project 2

Brochure Rhetoric

Vernon R. Alden Library is the tallest standing structure on Athens’ campus. It’s in the top 100 largest libraries in the country and it took a long way to get it there. To portray the library I used a schematic color scheme, while showing evolving pictures with plenty of robust information.

I used a fair amount of green in my brochure about the Alden Library to try to appeal to fellow Bobcat students such as myself. I wanted to use color in my brochure because it makes it look more artsy and that much nicer. I used the green tastefully, mostly to try and headline information to make it stick out so that readers would see what they need to read. I also used green in various parts of the brochure, such as the green canopy design that sits over top of my brochure title and main information on the inside. I used red on the back panel though because the 40 year anniversary sign was red and seeing how the complimentary color to green is red I found this move acceptable. Using green is more of an emotional appeal then logic and credibility because all it really shows of my knowledge is that I know the school’s colors. Using green was a logical choice to me because I believe that a student would be more enticed to read a brochure with colors of their school versus any other color because in my opinion it deals with school pride which is very common here.

Seeing how the theme of my brochure is about how the library started, how it was and how it is now, I found it smart to use pictures to reflect my theme. On the front page of my brochure I have the statements, “from then…” and “to now…” In correlation to these statements I have one picture underneath each of them. One picture being an architectural drawing which shows the library when it was still just an idea, sitting isolated with no real surroundings to it. This makes the library have a strong presence in the picture but still reminisces to a more simple time for the library. Then underneath my second statement I have a picture of the library from an elongated view after all the remodeling and additions have been completed. Not as an architectural drawing, but how the library is portrayed today. With the additions intact and the elongated view it makes the library appear bigger than its actual size. This hypes the actual massiveness of the Alden Library to the brochure reader. On the inside panel where I talk about the initial construction of the library I have a picture to match that as well. The picture shows the building when it was well underway but still nowhere close to being done with construction. On the main inside I have a picture on the left panel and on the right panel. Both of these pictures are just simple pictures of the library in use by patrons. The photo on the left being from the early 70’s and the photo on the right being from more recent, probably the 90’s. These pictures draw towards my credibility because not only do I defend my theme with words but I have pictures to express my text as well. When I show the up-close elongated picture of the library on the front page and then later tell the reader that it’s one of the largest libraries in the country, it defends my statement visually, hence, making me more credible.

Throughout my brochure I use a good amount of short and to the point facts. I use comparison of before and after the library’s 1972 remodeling to demonstrate the growth that the library has gone through. Going from holding 800,000 volumes to 2 million volumes is quite a change. I use chronological order throughout the three inside panels of the brochure to make it easier to follow for the reader. I also have separated headings so that if the reader wants to know something specific they can look straight to it, given that I have the data. I have the information separated into bullet points so it’s easier to read versus having the information in paragraph form. Short statements seem more coherent when reading through an informational brochure, such as this one. My facts are in order and use logic to reflect the growth of the library and how it has changed and why it’s such an important part of Ohio University.

I find my brochure to be helpful to someone looking for a little bit of history on the Alden Library. I used proper display of colors, photos and short and sweet information to create appeal for the reader. My brochure defends its theme and if I were you I’d go read it!