1. Memo
To: Dr. Dan Jones
From: Kenneth Oms
Date: November 25, 2014
Re: Design Project
Introduction
For the purpose of this assignment, I am to provide a bit of context as to how my design
project came to be, and whether or not I had any previous design experience. To start, I did not
have any prior design experience before this assignment. I had done a few text assignments, but
never something that required me to put together my own design, target an audience, and come
up with my own business catering to that audience. It was a little troubling at first. This is
because I didn’t know what to do, who to cater to, or whether or not I would be able to do
illustrations for the document.
One of my first ideas for the project was to revolve it around an idea. My target
audience had beenthe farmers of the St. Cloud area. A lot of realtors are buying out farming
land, and I wanted to do a few posters against it and even a newsletter. It was a difficult project,
and I found that I didn’t have the heart to accomplish the things that I wanted to do with it.
Another idea of mine revolved doing posters and a newsletter for a company. I wanted to do a
publishing company, or even a small literature magazine. My target audience would be writers,
and my message was going to encourage them to submit their work. However, this plan also
fell through because the companies I contacted didn’t contact me back.
My girlfriend and a few of our friends are really into Taxidermy, and even into
collecting oddities. I decided to revolve my project around starting my own Taxidermy
business. The initial idea occurred to me while I was out in the St. Cloud area on a friend’s
farm. I noticed that there was a lot of hunters, who wanted to keep some of their legal game as
trophies, but couldn’t find a way to do that. I noticed that in our society, a lot of people fancy
the mounted deer head as a trophy. Taxidermy is also an interesting field because it is
considered an art form, and it is an art form that has been dying. Not a lot of people really know
what Taxidermy is, or what its purpose in our society is anymore. So I wanted to revolve my
project around the art of Taxidermy, and not only hit a target audience, but also inform people
about taxidermy through a newsletter.
In Document Design, Kimball says “Many human factors come into play in document
design, but three particularly important ones can significantly affect our choice of medium: the
medium’s interaction with light, its resolution, and its manner of transmission.” (Kimball 77). I
decided to go with an online medium for my design project because of how efficient it is. With
an online print medium (PDF’s of my print items), I can save a lot of money on printing costs;
which I can then use to upgrade my newsletters and posters. When Kimball speaks of
transmission, he is really referring to how far you document can spread. Because I chose to go

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with an online print medium, my document has the chance to reach out to a lot more people.
People from different cities, states, and even countries have a chance to see my work.
If I went with a basic print choice, I would physically have to hand out my posters, and
mail my newsletter. That is something that takes a lot of time, and a lot of travelling. Because of
my online print medium, I can send my newsletter out in a mass email; hitting every subscriber
and supporter with a click of a button. Not only does it save me time with the newsletter, but it
also saves me time when it comes to the handmade posters. The posters I made for my design
project can be spread throughout the internet. Reaching as many people as possible, and
informing them about my business. The good thing about an online medium is that it can be
networked. It will reach a lot of people, and I think that that is a key when it comes to document
design.
The purpose of my design is to get the art form of Taxidermy recognized again by
society. The scope, or aim, is to reachpeople who are like-minded, and also enjoy the art form,
and to help them come together and form a community. With a community, one can always
count on supporters. When it comes to a small business, like the one I am using in my design
project, they rely heavily on community. The goal is to get regular customers and to form a
relationship with them. This way you can always count on your product being networked more.
The intended audience for this design project are: hunters, fisherman, museums, animal
lovers, and even hobbyists. Because I am revolving this project around a fictional businesses, I
had to research and confirm a target audience. Taxidermy is the art of cleaning, stuffing, and
recreating animals. My posters are designed with these things in mind. I catered one of the
posters towards the hunters because they are the most prominent. There are a lot of hunters in
Florida, and a lot of them want to keep the game they hunt as trophies. I designed my poster to
show antlers, and the head of the animal. Because of this, hunters will immediately know that
my company can mount/create their trophies for them. My second poster is cater towards
animal lovers. It shows the skull of a cat, and a skull of a dog. Above the images is the saying,
“goodbye doesn’t have to be forever”. The purpose behind this is to let animal lovers know that
we can stuff their old pets for them. There are a lot of people out there who form deep bonds
with their pets, and they don’t want to say goodbye to them. Taxidermy is a way for them to
keep their pet, and my poster tries to show that to them.
Thesis: Mydocument uses the ethos, pathos, and logos of Visual Rhetoric; to effectively
persuade people to become our customers.
The rest of this memo will discuss the media packet I have put together for my design project.
Body
I decided to put together a media kit for my business involving taxidermy. My media
kit includes: 2 posters, a newsletter, business cards, and a unique logo. Media kits are usually
used by businesses to promote their company through the press. It usually involves a
combination of items that shows what their company focuses on, who is a member of the
company, and what their product looks like. I really appreciate it when a company mails me
about upcoming events, or specific stories about the company itself. I decided to use that aspect
in my newsletter by making it my companies’ first newsletter ever. I also added photos of

