Focal Point Analysis

The Washington Post

The Washington Post is an online newspaper offering coverage of important affairs in America and the world. Their mission statement claims its site is created with readings fit for both young and old to produce unbiased outlooks and interests when delivering their stories. Their homepage showcases multiple focal points, the first being the headline of their site’s name catching the eye through the use of a distinct typeface different from what is found on the rest of the page. Additionally, underneath the newspaper’s name, they have created a contrast with their tagline through the use of color and a different font drawing the eye to the lines “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” As a reader explores the homepage, they use white spacing and sizing to emphasize links to new stories available; the different sizing of these displays also indicates the level of either newness, relevance, or importance of the articles. As the homepage contains a lot of content, the use of white space and diversity in font sizes is necessary to make it easier for the site user to navigate and draw attention to the site’s multiple features without feeling overwhelming.

American Eagle

American Eagle’s website is an online apparel store offering merchandise for both men and women. They claim to be a retailer focusing on high-quality, trendy attires at affordable prices. Their homepage uses bright pops of color and positioning to create a more significant effect on other elements used throughout the page. For instance, their first focal point when pulling up their main page is a block of color in a pinkish-orange hue, immediately drawing attention to their current site discount pronounced in a large bold font. To the right, in the same block, they also have tastefully added buttons directing the user to the different shopping categories. As you scroll down the page, multiple blocks illustrate their products and contain more button features; however, the use of spacing and various sizes keep the site from looking messy or discombobulated. Instead, they have enhanced the features they want users’ eyes drawn to while also using features like buttons to navigate to other pages conveniently.

Panera Bread Company

Panera Bread Company is a fast food restaurant chain with over 2,000 locations across the US and Canada. Their target demographic is those between 25 to 44 years old; Panera focuses on giving customers what they like from fast food service while eliminating the aspects they dislike. Their homepage header contains illustrations of their food products with buttons directing users to online orders and a search menu option at the top right. Their page does not have much whitespace; instead, they use slight color differences to draw attention to the different ongoing offers and food items with buttons on each new focal point across the homepage. While it is not aesthetically displeasing to the eye, and this could be a personal preference in page design, they could benefit from the use of more whitespace to enhance page organization. While the color change helps differentiate, they all run together as you scroll down the page.