Dove Critique

So here’s the visual formatting vision that has yet to be implemented: each section will be bolded and sectioned off with some kind of visual image next to it. I may mess around with the order as well.

Dove Movement for Real Beauty

Use of Visuals To Influence Audience and how it’s tailored to that audience
Colors:
this website used a predominantly light blue color scheme. The blue serves to link this page with Dove’s larger one that is a darker blue (link here). Also, because it is a light blue, it is associated with children as all pastels are (source and link). Infact, the color blue itself is associated with trust, serenity, and communication (souce and link). The only extremely noticeable instance where blue is not used is the hyperlink to a video, where the font color is pink. This is clearly meant to draw the eye.

Shapes:
The basic layout for the site consists of a blank shaded background. On top of this are boxes that hold the actual content. Each of these boxes has rounded edges. Again, this creates a softer look to encourage nurturing, motherhood, etc. Additionally, each of these boxes has a border to help it pop out against the background as well as drop shadows. Additionally, where the background is almost white with subtle grey shading, the boxes, where white, are pure white to create contrast.

All of these boxes are spaced according to the law of threes [link text to a site about this] (for whatever reason, groupings of three are more appealing to the eye). There is then a hierarch of size and place on the page in order of importance (or what the web designers want you to see/do first). The largest and most central box is that with the logo and image that implores you to “join the movement” with a few lines of text and a photo. The next largest is centrally located, but below the larger box. It links the viewer to a short video illustrating the need for this movement.

Other:
There is a column (? it’s horizontal) in the middle with moving text that lists women who have “just joined the movement”. The moving text draws the eye.
There is an image of a woman and child, to clearly implicate that it is mothers who need to be good role models and help their children have high self esteem. Actually, there are two of these images, on of a caucasian woman and child and another of an African American mother and child, so multiple ethnicities are included. Not included in ethnicities shown are Asian and Hispanic (in fact, the dove website only has an English and a French version for the US and Canada, no Spanish. This severely limits the number dove is able to reach with the large Hispanic population in the US).
One recurring image that does not relate to children of self esteem is a dandelion whose seeds are blowing away in the wind. This is a useful graphic because, by using the flying seeds, you can direct the viewers eye to follow the line created by the seeds. As an image, it demonstrates simplicity and beauty. Despite its beauty however, the dandelion does not have the clear link to the subject matter that the photos of people do and is not truly relevant.
The Argument
The mission of Dove Movement (link) is to build the self esteem of young women, specifically 13-year-olds. They want you to join (link text of join)! But should you? Has their use of multi media rhetoric been so masterful that you are helpless in the sight of the blue text that will bind you to this organization after a quick questionnaire on your age and email? After breaking down the rhetoric of this website, I found that there was definitely room for improvement, but I will admit, I joined them in the end.

The strongest appeal that Dove makes is to pathos, relying on mothers’ (and most women’s) urge to nurture and care for others, especially children. The single most persuasive tool on this website is a short video (put video along side text here) that depicts a mother and two young girls. This video clearly shows the problem (a five-year-old who’s embarrassed to have dimples), but then shows the solution (another 5-year-old tells the first that she thinks her dimples are cute). Through out the video, a mother (or adult woman who’s watching the children in any case) presides over this.

This video shows us two ways in which we can “get involved with the movement”, by teaching children to love their selves (both their outward appearance and their selves as people) and by creating environments where we can have these conversations. Also, because the children are younger (most of the text on the website actually refers to 13-year-olds) we are naturally more protective of them (link for a source that supports this statement).

Another interesting page (buried amid the boring toolbar next to press contact information and partners) is the blog (link). It is here that Dove issues the challenge to spend 60 minutes with a girl and talk about beauty/self esteem. This is effective because it appeals to logos “only sixty minutes” (use of diction”only” makes it seem like less time, as does using minutes instead of hours). It also shares interesting stories that Dove has selected (and written in some cases) personal narratives about self esteem. While a wonderful page, the navigation to get here is terrible! The design of the homepage has a clear hierarchy, using colors, graphics, and size to draw the eye. This link has only a plain blue (not even bolded) link to “blog” in the corner.

Unfortunately, the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page is less effective [link FAQ page]. The questions are well chosen (they were certainly the questions that I had), but they are not well answered. Instead of specific detailed answers, all that dove has to offer is a reiteration of the general goal of the movement. For example “What does joining the Movement actually do?”(link text) the answer (paraphrased) is ‘you will become part of a community making a difference on issues of self-esteem and real beauty’. While true, this statement is so general that it has next to no meaning! Without context we could even assume that Dove is purporting that cosmetics for younger children is the answer! Clearly, this is not the case, and the FAQ section could be strengthened and clarified.

The Action
The goal of the Dove Movement is to foster awareness and encourage dialogue about self esteem and “real beauty”. Because of this, it differs from several other websites that seek community involvement. For example, Doctors With Out Borders [link] has pages upon pages detailing what they are doing where encouraging you to join and donate. In contrast, Dove authors a modest website with around ten pages total. The only active thing you can do from the site is to post “what would you tell a 13-year-old” or “What Do You Wish You’d Known at 13?” in 125 characters or less or find a self esteem seminar (for October 22-24). From there it is up to the viewer to “take the challenge” and move the discussion off of the internet and to the women in their lives. At first, I found this strategy annoying, because I wanted something I could do without getting up from my computer. This is not Dove’s goal! Their website is designed as a short pep talk to get people out there. Whether or not it is effective is up for debate.