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Taxidermy products I own, or are in the process ofmaking. Because of this, I know that my
newsletter alone will be enough to give people a feeling about the company and our product.
Software Used
The software I used for the newsletter and businesses cards was Microsoft Word. The
program gives a user a lot of templates to choose from, and I chose the ones that I felt fit my
idea the best. For the two posters, the images were hand drawn and then exported to sketchbook
pro application. Sketchbook pro application is a software used on Kindell to help users draw,
paint, and manipulate artwork using different types of media. The posters were painted using
this application. The posters were then uploaded to Word where the text was added to them to
make them look more like flyers. Showboat is a font that I downloaded for the posters.
I did not run into a lot of problems using any of the software listed above. I had an issue
when it came to the font I downloaded for the company. Showboat does not convert certain
symbols, so I had to work around using symbols. For the newsletter template in Microsoft
Word, I had to work around images that come with eachtemplate. It was difficult to deal with
because if you deleted certain images; it would make the entire format collapse. But besides
those minor annoyances, I did not run into serious problems using any of the software listed.
Content & Organization
Because the posters, logo, and businesses card have very little text, I will be focusing on
the newsletter for the next several points. When it came to content and organization, I decided
to open with a simple introduction, followed by who we are as a company, what are craft is,
what our morals are, what our goals are, what we need, and I ended it with a thank you. The
content was very simplistic because the newsletter was designed to be our first newsletter ever.
I also wanted the newsletter to explain a little bit about Taxidermy; in case users don’t really
know what the craft is, but end up subscribed to our newsletter. In terms of organization, I think
the newsletter has a slick look to it. The page isn’t too cluttered, and the colors are easy on the
eyes. The newsletter reads a lot like an essay because of its intro, and it isn’t too preachy, or full
of too much information. I think that it is organized so that a reader caneasily skim through the
letter.
Prose
The prose level I chose for the document is very simplistic. The newsletter is very
formal in certain aspects. I speak from a third personpoint of view, and say the company name
as I go through certain topics. So I remain a very far-away persona from the newsletter. This is
only for the sections that involve the company and its policies. When it comes to the end of the
newsletter, I take a more hands own approach. Myprose changes, and the tone becomes more
thankful. This is because the last few sections address the community that support the company,
so my tone has to convince them that we are grateful.
Most of the paragraphs of the newsletter are very short. They are made to be quick
reads for users. This is because users want to feel like what they read is important. They want to
learn from what they are reading. By making the paragraphs short a user is more apt to learn
something. The choice of words were considered very carefully. The document was not made
to be interpreted as too formal. A newsletter should read as an open letter from the business

