Reading Response #5
The brochure I chose to analyze was made by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. It was used to promote green scaping as way to have a greener and healthier lawn. The brochure can be found at http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/Publications/catalog/greenscaping.pdf. The brochure uses several of the design elements found in Chapter 25 of the textbook. One of the design elements, contrast, can be found in the first two pages of the brochure. Both pages have pictures taking up the entire background. On top of the pictures is the writing, in white on the first page and black on the second page. The colors of the text contrast with the colors of the pictures in the backgrounds. Another design element I found in the brochure is the use of repetition. This particular element was used a lot in the entire document. One place repetition could be found is in the page headers. On the third page, there is a list of steps to putting “nature to work in your yard.” Each of the five steps is numbered in a different color. As you continue to look through the brochure, you notice that the same font and color is used for each of the five corresponding sections. Also, the same font size, color, and alignment are used for the headers on each of the pages.
Analyzing the brochure on green scaping has influenced my ideas for the design of my own group’s service learning project. I think repetition is going to be the most important design element. The use of repetition will bring consistency to the brochure and make the information easier to find and follow. Also, contrast will be a very effective design element. By making the text contrast with the background, it will really help the text to stand out and have a stronger effect.
Comments
Comment
I think this brochure is a great example of the elements in Chapter 25. I think they did a great job on the first couple pages with contrast. The writing on top of the pictures is easy to read. A lot of times people make mistakes by putting writing on top of pictures. The pictures are too distracting and the text is hard to read. They did a great job with placement and color on the brochure. The alignment of this brochure is also very nice. They utilize headings and lists to help make information easier to read. This brochure will definitely help you with your project.
comment
I really like your brochure. It uses all the elements from Chapter 25 to make it effective. I really liked the contrast through the whole brochure; it made it really easy to read! Also the sub titles under each of the four steps are really effective, it gives a clear picture of exactly what the paragraph is going to talk about. It also makes it easier to refer to at a later point. It has a lot of useful information in a simplified wording.
Also its constant referral to saving the environment and saving money makes the reader more motivated to actually landscape their garden.
Brochure
I think you picked a great brochure to write about. After reviewing the brochure I agree with all the points you made. I thought this brochure did an exceptionally good job of using contrast to grab your attention. As you mentioned the first two pages demonstrate the most contrast with the use of colors and text. This continues throughout the document with the pictures contrasting the white background. The brochure also did a good job of using repetition in the subject and title headings so the reader can easily understand the brochure. I think it is good that you plan to use repetition in your own group brochures
comment
The cover page and the second page of this brochure are very well done. I agree with you since the text in both pages contrasts itself with the pages' colors which offers a great image of what the brochure is all about. This attracts the reader's attention and will make them look into the whole brochure. I also agree that the other important element found in this brochure is repetition since the next 5 pages follow the same format. This makes the brochure easy to follow for the reader and will not make it confusing causing the reader to keep reading. The color of the text, as you also mention, changes in each page causing the sensation of difference between the pages. Even though they follow the same structure, the color differences makes the reader perceive differences in the information that is offered. This is a very good brochure since it does attract attention and keeps things simple.
Reading Response Reply
The brochure you found is an excellent example of what an effective brochure should look like. I agree that its use of repetition is an important aspect to consider when we make our own brochures for the project. The Environmental Protection Agency's brochure was easy to read and gave a concise amount of information. I especially liked the layout of the brochure. Its use of large headings and bullet points of information appears to be an effective approach to getting information across. The use of a picture is very different from the normal use of an image. I liked how it was used as a background. I am not sure if we will do that for our project, but it was an interesting idea.
Brochure Comment
I think your brochure is a very good example and we will benefit from it when we are making our project. I like how the first two pages and the last two pages use eye catching pictures. Since this is a longer brochure, they have a little more free space they can play around with to catch the audience’s attention. I also like the way they use the repetition with titles throughout the brochure. I think this makes it very organized and easy to read. Last, I think the author did a great job on placing the little pictures throughout the brochure. The colors were very bright and worked well on the white background.
I really like your choice of
I really like your choice of brochure. It uses a great use of images, be it small and large. Although, there is a lot of information that is poignant to the topic, the authors did a great job of dividing it up with the small visuals. The layout looks pretty standard, but uses nice computer technique of text wrapping. I agree that the use of repetition brings consistency to the pamphlet and makes the information much easier to follow. Also, being consistent with the color of heading allows the reader's eye to quickly scan to the area of interest. I think you have some good ideas that will enhance the development of your group brochure.
Comment
The brochure you chose was a good example of brochures. I found the same brochure as yours. I think it reflected all the principles of chapter 25 very well. It used the proper font size and pictures which were closely related to the topic. The alignment was organized very well. Since the topic was about green scaping, green and brown color used in the brochure also showed the proximity to the topic. As you said, I found one of the most interesting characteristics of this brochure was repetition as seen in its page headers. The numbered five steps of green scaping was very informative and simple. The different colors used in each step interested me. I think this brochure will be very helpful as a reference when we make our own brochure.