Week 12, Deadline 1

DCP Progress

Since our last deadline, I have not had a significant amount of time to work on my DCP because I've been called into work extra shifts that have left me more than tired and slacking overall this week on homework. I've spent some time drafting plans in my head during my workdays of how I'd like to improve my DCP and my goals. As of my last post, I was estimating I was around 35% complete and as of now I'd say probably between 40-45%, so not a significant increase but I am off work two days in a row this week that I can spend a chunk of time on it. 

I've added my narrative (Cali's Story), benefits and risks, and added more hover box links to other locations on my site. The hover box links are more difficult to create than I anticipated because Wix does not have an easy way to make them, instead, you have to layer two different features to make it both hoverable and linkable.

Principle Application

I've tried to apply and keep in mind a lot of design principles throughout my work on this project, but I'll keep the list short and name only a few: alignment, five hat racks - continuum organization by magnitude, inverted pyramid, highlighting, color, chunking, layering - non-linear, readability, cognitive dissonance, and aesthetic usability effect. 

• Alignment - I've maintained alignment across my slides, starting the titles in the same places across each section and aligning up the benefits and risks across from each other. Wix uses some guiding lines as you drag a box or graphic to help align items, and it has proven very useful. 
• Five Hat Racks - I've focused on the continuum organization by magnitude style. This organizes items from highest to lowest or best to worst. For my DCP I'm focusing on the highest priority topics first before moving onto lower priority. 
• Inverted Pyramid - Along with the Five Hat Racks continuum organization by magnitude, I'm using inverted pyramid to start with the most important information first such as why to spay and neuter before going into detail about the benefits and risks of it and the added information such as animal shelters and euthanasia rates.
• Highlighting - By highlighting the most important information such as why you should spay and neuter and what happens when you do not, it brings my main information to the audience. 
• Color - Consistency in color is important and can show not only professionalism but can also add credibility to the author.
• Chunking - I've chunked my benefits and risks in a short but sweet way instead of writing long paragraphs about whether you should or shouldn't and when you should or shouldn't. Chunking these makes them short, sweet, eye-catching, and easy to read. 
• Layering - I've focused on the non-linear layering style for my website and tweaked it a little bit. For the most part, my DCP is linear until the end of the page and the other layers become evident for more information about extra topics. 
• Readability - I'm doing my best to maintain readability on my DCP by keeping wording and verbiage simple and in layman's' terms. I want my DCP to be effective for people that are not medically minded and people that may not understand all of the medical terms. It's not always easy when describing the names of certain ailments or diseases because of their names, but I've tried to expand and explain what they mean. 
• Cognitive Dissonance - I've tried to use cognitive dissonance to lightly persuade the audience because too much cognitive dissonance can cause them to shut down. People love their pets and want the best for them, so hopefully weighing the benefits and risks of spaying and neutering can persuade them to make a well-informed, but beneficial decision that can help keep their furry family healthy. 
• Aesthetic Usability Effect - I'm trying to keep my DCP aesthetically pleasing so it is perceived as easier to use, navigate, and read to persuade my audience. 

Reasoning

By using the above-mentioned design principles and other design principles we've learned thus far, whether by assignment or in the pursuit of knowledge, I believe I can create a compelling and persuasive DCP. I believe using rhetorical strategies to appeal to someone as a credible source that can reason logically and connect that logic on an emotional level will make for the best and most effective DCP. I don't want to only share my opinions in my DCP and come off as one-sided, I want to share both the good and the bad. Realistically when I'm working in the field as a Veterinary Technician, I'm talking to clients about the good and the bad so they can make the most informed decision possible because there is not always a definite answer for every pet.