Reflection

Finally it has come to an end to blogging for this assignment and I have learnt a lot through out this process. One of the skills I learnt from blogging is that it is essential to understand how readers read on the web because the way a reader read on print and web are different. It is best to emphasize on important information by highlighting the keywords, having headings and sub-headings as readers would skim through the texts at all times (Nielsen, 1997).

On the other hand, the information used in my blog posts were cited to avoid any copyright issues. Lannon (2006) stated that credibility and the accuracy of the information have to be used appropriately. Besides, I also learnt that images are as important as texts. It is essential to include images in the blog post as it will increase reader’s interest in reading them. Both images and texts are designed to work together as it will enhance learning and understanding (Schriver, 1997). Schriver (1997) also stated that “learning was better with text and illustration”. In conclusion, this learning process was beneficial and valuable to me.

References:

Lannon, JM 2006,'Technical Communication', 10th Edition, Pearson Education, USA.

Nielsen, J 1997, How Users Read on the Web, Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox, retrieved 15 November 2009, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html

Schriver, K.A 1997, Dynamics in Document Design: Creating Texts for Readers, Wiley Computer Pub., New York.

Indonesian weekly apologises over Last Supper Suharto cover

This article is about an Indonesian weekly apologizes on the imitation of the Leonardo Da Vinci’s last supper of the late Suharto on the cover of Indonesia’s top new weeklies magazine “Tempo”. Despite, the publication of the cover page, there were no intentions on disrespecting the Christians. As compensation, the apology will be extended in the next edition of the weekly “Tempo” magazine to show genuine apology in order to avoid the protest on this issue.

Figure 1: Suharto's last supper

(Source: http://nick131086.blogspot.com/2008/11/indonesian-weekly-apologises-over-last.html)

Figure 2: Jesus's last supper

(Source: http://nick131086.blogspot.com/2008/11/indonesian-weekly-apologises-over-last.html)

Images have angles of vision to fulfill perspectives and achieve the meaning of syntactic relations (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006). However, Kress &Van Leeuwen (2006) added that Language and visual communication can show meanings belonging to and also formed by cultures in certain societies. In relation to the article, the cover page of Suharto’s imitation of Leonardo Da Vinci’s last supper portray a message that Christians mislead it to be disrespectful. This has proven that different individuals see the meaning of images differently due to cultural differences and different perspective.

Creators often use signs to define what they want it to mean rather than defining it as how audience understand them (William, 2003). Generally, cross-culture will lead to misunderstanding and confusion if the context of the culture is not properly used. Signs from different countries do not share the same meaning. (Schriver, 1997), It is essential to understand the audience cultural knowledge in order to create a constructive image (Schriver, 1997).

An example shown above is the advertisement of the “P1 W1MAX” with the slogan “Potong Now” which means “Cut Now”. The slogan that is used in this advertisement may give a different meaning to different individuals. The verbal advertisement on the radio with the slogan may mislead some listeners to think that it is regarding a circumcise advertisement.

In my opinion, cultural difference effects tremendously on how an image is define. It is important to understand the cultural values and understanding of different countries before any misunderstanding occur.

References:

ABC News 2008, 'Indonesian weekly apologises over Last Supper Suharto cover', ABC News, viewed 15 November 2009, http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/06/2156269.html

Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 2006, Chapter 6: The meaning of composition, Reading Images: Grammar of Visual Design, Routledge, London

Williams, K 2003, ‘Ways of Making You Think: Theories of Ideology and Meaning’, Understanding Media Theory, Arnold, London.

Schriver, K.A 1997, 'The interplay of words and pictures', Dynamics in document design : creating texts for readers, p. 361-441, Wiley Computer Pub, New York.

Document Design.

What is a good document design?

It is important to understand the features of the design in order to create an effective document design. (Reep, 2006)

Heading is the initial feature for readers to indicate before reading the contents in the slide as it gives an idea to the readers on what the slide is about. As Reep (2006) stated that headings are organization tools to alert readers to the sequence of information in a document. This is because headings help readers to indicate specific information. However, it also provides an outline to readers in order for them to see the hierarchical relationship of sections. Though, headings give the attention to specific topic as well as show the changes in topic. For example in figure 1, this slide taken from my group’s presentation power point, the heading in this slide would help readers to understand the presentation clearer.

Figure 1

Where as for this slide, in figure 2, without heading, readers might misunderstand or it might mislead the presentation.

Figure 2

Image is also an important tool to create a good document. It helps to give an illustration for readers to understand the topic better. (Reep, 2006) Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) also stated that texts and images exist side by side with one another. They are designed to work together in order help each other to enhance the idea of the context by clarifying and expanding reader’s interpretation towards the main idea. (Schriver, 1997) For example, from the slide above in figure 1, a slide with only text is not as effective as compared to a slide with images and texts. This is supported by Williams as cited in Putnis & Petelin (1996), images help readers to remember and illustrate the information better.

Besides, document must not be too wordy as readers often tend to lose interest in reading. However, it must include, sub-headings, highlighted keywords, bulleted lists, one idea per paragraph, and inverted pyramid. (Nielson (1997) Nielson (1997) stated that some readers would not read the whole content of a document as they scan through the texts. As we can see from the slide in figure 3, readers would be able to scan through the slide and understand the slide. However, as we can see from the slide below in figure 4, readers would lose interest in reading this slide as it is too wordy and the key words are not highlighted or in bold.

Figure 3

Figure 4

Last but not least, font type and size are the essential tools in creating a good document design. In a formal document, simple/standard type of fonts should be use as to create professionalism. The font size used in a document must not be too small or too big as well. This is supported by MacKenzie as he stated in Putnis & Petelin (1996) in order to create a good document, it involves factors such as the type and size of the font used and the amount of white space between the lines. The slide shown in figure 1 is a good example to this.

References:

1. Kress, G. & van Leeuwen, T 2006, Reading images. Chapter 1: The semiotic landscape: language and visual communication.

2. Nielsen, J 1997, How Users Read on the Web, viewed 10 September 2009, <www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html>

3. Putnis, P & Petelin, R 1996, ‘Writing to communicate’, in Professional communication: principles and applications, Prentice Hall, Sydney, pp. 223-263.

4. Reep, Diana C. 2006, ‘Chp 4: Principles of Document Design,’ in Technical Writing, 6th ed., Pearson Edu, Inc., New York, p.173-190.

5. Schriver, K.A 1997, 'The interplay of words and pictures', Dynamics in document design : creating texts for readers, p. 361-441, Wiley Computer Pub, New York.