http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Rhetorical Analysis: The Washington Post website is a great example of a website designed with their audience and design elements in mind. Their audience is everyone as they provide stories on every topic. When trying to reach everyone it is important to have an easy to navigate website and search functions. If you look at the black bar at the top it breaks the web site down to categories along with a search function. Their home page is obviously targeting the younger generation who gets their news online or business men as the advertisements are clearly set for that purpose. Even more likely though is those advertisements change based on who logs on. I tested this theory by using my girlfriend’s laptop and sure enough the advertisement changed to Victoria Secret. I have been looking into buying a chromebook so Washington Post some how got that info and showed it to me. Websites have the ability to change to anticipate their user’s wants. The simplistic style is intended so anyone can sign on and find the articles they want to read. The Washington Post has created unintentionally the best way to target a market by allowing the audience to target themselves.
Design Analysis:
Repetition is minimal as there is no need to show the same idea over and over. The only real repetition is the selection panes are uniformed to allow for easy navigation. The balance is key here as they do not want to over power your attention allowing for the website to blend together easily. The contrast is obvious with the black to white allowing for a minimalistic design which I personally prefer. Most importantly the website flows as everything is logically placed with balance and contrast being used to differentiate areas. The font choice is exactly what you would expect from a news website. Minus the logo it is boring sans serif font which I also believe is the only font choice needed. They did not overlook alignment like a lot of people do as everything on the site is properly aligned along a grid.
R and D Analysis:
The goal is to be bland and efficient. They keep a professional image letting you know this is where you come for news. If you want a visually striking news source check out a blog if you want facts you come to the Washington Post. Their audience expects the same thing hence their design element is what their audience wants.
Copyright:
They are a news website so the author is mentioned and images are properly cited. News websites have entire departments dedicated to legal aspects such as copyright.
You are evaluating the design more than analyzing it. I need you to spend some more time describing what is going on in terms of the various design elements, not just saying it’s “good” or “bad” or “to be expected.” Does that make sense? Revise & resubmit for full credit.