iWrite Analysis

Save The Arctic is a not for profit website run by Greenpeace. The website’s main page reflects the need to save the arctic and sign a global petition. The developers have achieved this through the use of visual imagery and typeface. Tone has also played a pivotal role for the reputation of this webpage. 

Tone

Most of the colours used throughout the website are various tones of muted blues. Wysocki (2004) tells us that, “websites that want to give the appearance of being serious tend to use muted colours,” (p. 132). The website developers chose to use these colours due to the fact that they want to portray a serious message. This is quite a feat as the designers have managed to portray the enormity of the issue in as even a tone as possible. This directly links to audience marketing. In this instance they have chosen to opt out of any bias by giving their audience a completely fact driven webpage.  The web developers don’t need to push their cause farther than necessary. They only require action and the only required action is signing a petition.

Visual Imagery

In this site the visual elements clearly take over the page. We are taken on a visual journey as we explore the single page. The visuals start off as a light muted blue. It almost mirrors the surface level of arctic waters. To accompany this is a surface level introduction to the arctic seas and the various issues surrounding it. The light muted blue is interrupted by a greasy black patch below. This is perhaps the most confrontational aspect to the webpage. The designers her want to shock us into action.  The black patch highlights the issue of deep sea oil drilling. Both the accompanying text and photo echo this effectively. However, in this section the various reds become all the more prevalent. 
The red of the jacket, the petition toolbar and the red arrow become striking in this dark environment. This technique supports the designer’s aim to shock us into action as the red is visuallystriking. This has been repeated at the bottom of the site as it is the audience’s last chance to be persuaded into doing anything. However the developers chose to include the northern half of earth in this section.  The earth is smothered by darkness while the only light to be seen is emanating from the arctic seas. This is a powerful way to end a persuasive text of this nature. It leaves a lasting image by doing more than tempting the audience into signing a petition.

When entering the Save the Arctic webpage the eyes of the reader are immediately drawn to the slideshow of images just below the title bar. Here the reader is introduced to the most important issues surrounding the arctic seas. From here the web designers give the reader a choice. If they are already convinced then they can sign the petition straight away. The contrasting red petition bar has been strategically placed to the right of the slideshow. If the reader needs more convincing then they have the opportunity to click ‘explore more issues.’ This takes the reader under the surface of the main issues. It is worth noting that the red petition bar follows the reader down as they delve deeper into the website. The web designer chose their slideshow placement well as, “photographs are often used to bring a sense of immediacy and reality to the layout,” (Wysocki, 132). The website instantly becomes a very real project that requires immediate attention and action.

Typeface

According to Wysocki the use of typeface is, “a major visual strategy for a text’s composers,” (p.127). The developers chose to use the sans serif typeface. The predominant use of this typeface indicates the desire for a contemporary and advanced image, such fonts having been developed to represent a modern and rational world (Wysocki 2004). The text features various sizes of sans serif but it can be split into the ‘decorative’ typeface and ‘for extended reading’ typeface. The bigger decorative typeface includes short and quickly read phrases such as, “No country owns the arctic. It should stay that way. Sign now.” Wysocki (2004) says designers use decorative typeface, “when they want a typeface to call attention to itself on the page” (p.  127). Immediately following the decorative typeface is (in most cases) an accompanying photo or video. The extended reading type face is situated below directly below the visuals, and it is of the same size as the visuals. According the Wysocki (2004) the extended reading type face is used, “when the typeface is supposed to attract no attention to itself,” (p. 127). However in this instance the text remains enticing. A block of text that has been made the exact same size and shape as a photograph perhaps tells you that the photograph is just as important as the block of text (Wysocki, 2004, p. 138). The decorative typeface, the visual imagery and extended reading typeface are all directly linked. According to Nielsen (2006), users do not read the webpage they are looking at. They scan the page in an “F shaped pattern.” So while the extended reading typeface is important it may not be completely necessary. The decorative typeface and accompanying imagery may be enough for some people but the remaining extended reading is there for the reader who needs more information and clarification.

Conclusion

Save The Arctic is well thought out webpage. It has been arranged extremely effectively and it is easy to get an overview of the issues at hand. The design is of a high quality which is important for the trustworthiness of the webpage (Neilsen 1999). “Like the perfect score to a film, a good user experience is unobtrusive and transparent,” (Olson, 2009). This is the perfect way to summarise the effectiveness of Save the Arctic. The website inspires action but never intrudes more than it needs to. 

References

Wysocki, A.F. (2004). The multiple media of texts: How onscreen and paper texts incorporate words, images, and other media. In C. Bazerman and P. Proir, (Eds.) What writing does and how it does it: An introduction to analysing texts and textual practices, pp. 123-163, Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Eribaum. Retrieved 1^st June, 2013.

Neilsen, J. (2007). Writing for the web. Research on how users read on the web and how authors should write their web pages. Retrieved 28^th May, 2013, from http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting

Neilsen, J. (1999). Trust or bust: Communicating trustworthiness in web design. Retrieved 30^th May, 2013, from http://www.useit.com/alterbox/990307.html

Olson, J. (2009). 5 universal principles for successful eCommerce-sites. Retrieved 3^rd June, 2013, from http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2009/03/23/designing-for-the-user-experience-in-ecommerce/
The Design Buzz. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.thedesignbuzz.net/when-to-choose-a-red-color-for-website-design-20-amazing-examples/

Website: http://savethearctic.org/