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owner to its customers. So the words chosen are supposed to be read as very casual. A casual
approachworks best with costumers.
DesignElements
I will next discuss the design elements I focused on when creating my document.
Visual Rhetoric
In document design, Kimball describes Visual Rhetoric as, “how people try to influence
each other through human communication.” (Kimball 62) Kimball later goes on to say that
much of the research on visual rhetoric used as persuasion comes from advertisement. While
the newsletter uses text, my posters rely heavily on visuals. The posters serve as a form of
advertisement for my company. Kimball goes on to define Aristotle’s ethos, pathos, and logos.
Ethos refers to what the user can assume about the speaker’s character based onwhat they can
see. Pathos refers to the aspects of the document that make the user have an emotional
response. Logos refers to the logical information conveyed by the document.
In order to put the information above into better context, and relate it to my project, I
visited Stanford Universities’ website, and obtained their definition of Visual Rhetoric through
their example. “A persuasive visual piece designed to make a certain argument about what
Stanford means and what type of student attend it. The goal? To convince you that Stanford is
the place you belong.” (Stanford University). In other words, an image that will give a user an
argument that this company is the company for you. This is exactly what my newsletter and
posters do.
Because of our user-centered design, our newsletter and posters let our users know who
we are, and what we can do for them. When it comes to our hunting poster, our Ethos is that of
a respectable mature company. This can be seen from the colors used, and the fonts used on the
poster. The poster shows that the company is respectable and old fashioned. Which is
something that the target audience, our users, want. When it comes to Taxidermy, your users
want to be able to trust you. The posters give us an image of trust by establishing our Ethos as
respectable. When they read the newsletter a user will agree that by, the short paragraphs,
removed and hands-own prose, and the organization that our character is exactly what is
presented.
The Pathos of the document canbe found in both the newsletter and the posters. One of
the posters is designed for animal lovers. It shows two skulls, one of a cat, and one of a dog.
Both images are below an image of a light red heart. Above this image is a saying that says,
“goodbye doesn’t have to be forever.” This poster is designed to evoke an emotional response
in a user. That is what Pathos means. Animal lovers don’t ever want to say goodbye to their
pets. They form a strong emotional bond with them. The skulls in our poster appear small and
fragile; like the pets that they represent. The words hovering above the image will trigger an
emotional response. A user will feel compelled to use the services of Taxidermy, so that they
won’t have to say goodbye to their pets. Not only that, but they will want to use the services of
the company who evoked that feeling in them.
Another example would be the second poster. It shows an animal with strong antlers,
peaking its head from the bottom of the page, yet it appears to stand confident. This image will
evoke the same emotion from hunters. They want the game they have hunted to stand strong

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and confident as trophies. The poster will evoke the kind of emotions that they want their
trophies to show. Which will then make them want to do businesses with my company.
The newsletter is another example of Pathos at work in my document. Visual Rhetoric
can also be used throughout text. The last two sections of the newsletter take a more hands-
own-approachprose style. It is written with simple casual prose that makes the user feel happy.
The text is supposed to evoke a feeling of gratefulness. Because it is written as a thank you to
the supporters of the company in the most sincere way possible.
The Logos canbe found in the newsletter as well. The newsletter makes sure to cover
the kind of company that Skin And Bones is, what our policies are, how thankful we are to our
supporters, and where we want to go as a company. Because our company caters to animal
lovers; the newsletter makes sure to address that the company does not condone the murder of
animals. It only condones legal hunting. This is a logical fact that will make our users feel
relieved. Because the company does not condone murder, or preforms heinous acts in order to
obtain the material needed. This logical fact will meet our users’ needs and expectations. The
newsletter also addresses what Taxidermy is. Giving our first time users quick knowledge, and
informing them what our product is. Another factual information the company’s newsletter
gives users is the kind of animals that the company works with. The newsletter also informs
users that the company works with animal bones as well.
I think that the posters and newsletter do a good job in showing off the document’s
visual rhetoric. I know that the images used in the poster will effectively persuade their targeted
audience. I also believe that the
Type
In Document Design, Kimball briefly mentions typography and it uses. “Paying
attention to typography is an absolute must. Good typographic design doesn’t just make
documents look good – it gives users important clues about the structure of the document, the
purpose of design objects, and the ethos of the organization that created the document.”
(Kimball 151)
The newsletter and posters both use typography to its advantage. According to Stuart
Gardoll, “don’t use more than four font in one publication” (Gardoll). The newsletter only uses
three different fonts; staying away from confusing a user byusing too much. The newsletter also
uses a good combination of bold, underlined, and italic modifiers when it comes to its text. Type
also plays a heavy role when it comes to Visual Rhetoric. Depending on the type used a user can
learn a companies’ ethos.
In, Your Guide for Desktop Publishing, Jacci Howard Bear says, “It is also wise to not
make sudden typeface changes within a paragraph. Use the same typeface for bodycopy, using
only bold or italics toaddsmall amounts of emphasis, if necessary.If greater emphasis is required
— create a pull-quote, set that copy in the margin, or create a sidebar using a different font to
really set the information apart.”(Bear) In the newsletter users will find a pull quote about one of
the companies’ major policies. I took Bear’s advice, and I think that it does the job. When a user
scans the newsletter, they will see the pull quote and know that it is important information.
Another thing users will notice about the newsletter is that it has consistent fonts. Taking Bear’s
advice again, the document does not have any type changes within a paragraph. This causes the

