Kaitlyn Luckman

UWRT 1104- 029

S. Ingram
1 November 2016

Genre Reflection
The audience my genres would appeal to best would be people who are designing
workspaces, more specifically interior designers. I chose this genre as they are the ones who are
creating workspaces. They would be the people who would want to design workspaces that
employees would be the most productive in. My topic is about colors, emotions and how they
work together to create productive work spaces. Designers may need to know what colors to
put with each other to evoke specific emotions. If the workspace is an office for a graphic
designer, one may want to put colors such as yellow or red in the work space, as these colors
enhance creativity.
One source that I found particularly helpful was an article on entrepreneur.com. There
was a particular infographic at the end that described work spaces and how different colors
impact them: Designers and people who need to be creative for their job should have the
color yellow integrated into their work space (Shandrow). This supports my claim that the
colors of our surroundings directly impacts how we work and the things that we do. In another
article about the effects of colors, the author states that red is known to boost performance on
detail oriented tasks. This could be used when trying to remember things and proofreading
(Science Daily). A quote from this article that suck out to me about the color red was by Juliet
Zhu, who has been doing research on the effect of colors. She said, Thanks to stop signs,
emergency vehicles, and teachers red pens, we associate red with danger, mistakes, and

caution. This stands true in everyday life as we are constantly relating the color red with these
things. We stop at stop signs. When we see a red octagon, we stop. When driving, we stop at
red lights. When we see red emergency vehicles, we slow down and move to the side of the
road. By doing these things, we see that the color red is definitely associated with danger,
caution, and mistakes. In an article on foxnews.com, Dr. Julia Shugar of the Creedmoor
Psychiatric Center in New York says that room color, particularly in your home can dramatically
affect moods, feelings, and emotions. Dr. Shugar offers up the advice that perceptions of
colors are subjective and deeply rooted in personal and culture experiences. When I read this, it
brought me back to how subjective everything really is. I really liked this source because it
brought in a differing opinion on how colors are more psychologically linked to how our brains
work. People have their own personal views on colors and finding how they affect you will help
you make the work space and home that benefits you.
When trying to decide what genres I wanted to use, I decided that I could draw on my
personal experience. I work in the Athletic Academic Center on campus. The office I work out of
is very plain and almost everything is beige. When students come in to work with me, I notice
that it is hard for them to focus sometimes or they become easily bored. This could have a lot
to do with the workspace that I have to work with. I decided to write a business letter to my
supervisor at the center explaining what I have found and attaching my other genre piece to it
for clarification. I chose to use a Prezi for that genre piece because it is easy to work with. It is
sort of like a concept map in the way that it helps me organize my thoughts. I think that my
genre would exist on the desk of a supervisor whose employees have found that their work
environment is not the most productive place for them to work. I think that the second genre

piece, the Prezi, could be used for design firms to explain how colors work and the emotions
that are brought on by them. My audience would gain access to them through the company
that they work for, possible at a workshop or on a job site. They should be read in the order of
the business letter first, to get the idea of the issue at hand, and then the Prezi for the in depth
explanation of how colors can then be used to evoke certain emotions or create the most
productive spaces.
I relied a lot on visual communication. This topic does have a lot to do with what we see,
in this case, colors. When presenting about this topic, you are really relying on what people see
and how they react and interpret what they see. I appealed to my audiences pathos because
this topic is deeply rooted in the emotional response of people and how they see and react to
colors. I appealed to logos by logically stating my case and including research to back what I was
claiming. I appealed to my audiences ethos because my topic is relatable to all people. Many
people are habitually found in spaces that they are not the most productive in. I think that
these pieces will be relevant for a long time. Spaces are always going to need to be fixed or
livened up so that people can perform at their best. This audience could use this information
now so that people could fix the spaces that they currently in. In doing this, they could form
more productive habits and help themselves emotionally.
I would like to think that my genre pieces would be successful in my target audience. I
think that if a design company was called on by a supervisor of a company because its
employees felt that they needed a better workspace, that my presentation would help explain
more to them how they could improve their workspace and their work in general.

Effect Of Colors: Blue Boosts Creativity, While Red Enhances Attention To Detail. ScienceDaily,
ScienceDaily, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090205142143.htm.

Nolasco , Stephanie. Feeling Moody? 10 Room Colors That Might Influence Your Emotions. Fox News, FOX
News Network, 11 Oct. 2013, magazine.foxnews.com/at-home/feeling-moody-10-room-colors-mightinfluence-your-emotions.
Shandrow, Kim Lachance. How the Color of Your Office Impacts Productivity (Infographic). Entrepreneur, 9
Mar. 2015, www.entrepreneur.com/article/243749.