards to "usability" issues. Thus i felt there were so many challenges for me along the way.
Personally i feel when it comes to design, be it graphic, web or fashion, we need to know who our target audiences are. Once we determine the target, we aim to deliver the final product in accordance to their needs.
{ Visuals }
This weblog is designed to look professional. I chose to use black fonts against the beige background because there is a good level of contrast. According to color psychology, brown is the color of the earth and "implies genuineness". Thus i think it is appropriate for use on this blog since i want my readers to think my commentaries are credible.
The titles and subheads are also made to look different and more prominent than the body text as advised from Parker's reading. Bullet points are also used when appropriate. Bullet points created a difference from blocks of body text. It gives the eyes a break and retain reader's interest.
{ Tone of voice }
Since brown can be quite a serious colour, I decided to adopt a more conversational tone of voice to balance out the overall tone of blog. Afterall i do not want my readers, especially students, to fall asleep. So a conversational tone makes the blog more engaging and sets a difference from textbooks and academic articles. I also believe a less formal tone appeals more emotionally(ethos) to readers. It aids my commentary to be more convincing.
This assignment provided me a great insight about how i can make use of a blog to the fullest. The readers and researches i have done enriched me with a alot of knowledge about document design and it is not just application to websites and blogs but also rules that can be applied to my profession as a graphic designer.
The researches along the way led me to discover several issues i never knew of before. Now i am more aware about the happenings of the blogosphere and i know where to go to when i need information on blogs. I'm sure there are much more issues waiting for me to discover. Thus i'll keep my eyes open.
Now equipped with better knowledge of document design, i definitely see myself making constructive changes to my personal blog to make it more interesting and usable so that it is not limited to just my friends. And i will definitely keep updating to this blog whenever i can.