Evaluation of my Problem Page

Design Choices

Masthead- I named my article ‘Dear Louise’ mostly for the reason that it is from the readers’ point of view, as if they were starting a letter. The use of a name also gives a sense of familiarity between the reader and agony aunt, which in turn makes the reader more likely to trust the advice given. In addition alliteration can be made with “love Louise”, which can be used to end each piece of advice.

Slogan- I invented the slogan ‘Our girl solves your problems’ for many different reasons. Firstly, it gives clear, concise information about the content of the article. In addition, pronouns such as “Our” and “you” involve the reader, and “girl” reminds my teenage girl target audience of the similarities between them and ‘Louise’. This then makes them trust the article even more. Lastly, even though “problems” is quite a negative word, it is strong and powerful and implies that the agony aunt is taking the questions seriously.

Colour Scheme- For my colour scheme I chose pink, teal, orange and white because they are bright and contrasting and so stand out and attract readers. The pinks and oranges are very warm and inviting, and the white stands out as a happier alternative to black. Finally, these colours are youthful and commonly favourable colours amongst my target audience of teenage girls.

Dominant Font- I chose the Rockwell font due to it being smart and professional, yet not dull. It is also clear and bold without being imposing. The mixture of thickness in letters draws the readers’ attention, but isn’t too bold for large text. Finally, the font appeals to my target audience because it is interesting and grown up yet still fun and youthful, just like the sixteen to eighteen year old target audience.

Successfulness of Page

I think that my problem page was a success in that the overall look was bright and attractive. I really like colours and fonts that I used because they suited the article well. I really like that straplines at the top and bottom of the page as they look quite professional and the masthead is clear and exciting. I also like the position of the image in the middle of the page.

Changes to be made

For the main coursework there are a few things I need to work on. Firstly, the quality of image must be improved for a nice overall look. This can be achieved by using a better camera and taking time to edit the image. I also need to make my text more comprehensible by planning my space better. On my problem page the text is very overcrowded and confusing to read. Finally, the article would very much improved if I have been more careful about typos, as InDesign does not have spell check, and so I was not used to checking the text myself. In the main project I will run my text through Microsoft Word to be on the safe side.