Quality and Effectiveness of Newsletter Publication - Assignment Example

Running Head: Quality and Effectiveness of newsletter publication Quality and Effectiveness of newsletter publication Name: Instructor: Institutional Affiliation: Date: Quality and effectiveness of newsletter publication Use of design principles Proper document design has as much to do with what you do not include as with what you do. White space is the background to your message. It is the space between images and words, charts and diagrams, headers, footers, and margins. Proper use of white space dictates how difficult your document will be to read. The greater the white space the easier the comprehension of the page. Some readers like to make notes in the margins. Give them that opportunity and they will appreciate your document as a resource and reference. This Newsletter is Left justified as they begin from the left and read to the right. The majority of Newsletters are left justified following a line along the left margin. Center justification aligns text to the middle of the document. Often this justification is used for headings and titles. According to this newsletter, it is located at the top of the page and section breaks. Right justification is used for right flushed placements in tables and charts. It does not been used in the body of the document. Standard column width of a document is 6.5 inches with 1 inch margins (left and right) with a paper width of 8.5 inches. Varying column widths assist with the readability of the newsletter. Sections and subsections are identified through indentation and multiple columns and it can help present and organize items of information in this newsletter. Its width is also considered. It is just like the layout of any other newspaper. Many papers and magazines deploy a variety of columns widths to add separation to stories. This technique helps readers to distinguish stories from one another on the page. Just like the way it has been design in the newsletter, most people utilize photos and graphics to enhance a document visually. This is only part of the Newspaper message. Information design is the consideration, selection, and integration of each of the previously mentioned elements has been used to enhance presentation and communication with your intended audience. Layout, fonts, and white space are as important as other visuals for communicating Newspaper information. Visuals enhance layout and content once design and strategy formats have been determined. The following are important considerations that are used to select visuals for the newsletter: Detail – images need to be large enough that the objective can be clearly seen but no larger than necessary to support the message. Relevance – Arbitrary visuals intended to add aesthetics to a document but hold no relation to the content can distract from the effectiveness of the message. A Newspaper document on changing a light bulb clearly should have images of light bulbs, but as appealing as butterflies may be, they have no relation to the objectives. Simplification – “A picture is worth a thousand words”. This has been achieved with the selected image chosen. Use of typography Informative and inviting pages are help created by typefaces that are well-chosen. This helps breathe new life to the paper and writing process in general ("Fonts" 30). Below is a discussion of five sections of the several typography sections that are always available for the newspaper designers. These include but not limited to the actual text, headlines, standard type, nameplates and info graphics. Text: The majority of all body text in newspapers is serif type, with most papers using one of four or five basic faces. Research has shown that it takes slightly longer to read sans serif type, and serif type is more visually pleasing to the eye as it has a horizontal flow. A heavy typeface should be used in order to contrast the black text with the gray paper. Hairline elements of a typeface should be avoided because the print quality of newspapers is low and parts of letters could disappear if they’re too faint. The face should be a bit narrower than regular type in order to save space. Text: serif type of text is what makes up majority of the body text in newspapers with one of four or five faces being used by majority of the newspapers. Several researches have shown that it takes longer period to read sans serif type, and they more visually pleasing to the eye due to their horizontal flow. The black texts should be contrasted using heavy typeface in a gray paper. Due to the poor print quality of the paper, the hairline elements should be avoided in order to avoid some of the faint parts of the letters from disappearing. There should be narrower faces than the normal types in order to save on the space. Headlines: This is the most dominant and commonly used typographic element in this newspaper writing. It’s used in most of the newspaper to reflect the overall personality of the newspaper. Both sans serif and serif are used in the headlines. The serif faces are however seen as being more expressive and not so much impersonal (Aldrich-Ruenzel 79). Correct word-and letterspacing should be characterizing a tight leading headline for good legibility (Aldrich-Ruenzel 79). There should also white space on either both sides of the headline in order to have some breathing room on the page. Standard: This type of typography is used to announce those features that appear regularly or the daily columns. They help readers locate certain stories within a short time as they go through the paper sans serif is a good choice of typography. This typography can sometimes be set apart using different styles (caps, italic and bold) or have the reverse type (white letters on a dark background). Info graphics: These were mostly used to quickly help the reader get to understand within a short time and in a few words the message in the newspaper. Under many occasions, a lot of info is unimportantly added to the info graphics. A short summary and a headline is what are needed to be done on the serif typeface. Its therefore a good idea to break it into modules that are manageable. Nameplate: This is what identifies a