E-Portfolio

http://dhsla101h.weebly.com/index.html

World's Worst Website

http://www.angelfire.com/super/badwebs/ 
 

This link is to the “World’s Worst Website,” created by a blogger who wanted to demonstrate just how badly a website can be designed.

If want to click on the link, you can see just how annoying and ugly it is. The wallpaper is distracting and the orange is not really that pretty of a color for a website. Speaking of colors, there are many clashing shades of blue, yellow, red, orange, lavender (I think), and others that just should not go together. The gifs and thumbnail graphics are so overused and distracting that it gives someone a headache after 30 seconds of looking over the page. In addition to the horrible visuals, the repeating music adds another layer of annoyance to the point where I had to mute my computer while writing this post.

One thing that amused me about this site is that it was created solely for the purpose of educating people about web design. It has a great number of do-nots incorporated into it so that people who are interested in web design have a good idea of what not to put into a website. Plus, the site gives the viewer tips on how to improve or fix errors that have probably been committed already.

So I suggest that if you want to get into web design, look at sites that are designed to inform and educate you about what to do and what not to do, like this one.

Snuggie

 

Ah, the Snuggie – the blanket with sleeves. We all know what it is and how ridiculous and unnecessary it is, but now that we all can see infomercials and commercials in a new light, it’s kind of entertaining to watch the commercial for the rhetorical devices it uses. So let’s explore them, shall we?

Right off the back, the commercial addresses a problem that affects many Americans today: the cost of living. It somehow links the ineffectiveness of regular blankets to heating costs. This is an example of the commercial outlining a problem that the consumer hasn’t thought about: your blanket doesn’t work, you’re forced to turn up the heat, and the heating bill gets more expensive. I bet none of you have ever thought of your sleeveless blanket as being a financial hazard. The ad forces you to make that connection so that the solution of buying a different type of blanket doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.

Throughout the ad, they mention problems that could be seen as minor inconveniences caused by sleeveless blankets, but nothing that seemed too troubling, such as the blanket slipping off (but notice how the woman is awkwardly trying to get covered with the regular blanket… she’s horrible at it!), the inability to hold a baby, the inability to hold a dog, the inability to eat or walk, etc. By outlining all of the things you could do with a backwards robe/can’t do with a blanket, the viewer is forced to see what could be slightly better and is automatically dissatisfied with his/her current blanket situation because the audience is being reminded of the minor inconveniences that don’t really cause many troubles. The more we think about them, the more bothersome they become.

At the end, the commercial tries to seal the deal with a free book light that’s given to anyone who calls within a certain time span. The company doesn’t want the audience to (understandably) double think their decision of buying a Snuggie, so they give an extra incentive to convince the consumer to buy.

I guess infomercials are kind of fun to watch now.

Dented Head Girl

                                          source: desigg.com
 

This is an advertisement trying to convince drivers to drive more safely in neighborhoods and towns. I don’t know about you, but I find this to be very effective because of the imagery and the look of plain sadness on the child’s face. This ad relies a lot on pathos and also requires the audience to think about what it’s saying, which leads to a more effective message.

First, let’s look at the text: “In town, car accidents don’t just happen to cars.” What this does is cause the audience to think about what or whom else it could affect. In this case, it’s little girls like this one pictured. The viewer now understands that cars could cause harm to children if driven too fast or recklessly. This leads to the image of the girl… and the giant dent in her head. The metallic indent is supposed to be like a dent in a car after an accident, which is kind of a cynical way to look at these kinds of collisions -- the girl is like a car. But it gets the point across.

The imagery is disturbing to say the least, and I think that’s what the makers aimed to do. Whenever we think of car crashes and accidents, we think of car-hit-car instead of car-hit-small child, and that’s what is being discussed here. One of the most disturbing things in this ad, besides from the gaping crater in the kid’s skull, is that this cute little girl is being looked at as a damaged car or a car part. The cuteness adds to the pathos because no one ever wants to see something adorable hurt or mistreated in any way.