When I first decided to start the blog, I did not really know what to expect. To be frank, with the advent of Facebook and Twitter, I had the perception that blogs are ‘things of the past’. I found that I was wrong. I discovered that blogs are more complete to share findings and resources, due to their common strength in archiving.
Blogs cannot be replaced by other media, just like print publications cannot be replaced by online ones. They have their respective strengths and weakness. In my comparison of publications of different medium types, I discovered that there are basic design principles that are adhered to, but different approaches are employed to suit their individualities.
Writing regularly for this couple of months has cultivated me to pay attention to issues affecting publications and their design considerations. This is formed, not just on my personal opinions. The researches done in this period has provided me significant knowledge on these issues.
It is not enough just to produce a good design, be it in print or online. Juxtapositions often lead to undesirable or amusing interpretations. Below are a few instances I have come across and they should explain the consequences of juxtapositions in a light-hearted manner.
This comes across as a grave irony as the top poster gives a totally different meaning to the products offered in the bottom poster. Such juxtaposition of advertisements greatly affect the desirable marketing intent of the product.
The positioning of the two articles together gives different meanings to the two news stories. The top one reports on the request to have home-buyer credit extended while the bottoms one corresponds to fraud in tax credit. The latter article seemingly mocks the former one.
In this juxtaposition of advertisement and article, the advertisement for Muslim Matrimonials is unforunately affected by the report on the right in which the religion of the reported figure was named.
In this instance, the potrait of the young girl who suffers from the mutilation from the Taliban is placed beside the advertisment of the photo-editing software. This points to insenstivity of the advertiser to advertise on such irony.
Comparing the print and online edition of the same publication allows us to observe the differences between both platforms.
The print edition of the flagship papers, The Straits Times, is printed in a broadsheet style and the layout of the online edition adopts a similar design concept with some modifications to suit the internet medium. The print edition has more consistent readers while the online edition has more erratic readers. Internet readers may be directed to the online edition by search engines and there is a need to capture their attention fast.
Emphasis on Top Story/ Stories
The print edition employs a more straightforward approach in its design and the publication displays one prominent top story with the use of an eye-catching photograph in the middle of the page. This layout ‘makes significant use of the Centre, placing one element in the middle and the other elements around it’ (Kress & van Leeuwen 1998, p.196). This gives emphasis to one story. In the online edition, the viewers are introduced to numerous top stories that are flashed in turns.
Unlike the simplicity in the print edition that directly displays each story behind their respective headlines, the online edition only states the headlines and their leads. Readers get to read the full story only upon clicking. This results in the online edition presenting itself with a more complex layout and attention is spread out among a number of top stories.
Video Options, Popular Stories and Relevant links unique to the Online Medium
Interactivity and Advertisements
There are no doubts that internet edition dominates the print edition in interactivity. Video options, tracking of the popular stories and relevant links are unique components that provide a more wholesome reading experience to internet users. Readers can even view the comments made by other users about the story.
Advertisements are of economic importance to newspapers. They are usually ‘prepared first, for the good reason that many of them have to be proofed for viewing by the advertiser or agent.’(Woolf, p.87) In the print edition, the advertisements remain within their allocated areas. However, interactivity of the online medium proves to be quite a nuisance to the average users at times. In the online edition, advertisements sometimes appears as animations or pop-ups and proves to be distracting.
References
Kress, G, van Leeuwen, Theo 1998, ‘Front pages: (the critical) analysis of newspaper layout’, in Bell A & Garrett (eds), Approaches to media discourse, Blackwell, Oxford, pp.186-219
Woolf, G 2002,Publication Production Using Pagemaker: A Guide to Using Adobe Pagemaker 7, Worsley Press, Hastings
This youtube video gives a brief idea of the application of basic design principles via Coca Cola print advertisements. The design principles discussed in the video are explored with reference to design texts.