newspaper. Most of the reader first read the nameplate in any newspaper as this is what is seen first. It was first used in England but later in America with the most common Nameplate up to date being the Old English style. Use of graphics and visual styles The use of images, diagrams, charts, and other visual essentials helps to effectively communicate a message. Staging /presentation is as significant as content when preparing a Newspaper article. We are all well-known with the proverb “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Visual elements are often used in the development of: • Flyers • Classified ad • Brochure materials Graphic Communications Graphics are as important as text in your creation. Several writers are not experienced in the application of graphic design. This role may be coordinated with a graphic designer if you should have that resource available. Often Newspaper writers are responsible for this duty. Regardless, a Newspaper writer needs to be familiar with the elements of sound design theory. Visual Features and Attributes There are four fundamental principles of blueprint that were applied to the newspaper in the selection and project of visuals: 1. Contrast – The intention is to avoid similar items. If certain elements are not identical (font, color, shape, space, etc.) then make them very different. Contrast gains attention, ads visual depth, and is the first thing a reader will notice. 2. Repetition -Repeat visual elements all through the project. This will visually describe and organize the project. 3. Alignment -Every element should have a visual affiliation to every other element on a piece of paper. Nothing should be placed randomly. 4. Proximity – Related items should be grouped together. It establishes structure and helps to organize information. When related items are grouped together they become a single unit. Selection of Graphics and Visuals Graphics and visuals can comprise anything that is not text. We often make use of charts, graphs, photos, and illustrations to express information. Readers will keep in mind a graphic long after they have forgotten pages of text. Graphics software allows Newspaper writers to convert information into visuals that can reinforce the concepts and purpose of a project. It is important to select graphics that are appropriate to the topic and audience. • Charts demonstrate relationships from side to side step or stream processes • Diagrams illustrate conceptual concepts • Graphs display correlation between data variables and compare the trends between them Whichever visual type you choose, design graphics to be clear and easily understood. Include simple captions for straightforward comprehension. The next page will introduce common and not so common graphic types used by Newspaper writers to relay data and information visually. Pie Chart A pie chart is divided into parts. Each part of the chart is a representation of the whole pie. Each pie section has a proportion value. The sum of each section will always add up to 100%. Pie charts can be presented as a plane circle drawing. Others can be three dimensional. Bar Chart Bar charts are used to evaluate values of several grouped items at given points in instant. Bar charts can be vertical or horizontal. Each bar represents a group. Bars are presented for evaluation. Axes have to to be labeled clearly to identify the variables used for assessment Pareto Chart A disparity of the bar chart based on the Pareto Principle that 20% of all problems have 80% of the shock on the issue. A Pareto Charts aims to illustrate the 20%. Line Chart Line charts follow trends over time. They can demonstrate a single trend or can compare numerous categories. Tree Chart Tree diagrams are a way of representing chain of command in a graphical form. The chart resembles a tree with each constituent connecting as a network of branches demonstrating relationship and organization to the overall system. Pedigree Chart Pedigree charts chart genealogical relationships with each split leading to unusual offspring from the parent. Area Chart Area charts are similar to line charts. Instead of single lines they display full color areas below the lines. This visual display technique is used to distinguish the data. Areas are made transparent to allow overlapping detail in the graphic. PERT Chart The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is used in project management to evaluate the tasks involved in implementation a project. Organizational Chart An organizational chart is a diagram that shows the structure of an organization and the relationships between people of the organization. Relations may be represented by position, department, title, and other indicators demonstrating chain of command or managerial structure. This type of diagram as used in the newspaper writing help in knowing the organizational structure and how this structure would be used to help the reader have a clear understanding of the of how and organization is being run and managed. Corporate identity/target audience In writing this newspaper publication, target audience is the driving force. This is because of the need to satisfy the needs of a particular audience. To help craft a message that is appealing to the readers. Writing without bearing the writers in mind results in the production of a writing that is too general to satisfy any particular group of readers. More often than not all newspaper writings if not targeted will result in no audience at that can read the document. To help craft a message that is appealing to the readers. Writing without bearing the writers in mind results in the production of a writing that is too general to satisfy any particular group of readers. More often than not all newspaper writings if not targeted will result in no audience at that can read the document. Who is the audience? Questions to think about: • What do they know about the subject matter of the newspaper? • Are they beginners or experts? • What is their background? • Are they Newspaper or non-technical? • Are they internal or external to your business? • What jobs do they do? • Are they administration? •Do they feel positive, negative. Or neutral to the subject matter? Read More