When I think of the criminal justice field what usually pops into my mind are those snazzy commercials involving all the CSI forensics and “glamorous” side of the field. Being a television fan, I often see a national advertisement for Phoenix University's criminal justice program in Phoenix, Arizona that depicts the criminal justice field in a misleading way. They basically framed the commercial as a CSI episode, and anyone in my field knows that the CSI TV show has very little to do with actual law enforcement work. So I decided to visit Phoenix University's website (http://www.phoenix.edu/information/online-criminal-justice.html) hoping it would be flashy and convincing. This, surprisingly, was not the case. The department website, like the rest of the educational institutions, is boring, hard to navigate, and underdeveloped. The website consist of a single image and relatively few links concerning actual information about the field. The site offers curriculum offered and required for a degree but there's no real convincing element as to why I should apply to their school. I searched around for a brochure and all I could find was a youtube link to their nationwide commercial. The second website I looked at was Florida State Universities (http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/). This website consist of a very well thought out color pattern, design, and is easily navigable. Their website includes a “Info” section that contains convincing evidence to join their degree program.
These websites will help mold the way I design my brochure. When I first thought of this project I decided I wouldn't include any Hollywood elements of television shows like CSI, but after reviewing other universities websites I have found this to be the most convincing way of luring people to USM's criminal justice department. It's a sad fact that one would need to use misleading methods to acquire students, but thanks to popular media it's become an incredibly popular field. The websites will also help me with the design of my brochure. It's easy to see how a simple color scheme and layout looks clean and appealing to the eye. This combined with interesting pictures, maybe of people working in crime lab, help boost the effectiveness of the work. The sites also helped me decide on what information to include. I decided to keep my brochure relatively vague, letting the graphical elements due most of the talking. I will give basic information about our program, contact information, and will probably include fields that accept Criminal Justice majors after graduation.
No comments:
Post a Comment