Stevenson University’s The Villager is a student-run online newspaper. Student journalists cover university academic, athletic, and extracurricular news. Current students, faculty, parents, and alumni are the targeted audiences. After conducting a visual rhetorical analysis to illuminate modes that were utilized, The Villager looks professional, but also lacks function in many areas.
Modes and Affordances
Visual: Immediately, the website’s clean, white template appears professional, adding credibility to the publication and the news. The white space surrounding the website makes you focus on the latest news in the center. It becomes apparent that green is Stevenson’s color with the large green logo above the top navigation bar and the green accents like the page numbers. Also on the homepage, the capitalized and bolded letters directs the eye to different sections of the news like FEATURES and SPORTS. The photos are vivid and clear, again, making the website look professional.
Spatial: The side navigation with the CATEGORIES and RECENT POSTS sections are helpful, but I don’t think it’s necessary to have three places for those things on the home page: top nav, side nav, and the center, making it look a little crowded. Two search bars- especially in close proximity- is unnecessary. Having the categories on the top navigation bar affords viewers the choice on what news to read. The homepage should just include the latest posts and the side navigation. On mobile, the top navigation collapses into a hidden menu which keeps the website looking organized. When you click on posts with pictures interspersed in the text, the photos all seem left-aligned, which makes the website feel boring and monotonous.
Gestural: Because of the white space, scrolling feels like it takes forever, especially with so much content on the homepage. On mobile, the side navigation goes to the bottom of the page, making the viewer have to scroll almost infinitely. The slideshow of the latest posts on the homepage is a cool feature, adds interactivity. Some of the posts have videos and when you click them, it redirects you to another site to view the video. The website should have the capability of playing video with sound to keep the experience in one place.
Linguistic: The font is very modern and simple, adding to the professionalism. Posts aren’t too long and the paragraphs vary in length. The font should be slightly bigger so it’s easier to read without zooming in.
Aural: Because the site redirects you to another website to view videos, The Villager has no sounds. There are no haptics as well, even on mobile (unless your phone settings are set up like that).
In conclusion, The Villager is very strong in the visual mode, can improve greatly in the spacial and gestural modes, and lacks use of the aural mode. Improving these modes will definitely make the SU student-run newspaper more user-friendly and easily navigable.
