Project 2 - Analysis of Button Design

The button design that I have created represents my involvement in the Outdoor Adventure Club here at ISU. By wearing this button and being an active member of the club, I can advertise the club to my peers on campus. Then, if someone sees the button and has a specific question about the club, I can serve as a credible source to provide information about the club, due to my involvement in the Outdoor Adventure Club. Therefore, this button design promotes ethos. Logos is addressed because the button provides information about the name and a brief description of what the club is all about. From the picture and the words written in red, "The journey is the reward," it can be inferred that the Outdoor Adventure Club involves adventurous trips, or journeys, that result in positive experiences. The picture provides an emotional appeal, or pathos, because it portrays a hiker in nature overlooking a beautiful sunset. I used repetition by emphasizing the name of the club. This was done by including the full club name, "Outdoor Adventure Club," as well as the abbreviation for the club's name, "O.A.C." This repetition of the club name causes the focus and attention of the viewer to the club's name; thus, the repetition is a great way of promoting the club. Contrast is used in the varying font styles and colors. For each idea begin promoted on the button, I use a different font style and color. This contrast draws attention each text portion of the button and gives each portion its own importance. I also use contrast in the phrase: "The JOURNEY is the REWARD" by capitalizing all of the letters in the words "journey" and "reward" only. I did this in order to place more emphasis on the purpose of the club so that people who see the button will understand that in the Outdoor Adventure Club, you have the opportunity to go on journeys/trips that provide you with the reward of great experiences and memories. The principle of alignment is used because I decided to place the words: "The Journey is the Reward" in a way that wraps/curves around the picture due to the fact that the words and picture describe one another. Since I decided to use a picture that shows how beautiful nature and outdoor adventure can be, it only makes sense to align it with the quote that I decided to use, because the quote describes in words how journeys are rewarding, while the picture shows it visually. As far as proximity, the text is written in English, so it must be read left to right and top to bottom. Also, the four main elements of the button are placed equally distant from one another in order to create balance. The idea of balance is important in the Outdoor Adventure Club because as you go on outdoor adventure trips, you feel a sense of harmony and balance between yourself and nature, which brings out an inner peace. Also, the way that I have grouped everything together on my button design makes it easy to read; thus, the button provides a lot of information in a simple, easy to understand fashion. This connects to the goals of the Outdoor Adventure Club because we want our trips to serve as a challenge to the participants, but the trips should also be peaceful, relaxing, and enjoyable as well.