Overview
In any rhetorical situation, it’s a good idea to see what is out there to better understand the conventions of a media or genre before you do your own work. In this case, you will be looking at some portfolios and analyzing one of them.
The objective is to practice writing about design using some common terms that Sue Jenkins introduced in her videos. If you think in terms of elements and principles in your own designs, you will be able to better think about how to best address a particular rhetorical situation. In evaluating a design, you would write about how the various elements are used effectively (or ineffectively) within the constraints of the Principles to convey meaning. You might say, “in design X, the use of toned type on a grey background does not create enough contrast to show appropriate emphasis, and it is difficult to read.”
For this task, begin by browsing the portfolios from the following list of past student portfolios:
Next, look at these professional portfolios:
- Web designer Meagan Fisher
- Web designer and author Simon Collison
- Freelance journalist Lauren Messman [uses free Weebly]
- Health blogger and freelance writer, Brandi-Ann Uyemura [uses Squarespace]
- Award winning journalist and editor David Wolman
- Graphic designer Jessica Hische
- Michigan State graduate student Jeana-Dee E. Allen
- Auburn undergraduate Jamie McClintock’s featured portfolio [uses free Weebly]
Consider ideas and possibilities as well as expectations. Consider the lifespan of your portfolio, from satisfying the requirements of this class to getting a job to showcasing your professional work. How will your site grow with you? Also, consider the design decisions, why one design might use a lot of white space, while another design might seem cluttered. You might notice that for many of the professionals, they still write about their writing or design whether in blogs or other parts of their website.
Your task
Write a short (<300 words) evaluative analysis of the DESIGN of ONE of the Writing Minor portfolio websites and ONE of the professional portfolios. In your analysis, make sure you explain why using the language of design. If something is not effective, explain why.
Remember Lawson’s fourth Design Process statement: “Design inevitably involves subjective value judgement.” We don’t use the language of “good” and “bad”; instead, think in terms of whether something is effective for an audience and the situation. So even professional graphic designer Meagan Fisher’s portfolio might use color in ways that you think are ineffective—but you have to explain why. Maybe Jeana-Dee E. Allen’s portfolio doesn’t use a lot of space, but might it be useful for an academic audience to have so much text? Or not?