Reading Response Week 7
5:00 Appeal to Emotions: It is my feeling that this brochure plays towards peoples emotions. It makes people remember Christmas. Also, phrases like, “Bring out the inner Santa” and “Santa’s nice list” make the reader feel more obligated to participate +
4:00 Be Professional: I think that our photos look professional. There could be some tweaking to make sure they looks slightly better, but what we were provide with we couldn’t have done much better. I also like the placement. +
3:00 Achieve Readability: I really like our drop cap and the mistletoe on each of them. I think this was a cool effect. I like the colors, but I don’t know about how pleasing these are to the eye. +
2:30 Speak the Language: I think that our brochure’s language is simple and easy to understand. We are not going to lose anyone because they cant understand our view +
2:00 Lead with Benefits: We can maybe use some improvement here, tell them they will feel good, help the community, ect. –
1:20 Have a Single Message: I think we deliver a clear message. I think our brochure could benefit from taking out a few words and simplifying slightly but overall I am a fan. +
0:50 Focus on a Product or Service: Our brochure clearly states what this is for. I think we offer them a good amount of activities to volunteer for and it does not overall the reader. +
0:20 Make an Action Call: Our brochure calls them to volunteer and provides and easy to use mail in form. +
Overall I gave us 7+ and 1- It seems to me we have a pretty good brochure. I think we made a lot of good changes over the weekend and if we have another weekend nearly that productive I think we will have a top of the line brochure. Our group has worked hard and had fun on this project.
Comments
Reading Response Reply
I agree that we made a lot of good changes over the weekend too. It is a completely different brochure and we all worked very hard on it. I agree that we could change the pictures especially the one under “Santa’s Nice List” because it does seem squished under the list. I agree we need to show the audience what they will get from volunteering besides “Give Back to your Community.” I think we show the audience through pictures that the volunteers are enjoying themselves but I think we could also use some text to support the pictures. I like our colors too but it might not be very pleasing to the eye. We might need to change the colors in order for the brochure to be eye catching in a good way and pleasing to the audience when reading our brochure.
Response
We share the same feeling on many of these points. I agree with some of the points you brought up about the design. The colors do fit appropriately considering we are working with a Christmas theme, but also it may be a bit much. For example, there are parts where we have a bunch of different shades of green. I think if we just focus on our solid core colors like red, green, and gold, are brochure will have plenty of color without overdoing it. With that, the use of these specific colors will put the readers in more of a holiday mood, and even that could be used as a persuasive technique. Also, it would help us to include information of how a volunteer would see the first-hand benefits from providing their service. After reading Megan and Suzanne’s responses, it seems that we are all in agreement on this issue. With that, and the reviews we received from our peers, I feel we will be in great shape for the next time we get together to finish our project up with the final touches.
Reply
I agree that our use of words appeal to the audience. We use phrases such as “Bring out the inner Santa” and “Santa’s nice list” elicit emotions in the readers which in turn creates a need for them to help those in need. I agree also with how you said that you do not know if the colors are that pleasing to eye. I am torn because the colors bring about emotions from Christmas, but at the same time that can be a bit distracting to the reader. The brochure is full of color and images, but to the readers there may be too much going on for them. We can always find a way to tone down the color if we decide to before our final draft.