Hi everyone, my name is Emily Wolff and today I will be providing a rhetorical analysis of the online website of Guernica. To start off, I will provide some background information on the site. Guernica is an online magazine that consists of various mediums that focus on different forms of art and politics. It can be said that Guernica is an arts magazine, as it incorporates different forms of art such as poetry and writing pieces; including fiction.
The targeted audience for this online publication would be for anyone interested in learning more about global politics and anyone who enjoys the arts. Because of the type of context the magazine uses, it is intended for adults to use; although open to anyone who can understand the level of writing. Tieing into the purpose, the purpose of Guernica is to provide a medium for people interested in the topics of global politics and people who have an eye for poetry and the arts in general. Guernica provides a means of entertainment and enlightenment for it’s readers and contributors as well.
Before going into the modes, I would like to make the claim that the way Guernica functions is effective and appropriate in terms of an online magazine.
Visual:
Color: The color of the website is mainly black with splashes of orange. The integretation of these colors against a white background makes them stand out. As you can see at the top here, the category you are under is highlighted orange, so it’s easy to see which one you are on; which is definitely helpful.
Font: The use of bolding and font size is absolutely perfect. Looking here, the main topic has the largest font and is bolded for accessibility. For example, looking under politics here, the titles of the various articles are in black ink and in larger font. The captions are smaller in size and provide a brief synopsis of the article.
Media: In looking at media, there is an integration of pictures, text, and sound. This is very effective in keeping an audience and bettering their experience, because they have a picture to go with what is being discussed. Looking at poety specifically, some of them provide a narration. Let’s take a look at “Milk Teeth” over here. As we click on it, there is a picture of teeth. And here we have a place where we can hear the narration of the poem, and scroll down to find a picture of said teeth.
Info architecture: In terms of information architecture, there is a navagation bar at the top with the search bar included as well. This creates easy navigation for it’s users and is displayed effectively as seen here.
User experience: Looking at user experience as previously mentioned, the experience is positive because of the modes coming together. The magazine is easy to navigate, and all the modes come together to make for a positive experience; due to the simplicity and straightforwardness of the website.
Aural
Looking at the aural mode, there is the usage of sound when it comes to the narration of poetry. The tone of the authors voice is calming and is slow enough where one can understand it. Looking here at this poem, the poem is able to be narrated.
Linguistic
The language used in this website is sophisticated, yet simple enough to understand. As we look over this article entitled Notes from a Nothing, we can see it laid out here. The author’s usage of simple words make the reader’s experience more enjoyable and captivates the reader’s attention.
Spatial
Now diving into the spacial mode, the publishers did a great job spacing everything out appropraitely. There are white columns on either side of the page, grabbing the reader’s attention to focus on what is in the middle of the page. We can see this by looking at the front page.
Gestural
Transitioning into the gestural mode, there are a couple things that viewers can do here. There is a search bar at the top right up here, where people can type what content they would like to see. There are also some additional options under the more tab, such as what we see pictured here.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Guernica combines all the modes effectively and provides a great medium for people who are interested in art and global politics. It’s purpose is direct, and the user experience is definitely effective. I feel as though there is no need for change about this online publication whatsoever.