Web Exercise Revising the Graphic

Graphic Revision

When graphics are used to attract target audience to a website, care must be taken to make those graphics absolutely appropriate and fit so that it wouldn't offend any section of your potential customers. However some companies fail to take this into account when placing graphics, which results in development of unfit or inappropriate images that the target audience cannot relate to. Though no big or established corporation would deliberately want to do this, still their inability to consider cultural and religious differences might give rise to this problem.

One such company with an inappropriate graphic representing them is COOLSAVINGS.COM. The site targets American audience but it fails to understand that in our country not everyone follows the same cultural values or religious beliefs. The company and its slogan are represented through a graphical 'piggy' with shades on. But while the piggy has been used to symbolize the 'piggybank' and hence savings, it is inappropriate for Muslim consumers in America who harbor negative feelings for pigs and anything connected with them.

I asked one of my Muslim friends how he felt about this particular graphic and he suggested that some changes must be made in order to attract Muslim audience. He specifically said that when he saw this graphic as an advertisement of coolsavings on Yahoo, he instantly knew that very few Muslims would click through. So I feel that some changes must be made in this graphic to replace the piggy with something 'less contentious' such as the image of a classy ceramic pot or a funky safe box.

The site is absolutely fit and appropriate in its contents for every kind of audience regardless of its cultural or religious beliefs, but because of this graphic many Moslems wonder what might it be about when they see it advertised on various famous sites. For this reason it is important to conduct thorough market research before placing graphics on your site and especially when your company slogan is a graphical illustration. Find out what your audience is looking for and what it might consider offensive.