English 420Y - Business Writing Online

I think the layout of this brochure was its key element to success. The font of the title is clearly larger than any other part of the brochure, and the opening paragraph of text is marked by using a drop cap. It then goes into the text, but uses bullets to clearly indicate all the key points and allows the reader to easily locate them compared to having everything typed out in a list. All the text is grouped into related subjects. Whenever the subject changes, a header is used to clearly state this to the reader. Also, the font of the header is larger and it is written in all caps, again to help make it stand apart from the rest of the text. The pictures used in this document add to its effectiveness because they act as demonstrations of the recommended steps that should be taken. For example, the picture of the cat at the top of page one in its cage shows the reader how their animal should fit in its cage. It is also effective, because it is within close proximity to the passage that describes cage accommodations. In addition, the picture on the right half of the first page draws out an emotional response from pet owners. Seeing a picture of animals stranded after a disaster will make the brochure’s readers want to follow its advice so that their own animals will not end up like the dogs in the picture. The slogan on this page is not extremely noticeable, but a good one nevertheless. It reads “Animals Depend on Us: Care Enough to Plan.” Again, this simply reinforces the whole concept of the brochure and stresses to the reader the importance of disaster planning for their animals. The two pages vary in color, but by using blue and yellow, make the pages seem related because of they are analogous colors. The first page focuses on a supply checklist, while the second focuses on the reasons for being prepared. Both concepts are related and the use of analogous colors just adds to this. Then, the right half of the second page is colored white to contrast ideas somewhat. The previous focus of the brochure had been on the things pet owners should do themselves. This last half focuses on situations where they do not evacuate, disaster approaches, the event that they are not home with their pets, and what to do after the storm. Overall, I think that all these concepts put together create a well presented brochure that is easily readable.

I think that the concepts used in this brochure will be similar to the concepts I will want to use in the service learning project. Not only do I want the information presented to be informative and in a concise manner, but the layout should be appealing to the reader. It needs to be easy to locate information based on different topics and broken into bulleted points to add emphasis as well. Our brochure also needs to have a working color scheme and useful pictures to help add to the overall quality. I think having these things done well will start the project on the right foot.