The Villager site offers a wide variety of news related to the Stevenson Community. It provides news on events, games, and opportunities to get involved around Stevenson. The site is updated every week with stories written by journalism students. As a student newspaper, the Villager maintains a professional feel like many well-known newspapers but is more welcoming to an individual.
People looking to find information about what is happening on campus are not going to spend 20 minutes trying to navigate a confusing site. The Villager does a great job of using a simplistic layout to help its visitors find the information they want and focus on it. The front page of the website features a rotating content portion where a few of the new stories take their turn being presented. It draws your attention and brings the newest or more influential stories. The search bar is small enough to be seen while not drawing attention away from the stories at first glance. The section dividers as you scroll down the page not only effectively separate different types of news but allow the visitor to see what the next section is about. The news reported on the Villager is never breaking news and the simplistic font helps further the point that the article is a more in-depth look at a specific event or game. It is not bolded or italicized and helps the reader maintain a calm pace of leisure reading. The titles, however, are larger font and bolded to grab attention and explain what the story is about in brief detail to the reader. The color scheme is very desaturated which helps focus the attention to the stories and does not distract the visitor. The spacing of the site helps everything flow together and helps the reader’s eyes navigate the information on the page. The navigation bar has a wide variety of options but not too many that it becomes confusing. It covers what people could be coming to the site for into the smallest amount of categories possible.
Overall, the Villager does a good job of relaying recent information to the Stevenson community in a timely and organized fashion. The site has a plethora of stories to read and they all have quality information that can create action for the viewers. Its multi-modal use creates a site pleasing to the eye. The site’s layout is friendly to all users and makes specific stories or topics easy to find for current or prospective students, alumni, faculty, parents, or anyone interested in learning about the university.
1. The thesis is clear. It takes the entirety of the intro paragraph to set it up before ending with the actual claim, which is good, it helps to establish clarity.
2. The visual mode is most prominently touched upon, but the gestural could easily be expanded from the mentions of how to navigate the site, meaning there’s a solid foundation.
3. Throughout, the affordances are brought up in relation to the point being talked about. It allows the focus to go from element to element and keeps things categorized within the essay so it doesn’t jump around.
4. There were no screenshots, but the descriptions were enough to make the point about each element being discussed.