RR Week 5
For my brochure I found how to build and install a rain barrel also, how to install a rain garden. These can be found at this link:
http://www.cwp.org/Community_Watersheds/brochure.pdf
This was sort of interesting because I wasn’t exactly sure what they were. After reading chapter 25 I compared their design to those mentioned in the text. There is good contrast between all the items. The brochure is very easy to read. There is a also a good use of different types of fonts. The first brochure is made up of analogues colors, while the 2nd is made up of complementary colors. Because they use colors effectively this brochure is able to grab attention. There are good designs on the page but this is not laid out in a tri-fold brochure. Both of these do a good job of first introducing the project, and the materials required to build their item. Next they explain why to use their item. Then finally it provides the directions to complete the project with nice easy to follow pictures. These pictures are not only nice because they provide color but they also make it seem easier to read. I know that I wouldn’t want to read a big pamphlet full of words. I also think the raindrop on the first brochure provides a nice contrast and makes it look nicer. I think that with some simple reformatting this brochure could follow the tri-fold sample. In addition, I think it was good that the put contact information on here so that people could follow up with questions they might have.
This has give me the chance to really dive deep into look at a brochure and judge what I think is effective or not. I look forward to looking at what other people found and their comments. Before reading the text I never would have thought there was so much to know about creating brochures. I would have always just messed around until I thought things looked nice.
Comments
Reading Response Comment
This brochure followed many of the principles in Chapter 25 of The Thomson Handbook. The brochure followed the rules of proximity on page 573 by placing the pictures close to the descriptions of each step of the process. In both brochures, contrast is used throughout the entire brochure. On the first brochure, I like the contrast of the text on the white background as well as the text on the different shades of blue. It draws the reader's attention to each part especially the bright blue raindrop. The brochures are organized very well and separated clearly by the headlines of each new section which are in a different font that is larger and uses typeface, bold. I agree with you that the brochure should follow the tri-fold format. Although it is organized very well, I believe that if it was in a tri-fold format, it would be easier to read and seem like there was less information on a page.
Overall, this is a great brochure and I hope to use some of their design ideas in our own brochure. Like you, I didn't know about all the elements of designing a brochure. I would have also played around with my brochure until I thought it looked good.
Comment
When reviewing the two brochures I found the color scheme of the second page provided better aesthetics and was more pleasing to the eye. The first page is very bright and there is a lot white space in the background that makes it hard to distinguish what to look at. Also I wasn’t sure if this was one brochure or two, I think it would have been better to have a consistent color scheme on both pages. Furthermore, there is a tremendous amount of copy on both pages that are both overwhelming and confusing to the reader. I do agree with you that having analyzed a brochure and doing the reading we have learned some useful techniques to use in our own work. And, I never realized there was so much detail with a brochure either. I would have taken the same approach you would have beforehand.
Reply
I think that you picked a good brochure because it focused on some key elements that we just read about in Chapter 25 on Elements of Design. The alignment in your page was the first thing I noticed because of how everything lined up. The chart on the right hand side was the first item that caught my attention. The way that the brochure was aligned made that stick out first. The second element that I noticed on your brochure was the proximity of all the pieces of the brochure. Like the textbook says, items that are close to each other have a meaning relationship. This is true in the case of your brochure
Response
The brochure does follow much of the steps from the Thomson Handbook especially with proximity and contrast. The color scheme is consistent throughout the text, and I think the choice of using blue was perfect considering it was focusing on a rain topic. The images were properly placed with the text that was represented with them. I'm like you, I was unfamiliar with what a rain barrel was too, so this brochure does a good job describing the steps to installing one, and even showing the pictures so it is easier to follow. It makes it have more of an instruction manual feel to it. The second brochure ties in really well with the first brochure. This one was also very helpful because it provided steps for installation and shows pictures to accommodate each step. From this brochure, I think we should take a similar approach of utilizing our images and describing each of them with proper text. We should also be able to use a good color scheme with analogous and complementary colors.