According to Lidwell, Holden and Butler (xxxx, p.234), symmetry is defined as ‘a property of visual equivalence among elements in a form’ and has been regarded as a basic element ‘found in virtually all forms of nature.’ They can be further classified into reflection, rotation, and translatio’. Symmetry is considered as ‘the most basic and enduring aspect of beauty’. Balance is a basic skill of design in achieving symmetrical figures which attributes to the recognition and memory of the image.
According to Elam (2001, p.5), proportion is one of the ‘visual princeiples of geometric composition’ and ‘classic porportioning systems (include) the golden section and root rectangles’. Indeed, proportion is defined as the relativity between size and scale between elements in a design. For instance, proportion can be considered between the height, width and length of one element against the over composition.
Sequence
Sequence refers to the technique that is ‘used to connect elements that are not otherwise obviously grouped’ (Lidwell, et al, 2010, p. 246). An instance is the use of a connecting line to guide the audience’s viewing pattern.
Lauer and Pentak (2008, p.28) states that unity ‘means that a congruity or agreement exists among the elements in a design’ or simply, making different elements appear as if they ‘belong together’.
References
Elam, K 2001, Geometry of design: studies in proportion and composition, Princeton Architectural Press, New York
Lauer D A, Pentak S, 2008 Design Basics, Thomson Wadsworth, Boston
Lidwell W, Holden K, Butler J, 2010, Universal Principles of Design: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions and Teach through Design, Rockport, Beverly
According to Steele (2002, p.7), censorship is ‘any attempt to limit or prevent the free exchange of information’. It can be an attempt by the government or individuals in the choice of in the exchange of information. Indeed, censorship is often used based on good intent to safeguard the interest of the public. On the personal level, there are parents wish to restrict the kids’ access to questionable content, such as obscene, violent or sexual contents. On the national level, government may censor as a form of social control to maintain social balance and harmony. Of the various media forms, censorship in the cyberspace remains a great challenge, given its freedom of expression.
In Singapore, censorship focuses on four areas: political, racial, religious and sexual issues. Being a multi-racial society, the Singapore Government pays special attention to censor information or views that may undermine respective reasons. The Maria Hertogh riots that occurred in the 1950s, that leaves at least 18 killed and 173 injured, ‘highlighted the insensitive way the media handled religious and racial issues in Singapore’ (Tan, 1997). To control the exchange of online information, the 3 Internet Service Providers ( ISPs) abide by regulations of the Media Development Authority (MDA) to block websites with questionable materials.
On the personal level, internet users are expected to practice self-censorship. Chen Jiahao received email that notified him that the government was considering legal action against his blog when Chen blogged his criticism of A*STAR, a Singaporean state agency. Facing potentially ruinous financial penalties, Chen issued a public apology, shut down his blog and promised to not to make similar statements in future. Chen’s case reinforces the power of law to alter Internet content and has led other Singaporean bloggers to write more cautiously.
Reading the Jan 28 article titled 'Blog hit fish head eatery's business - Bloggers worried about impact of libel suit by Sabah restaurant owner' by Carolyn Hong, it's amazing to reflect on how much blogs have invaded our culture and influenced us socially in the last 10 years. Before blogging became popularity, the mainstreams of news were newspapers and television. Traditionally, media has always been a 'push' media and media operators decide what audiences be told.
Internet reshaped the way information was delivered. In the beginning, ‘surfers started creating logs of the information they collected, and soon evolved into web logs’ which subsequently evolved to the term ‘blogs’ (Hall 2006,p.2). One of the advantages of blogging lies in its potential to reveal news conventional media attempts to hide. On a narrower scope, personal blogs enables voices of individuals to be heard.
Due to popularity, some bloggers have a greater impact on its audiences than others. However, these individuals are not necessarily equipped with proper journalism ethics or knowledge of the social responsibilities they should possess. This case is one of the instances that show how the ignorance of a blogger can cause about harm to other individuals. Bloggers need to find the balance between freedom of speech and social responsibility that may contradict each other.
Reference
Hall, R S 2006, The Blog Ahead: How Citizen-Generated Media Is Radically Tilting the Communications Balance, Morgan James Publishing, New York
Design considerations are made for online and print edition of the same sales material. Here, we explore two versions of the OCBC EasiCredit that cater to two different group of audiences.
