Analysis of visual design for Battle for the Net
	As society becomes intertwined with the internet, it becomes increasingly important to understand the ways that visual design choices influence interpretation, desire, and emotion. On the internet, which is dominated by visual stimuli and inhabited by a large number of organizations in every field, the importance of understanding and conveying visual design effects is apparent. While many visual design techniques may be consciously recognized by consumers, such as photographs with negative emotional context, there are subtle techniques that may be similarly influential yet more difficult to recognize. Some examples include: color choice - the ways that particular colors affect emotions and word choice - the ways that selecting particular words convey particular emotions, and white space - the ways that consideration of proximity and blank space in a visual help enhance its message. Battle for the Net, a proponent in the discussion of net neutrality regulations who aims to disrupt the current removal of regulations, is an example of an internet-based stakeholder. All of its traffic, information sharing, and calls to action take place on the internet. Consequently, it will be an appropriate example to illustrate the impact that visual design techniques can impose on a stakeholder.
	Although color choice is difficult to consider in conceptual depth, many consumers likely already grasp its general ability to influence emotion. Similarly, they may also feel capable of expressing some level of emotion through their color choice. For example, one report found that children more commonly associated brighter colors with happiness and darker colors with sadness, although the connection was stronger among girls than boys (Healy). While it may sound obvious or insignificant, accepting this connection is the cornerstone for understanding the importance of tailoring color design specifically for a message. Unsurprisingly, it is important to stakeholders to take advantage of an extra outlet to influence emotion when designing visual messages. Battle for the Net is no different, and properly uses color in its design to help enhance and deliver its message. Although color perception gains complexity with age, and may differ between cultures, Battle for the Net has the benefit of its traffic base being largely similar in both. Because net neutrality is currently only deregulated in the United States and it is a consideration of politics, Battle for the Net has the fortune of its consumers generally being both adults and U.S. citizens. Its first graphic is quite minimal in color and subtle in emotional influence. It provides a dark blue, silhouetted background, which may represent melancholy or even ominousness. They did, however, ensure to leave the American flag colored normally. As the American flag is a symbol of love and pride to its citizens, seeing it contrast with an ominous representation of a normally loved building may create a feeling of distrust or disappointment. Lastly, the inclusion of yellow may invoke a sense of urgency, as it is the only bright and positive color, and is linking the the call to action to positive words, such as "save net neutrality".
	In the second visual, the colors are both less complex and less subtle, yet they perhaps have an even stronger affect than the first one. The second graphic consists of all the congress members of any given state, along with their photograph, name, voting party, and color. The entire visual consists of only two colors - red or green. Red visuals represents a member who is against net neutrality regulations, or in other words, an opponent of Battle for the Net, whereas green represents the members they support. This makes sense from a influential standpoint, given that red and green are almost universally accepted standards in America of negative and positive relative to each other. In Florida, this results in twenty-nine members, five of which vote for maintaining net neutrality regulations, and all five of which are Democratic. This creates the feeling that, if net neutrality is important to someone, they must vote Democratic to help protect it, and may overall feel more association with the Democratic party henceforth. Following the same line of thought, this creates the impression that those who vote against net neutrality regulations, red, are enemies, and may encourage retracting support for those members.
	While color will be the source of initial impressions, it is the addition and careful selection of words that shapes those impressions and develops them into a profound, meaningful, lasting thought. As such, it is absolutely vital for stakeholders to hone proficiency in both color and textual communication. In interpreting the text of a graphic, there is a philosophy that every word was included for a specific reason, and to consider why each word was used rather than its alternatives (Schafer). As in its careful consideration of color, Battle for the Net invests considerable thought into its choice of words. In the first graphic, each word and the overall structure all served a purpose. For example, the largest text is a summary of the dilemma to be explained in the graphic, in the urgent yellow color. It adequately hooks attention and sets the groundwork for the following information. Afterwards, the body text begins with an introduction to the issue. In this introduction, the opponents are clearly identified and placed into a blaming position by associating negative actions with them. Shortly after is the final component of the visual - the call to action. The formula presents the problem, explains how the opponent is associated with a threat, and offers a plan of action, all in a succinct and rapidly-digested message.
	Similarly, the second graphic uses text appropriately to assist conveying its message. There are only small amounts of information to digest, making it quick to pinpoint relevant information to particular viewers, and relatively simple to remember particular pieces of information. The text includes the voting party, as discussed prior, the last name, the state of representation, and a hyperlink titled "tweet". Rather than including the full name, the last name is easier to recall from memory and sufficient for voting periods. Including the state of representation allows for grouping by state, where states with low net neutrality support will find a grim situation and be moved to action, and states with high net neutrality support will direct their effort into contacting the outliers. Lastly, the tweet hyperlink has an important use. It allows immediate connection, on a widely available platform, to express built concern from the consumption of information on the webpage.
	To conclude, the benefits of carefully implementing color and text in visual design are considerable. They are valuable assets for stakeholders to invest energy into, as they create the opportunity to influence emotions and help communicate their message effectively. Battle for the Net uses several graphics on its website and sufficiently demonstrates the importance of visual design as a tool. Its two graphics are quite different in nature, but each makes essential use of color and word choice to convey their messages. Every included color and selection of words were chosen with purpose for this cause. As societies become more dependent and invested into the internet, a primarily visual medium, the importance of visual design will continue to grow, and it is important that all stakeholders consider the ways in which they can use visual design as a tool to further their message, as Battle for the Net eloquently does.



Works Cited
Healy. "The color of emotion". Psychology Today. HealthProfs. https://www.psychologytoday.com/. February 21, 2018.
Schafer. "Reading People by the Words They Speak". Psychology Today. HealthProfs. https://www.psychologytoday.com/. February 21, 2018.