Website Analysis: The Spectator

 







  • The Spectator is a British current affairs magazine, first published in 1828 and distributed weekly. The Spectator website, alongside the standard use of white and black, uses red repeatedly throughout its layout, maintaining an impression of brand identity as it is the colour of the masthead. There are occasional uses of green, which both compliments and contrasts against the red hues, bringing forth attention and establishing a clear divide between topics. Yellow and blue hues are also used in some areas, such as the horizontal subscription bar; these extra colours in small amounts ensures the website does not appear overcrowded with colour. The website uses two fonts; however, one is used more frequently than the other. A serif font – very similar to that of the brand logo – is used throughout the website, such as for article titles, names, etc., and a sans-serif font is used only for the actual article text - this difference in font helps to distinguish the story from its brief description. The masthead is positioned in the centre at the top of the screen, with the navigation bar positioned below. Diagonal lines help to section off each navigation link. It features both a search and sign in option, and because these are the most likely links that audiences will look for, they are accompanied by little graphics to make them easier to spot. The initial screen view is separated into thirds, with the middle being the largest – this features the main story. Below that, the screen is then separated into two sections, with the ‘most popular’ articles next to the ‘writers’. This helps both new and familiar readers, as they can find the most relevant stories or look deeper with their favourite writer’s work. A combination of real photographs and art are used throughout the website, helping the brand to stay true to itself through their caricature style art, whilst still establishing themselves as serious to new readers who are unaware of their brand. The website features no links to social media platforms, demonstrating that they do not target a younger audience. On Facebook, they have 188k likes, and on Twitter, they have 180.4k followers. The only ‘advertisements’ found on the website are the brand promoting themselves, such as an event they are holding.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Timed Essay 1

Explain how the arrival of digitally convergent media platforms has impacted on film producers. Refer to Disney and its 1967 and 2016 versions of The Jungle Book to support your answer. The arrival of digitally convergent media platforms has impacted film producers such as Walt Disney Studios, changing the way they interact with their audiences, which therefore impacted their production processes. Both the 1967 and 2016 versions of ‘The Jungle Book’ highlight the way that digitally convergent media platforms have allowed the company to expand their audience and reach. In 1967, promotion of audio-visual products such as ‘The Jungle Book’ appeared as posters, billboards, cinematic trailers, newspaper articles, and perhaps the rare mention on the radio. The lack of digitally convergent media platforms meant that Disney had limited ways to promote their products, and therefore did not have a global reach. However, the company and the film were still largely successful at the time, wi...
Read more

Magazine Cover Analysis: Private Eye

Image
  For Private Eye magazine, the masthead is presented in a black, sans-serif font in block capitals, making it easy for the audience to spot and consume. The font style is rather linear and sharp, suggesting the content of the magazine is straight to the point.  The colour scheme of the cover is made up of red, black, yellow and blue, however, the blue and yellow are only included in the main image and graphics, rather than text such as the cover lines.  The sans-serif font persists throughout the cover, yet a serif font appears in both the comical speech bubbles and the dateline. The change in font from sans-serif to serif may be used to tone down the satirical tone presented in the speech bubbles, suggesting that the text included inside them is not completely comical, and has some truth to it. The main image also includes the red, white, blue, and yellow colour scheme, and features a medium shot of Donald Trump mid-speech.  The supporting graphics of fireworks rel...
Read more