Hamiltonzoo.co.nz is the website of the popular zoo of Hamilton. First established in 1969 as a small animal farm that kept game birds and exotic mammals. The farm was later taken over by the Hamilton city council to be officially named the Hamilton zoo.
This site offers a wide range of services from the current events in the zoo, to internet bookings and career opportunities, even as far as teaching young children about animals. The effective aspects which will be analysed are colour, font, images, external links and visual media.
This site offers a wide range of services from the current events in the zoo, to internet bookings and career opportunities, even as far as teaching young children about animals. The effective aspects which will be analysed are colour, font, images, external links and visual media.
Colour:
The main colour used on the Hamilton zoo website is green. In many cultures the colour green symbolizes nature, fertility and life. In the website it helps towards the "useful as a marketing colour for organic, healthy and natural (green) products." (Posadas, 2004) This refers to the animals and the nature within the zoo.
The colour green is easy to the eyes and is popular in many cultures. The amount of green used in the top of the website highlights the important part of the website which are the tabs that help navigate the website. Blue is also used to highlight other important links that are not in the title. It is important to note that the colour blue is not used excessively because it can be over powering.
Most of the website that is not covered in green is covered in white. The white background is a strong contrast to the black text and makes the text stand out to be more effective to the audience. "A strong visual contrast makes some elements attract strong attention to themselves." (Wysocki, 2004)
Font:
The font used in this advertisement on the home page of the website is very playful looking.
This advertisement was made to advertise the birds of Hamilton zoo. The words walk-through and aviary are larger compared to the other words in the ad. Typefaces like this "page composers can arrange the shape of text to achieve different end." (Wysocki, 2004) The end achieved here is the emphases on the walk-through aviary of the Hamilton zoo.
The font used for the website that are not advertisements or visuals are more of a Sans serif type. This makes the titles and headings clear and easy to comprehend.
The important words are blue instead of the black on white writing. "Writers are advised to write for easy scanning." (Warnick, 2006) The use of hyperlink or highlights are for the majority of people who scan the website or any new page they come across. "People rarely read pages word for word." (Nielson, 2007)
Images:
The images displayed on the webpage are used to capture the attention of the readers and show the audience what the page is about. Images of animals are displayed which portrays the zoo. The images are mostly examples of objective point of view: straight on angle which generally "establishes a connection between the participants and viewer" (Parkes). This means the viewers feel more involved .
Nielsen stated " readers scan the webpage in a F shaped pattern." (Nielsen, 2006) The majority of the information are placed in one line at the top, then another line under it. This establishes the "F" shape which readers scan, therefor making the website more easy to capture the attention of the readers.
External links:
The website provides external links to other organisations and projects that may interest people who would like to get involved. It provides links that will benefit from the publicity of both themselves and the other website.
Links to social networks are also present, such as Facebook, Twitter. This helps the website to gain more publicity and offers the website to be recognized by communities around New Zealand. It also shows that the website is up to speed with the current technology.
Visual Media:
The site portrays a visual media in the form of a series of changing slides with different messages on each which will change every few seconds. This is very effective as it show how the website is updated regularly and not out-dated.
The use of these effects makes the website more appealing and interesting, especially for a younger audience. "Translations also create visual relationships" (Wysocki, 2004) This means the moving slides are a tool to positively affect the viewers. This also provides the benefit of the ability to present a wide range of information in one area. The pictures are intriguing and show the audience a taste of what they are in for when going to the zoo.
Conclusion:
The topic of a zoo is very popular among families with younger children, therefore the correct use of these techniques is important to attract the targeted audience. The visual techniques is a powerful technique to capture the attention of younger audience. while the choice of colour is aimed to make the website more comfortable and memorable. The use of external links helps the audience who would like to get involved to other projects by other organisations that have mutual goals with the zoo.
As mentioned above these techniques are used in a effective way to achieve the purpose of informing and attracting people to the zoo.
References
1. Nielson, J (2007). Writing for the Web. Retrieved from
http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/
2. Parkes, J (2009). Teaching Visual Literacy. Retrieved from
http://www.slideshare.net/rjp152/visual-literacy-1992223
3. Posadas, S (2004). The Meaning of Colours. Retrieved from
http://www.sibagraphics.com/colour.php
4. Warnick, B (2006). Rhetoric on the Web. Peter Land Publishing Inc, New York
5. Wysocki, A (2004). The Multiple Media of Texts. Michigan Technological University
