House of Tricks
Commodities in life as we know it,
are for the most part, taken for granted. Restaurants, especially, are not
essential, and yet so many exist because society has grown a dependency on
convenience. The competition between restaurants has become rigorous when it
comes to utilizing digital and physical media in order to attract the consumers
of the twenty-first century. As a local restaurant located in the Mill Avenue
social sector of Tempe, Arizona, House of Tricks is easily accessible to
students attending Arizona State University as well as any locals from around
the valley or visitors from out of state. Taking into consideration that
advertisement contributes largely to the population attending this particular
restaurant, not only is House of Tricks located fifth on Google Maps, and maintains
a solid four out of five stars on Yelp, the website is designed to entice
consumers ranks high above the average. The website for House of Tricks has
been evaluated through digital texts such as appearance, functionality, and
appropriateness for rhetorical situation.
Utilizing alluring fonts and
photographs, House of Tricks creates an extravagant appearance that succeeds in
producing an aesthetically pleasing sight. This attractiveness is remarkably enhanced
through the simple use of contrast in heading, link, and informative text from
the rich green and bold black background. On the “Home” page of the website, a
picture of the front entrance of House of Tricks is shown. A beautifully
decorated and designed entrance with outside seating, containing tables covered
with crisp white table cloths, meticulously folded napkins and a beautiful array
of flowers on each table, fills the vine-covered patio as the walkway leads up
to a charming stairway and the final entrance to the door that begins a wondrous
journey into what is known as House of Tricks. The previously mentioned photo
is only one in the vast array of magnificently posted photos. Other photos depicting
special events consist of an instance when President Obama was present at a
gathering hosted by House of Tricks as well as a few adorable photos of couples
dining and other joyous reunions between families and friends.
Appearance consists of more than one component of
attraction; both social and appetizing aspects must be conveyed in such a
manner that the directed audience finds House of Tricks appealing. Their elegantly
modeled cuisine can be viewed under the cuisine tab where the top of the page
consists of what can only be described as a “… delectable…blend of cultures and
flavors…” portrayed in the delightful arrangement of slides. Information
regarding both the lunch and dinner menus consists of a creative and detailed list
of entrées of soups, salads, sandwiches, the finest meats and fish, as well as
their decadent desserts. For those wine fanatics however, the cherry on top of
the sundae is the tab for wine. The appearance of this restaurant is heightened
even further due to this very tab. Under this tab, the author discloses to the
audience how, wine, a classy alcoholic beverage supplied at this restaurant,
has gotten House of Tricks to be named “One of the Top 5 Wine Bars in the
Valley” and awards for the past two years from the Wine Spectator which add to
the appeal of the restaurant.
Although there are a few modifications that could be made
to both the social and appetizing appeal through use of photography and font,
House of Tricks transmits an overall appealing outlook. The carefully
articulated appearance for this restaurant goes beyond expectation creating an
ideal home for fine-diners’ through their exceptionally designed website.
While appearance is a major factor in the evaluation
of the website for House of Tricks, appearance without function is moot. The creator’s
design consistently places the restaurant name, eight easily navigable
information tabs, and relatable links on each page. The modest sum of available
links and tabs allows viewers to effortlessly navigate the digital
summarization of House of Tricks. The eight well-written, well-organized, and exceptionally
informative tabs become a major factor in the functionality for this website as
a directory. Each, indivdual tab opens directly to the specified material based
on the information sought out by the viewer without excess advertisements or
intruding requests to join weekly newsletters with updates.
The information written on each tab contains a
variation and adequate balance of ethos, pathos, and logos. The “About” tab is
composed of a considerable amount of all Aristotle’s appeals of persuasion. The
author begins with the history of how House of Tricks had come to be, which happens
to directly tackle ethos. By allowing the viewers to understand how each aspect
of the restaurant had originally developed, House of Tricks is able to build
credibility with its audience. Pathos however, is found, not in the
development, but in the aspects of the restaurant. The author chose to display very
precise and particular information that appeals to the audience emotionally,
such as the journey from the beginning for the owners, the care put into the
lovely gardens that the relatives tend to, and also the community relationships;
all of which are considered heartstrings that persuade by appealing to viewer
emotions also known as pathos. Through both the previously established pathos
and ethos, logos gains momentum in persuading the audience by using reasoning.
Credibility and emotional appeal allow the author to have a better chance in
persuading the reader to accept the desired logic. Although Aristotle’s appeals
for persuasion are evident in the “About” tab, each of the other tabs contain
their very own variation of appeal through more subtle text.
Well-written and relevant content is
crucial in usability. Not only is the information provided by this website
informative, but it is sufficiently useful also. Readers are able to use the
information to determine whether or not House of Tricks fits their specific
requirements. The other factor that is critical in today’s society and in terms
of usability would undoubtedly be the utilization of relatable links. Lining
the right side of every page are applicable links suited to lure consumers. Reviews,
videos, newsletters, proof of awards, as well as links for making reservations
or connecting through the well-known social media site, Facebook, are all available
to the site’s visitors. Admittedly, each of these links, although useful and
alluring, could have been organized in a better fashion or the most essential
links could have remained while the rest could be discarded. Specifically
referring to functionality of this website, each tab consists of succinct information
in a well-spaced, easily navigable manner, however the relatable links that
were chosen could have used some refinement.
Noted in the New Times Best of
Phoenix 2011, “House of Tricks knows how to set the mood for romance…” giving a
surfeit of possibilities for rhetorical situations and real life events. The
relevant information for any and all of the questions about events held by the
restaurant, private parties, large scale social gatherings, as well as
testimonials, are located on their respective tabs. House of Tricks allows
viewers to inquire about upcoming events through a cleanly labeled calendar;
however, only events for the current month and following month are noted, while
forthcoming months are absent. If desired, a link for a specified event
provides viewers with detailed information and the necessary steps in creating
a reservation to attend said event. Wine tasting and events that House of
Tricks participates in are available to the public. For those who prefer an
intimate gathering, House of Tricks caters to small and large groups, ranging
from ten to 125 guests. Here, viewers can contact a host to schedule and plan
for the gathering of a lifetime. Considering the wide range of potential
guests, social gatherings from reunions of close friends, to wedding rehearsals
can be held at House of Tricks. For the particular audience that this
restaurant is directed, the rhetorical events are endless, however the location
around a state university could have been considered. Most students living in
the area tend not to have gatherings such as this or live the lifestyle to
attend such restaurants.
Despite the minor adjustments that
could be made to the website in order to improve functionality and usability,
the overall façade for House of Tricks is supreme. Digital texts displayed on
this webpage, such as appearance, functionality, and appropriateness for
rhetorical situation, are above average expectations. House of Tricks has
worked hard to earn their place and thrive among the abundance of restaurants
located in the Mill Ave social sector. Although only one form of digital media
advertising was evaluated, House of Tricks continues to sell out for its
openings for upcoming events and keeps an unyielding consumer base inferring
that other digital and physical media advertising also does well. It seems safe
to say that the House of Tricks’ website serves it justice when it comes
to drawing in the public and in upholding a thriving restaurant business. The magnificent journey of House of Tricks begins
with advertising, and ends with precious memories, new or reignited
relationships, without forgetting a scrumptious dessert.
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