Brochure of OCBC EasiCredit
The print version takes the form of a tell-all brochure and is printed on 157gsm paper with a glossy finish. It is ‘illustration-oriented’ (Parker 2003, p.268) and chooses to focus on the rewards of the service. In the brochure, the designer chooses to use sans serifs fonts for both the headlines and body copy, which gives uniformity to the design. It adheres to basic design format of brochures and makes use of ‘a front-cover headline that summarizes the primary benefits of the product offered’ (Parker 2003, p.269). Information is broken up into different sections and are distributed across the different pages. One major advantage of the print version lies in its ease of reading because ‘of the different way (the) readers’ eyes encounter (the) message’ (Parker 2003, p.270).
On the contrast, the online version is more textual. Unlike the multicolumn layout of brochures, the text are restricted to single columns. It is noted that the designer took considerations to ‘build white space into the left and right margins of each page’ (Parker 2003, p.273) and results in the ease to read. Additional information is available upon clicking of the different tab-heads. Unlike constraints of the print version, links to other services provided by the bank is available upon selection in the online edition.
Reference
Parker, RC, 2003, Looking good in print, Paraglyh Press, Scottsdale
Statistics from Nielsen has shown that users in the U.S. spend ‘906 million hours a month on social networks’ and there is a ‘43% increase’ reported between June 2009 and June 2010 (Martin, 2011). Among these social networks, there is no doubt that Facebook and Twitter are both currently the most popular social utilities used by millions of users around the globe.
Facebook is a social networking website that acts as a platform for users to stay in touch with their friends by allowing users to create personal profiles and interact via text, photos and videos. Twitter is a social network messaging systems that allows individuals to broadcast text messages of up to 140 characters to their followers.
Which exactly is better?
Apparently, the use of both these media do not conflict each other. As stated by Martin in her article(2011), Twitter is compared to’ Times Square on New Year’s Eve’ while Facebook is more like ‘a party invitation with an RSVP’.
For better comparison, it is important to look at the 'infographic comparing the Facebook population to the Twitter population' by Digital Surgeons (Ingram, 2010). This set of data reveals that fact that although there are about 4 times more Facebook users than Twitter users, Twitter users are much more active than Facebook users. 52 percent of Twitter users update their status daily compared to only 12 percent of Facebook users.
This seems to point out the different usability of these two social network media and they still work hand-in-hand to complement each other in the present state.
According to Sauers (2006), a blog is an online journal, blogging is ‘the act of creating posts for a blog’ and a blogger is ‘the person who creates those posts’(p.1). Kelly (2004) sees blogging as ‘a new form of journalism unfettered by the constraints of the traditional press with the power to influence public opinion’.
Types of Blogs
There are many types of blogs online, published in over 100 languages.They can be categorized into three main groups.
Personal: This is most general category and bloggers blog about personal topics like entertainment, travel and music.
Business: Professionals may share their expertise and experience and companies use blogs to stay engaged with their customers.
By Genre: These blogs emphasizes on special topic of interests, such as sports blogs, political blogs and music blogs.
According to a news report by BBC News (2006), the introduction of blogs leads to the possibility of ‘consumer online self-expression’. Internet has caused a revolutionary change of media communication ‘from a predominantly one-way, read-only medium to a more two-way, participatory, collaborative and interconnected medium’. This results in the empowerment of consumers to influence others and poses an impact to bigger entities, like businesses. For instance, if a blogger comments on bad experience with products, followers will have an unfavorable perception of the company. News media can no longer hide facts from audiences as the public are able to publish immediate information.
Welcome to this media space that is dedicated for recording my observations pertaining to chosen aspects of media.
Through this blog, I wish to explore both print and online publications and analyse issues, including design considerations, which affect them. As a media student, it is hoped that I can apply information obtained from my lessons and relate it to practical examples This blog serves as an online resource for me to share with fellow media students and anyone who is interested in the topic. As the name of the blog goes, it is a media space shared by everyone of us.