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newsletter to have a reliable format; which again lends credibility to the document’s Ethos. Or
rather, helps establish the companies’ ethos.
Because I went with a custom type, showboat, for the posters, I hoped that the design
would let users know that we are an artistic company. I used Harrington for the title of the
newsletter because it also gave the title a really artistic font. It made the letters look very
fantastical and artistic, yet it also gave the title a sleek and professional look. This typography
helps users see what kind of company we are right from the introduction. I used Ariel for all of
the headings and Georgia for the body text.
Type also played an important role when it came to organizing the newsletter and
posters. Because of titles, headers, and sub-headers, I was able to form a hierarchy within the
document. It showed users how to distinguish parts of the document, and how they fit together
to make a whole. This can be seen in the newsletter where it is brokendown into title followed
by bodytext. Because of this design users can easily follow the information, and distinguish
said information based onthe title above it. In this way they know that under the Welcome title
is a greeting. Meanwhile under Who is Skin And Bones, they know that information about the
company will follow. Proving again that the document has an easyto follow style, and that
users can depend on it.
Conclusion
One of the hardest challenges while creating this document was: making a document
that advertises a new company, and making it so that it can be used by users. I didn’t think that
it was possible when I finished the newsletter and posters. I thought that all I had done was
create a few advertisements and that was it. But as I researched visual rhetoric and type, I found
that my document did offer a certain usability to users. I think this was one of the biggest
challenges because if a document can’t be used – then it’s useless.
Another challenge was creating images that would cater to an audience. I didn’t want to
use stocked images, so I sought out to create original pieces of work. In this way, I hoped that
users could see that the company had them in mind when making these advertisements. Not
only that it had them in mind, but it was also trying to be genuine to them. It was really hard
because after the images were transferred onto a software for sketching, I didn’t know how to
add the text. I searched the internet for a custom font that was good enough to offer users
originality and dependability, but then I saw that the font wouldn’t show up unless other users
had it downloaded. I remedied the situation by converting the images into PDF documents.
Another challenge, which happened before exporting the images into a PDF, was getting the
font to work. Whenever I would type sentences the font would turn out all messed up. I later
found out that the font can only be used in all caps. This was quite a problem, but luckily I
decided to only use the font for the title of the posters.
One thing that I would do differently for this project is the newsletter. I feel like the
newsletter could be a lot longer and offer more information to users. Right now it feels way too
short, but that’s because Skin And Bones is a fictional businesses. So there wasn’t a lot I could
say about the company since it didn’t exist. Maybe one dayit will. Another thing I would
change is that I would add a brochure. I feel like a brochure is a better way to show users what
your company can do. A brochure is also a better document to design. This is because people

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can use it for a lot of stuff. Brochures hold lots of information, and has a lot of visual rhetoric at
work, so I feel like it would have beena better choice.

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Works Cited
Bear, Jacci H. "Plain Talk Principle - Document Design." Washington StateDepartment of Ecology.
Washington State University, n.d. Web.
<http://www.ecy.wa.gov/quality/plaintalk/resources/doc_design.pdf>.
Gardoll, Stuart. "Plain Talk Principle - Document Design." Washington State Department of Ecology.
Washington State University, n.d. Web.
<http://www.ecy.wa.gov/quality/plaintalk/resources/doc_design.pdf>.
Jones, Dan. Technical Writing Style.Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1998. Print.
Rude, Carolyn D., and Angela Eaton. Technical Editing. Boston:Longman, 2011. Print.
"What Is Visual Rhetoric." What Is Visual Rhetoric. Stanford University, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.