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Will You Add? - Designing and Editing Publications: 6 Ways to Avoid the Editing Vortex
The Papers You Can Find May Make a Difference! ccounting director. She's tells you the new proof will only be seen by her eyes. Great. Her eyes have never read the report in the first place so the edited proof she returns is, once again, bleeding out. By now the copywriter and designer are talking at a bar about you behind your back and getting closer to needing an intervention and rehab themselves. The quality of their work declines, the edits reduce in number but you still don't see the finish line. You're past deadline and over budget.Let’s face it! Most of us know there are important information and records we should have readily available at our fingertips, If you had five minutes to evacuate your home, what would you take with you? What are your wishes in case of a life- threatening medical emergency? Where is the safe deposit box key? Who should your spouse contact in your company in case of a disaster? Even if you know where to find the information, could someone else if you were not available? Libraries and websites are full of recommendations about crucial records – but how many of us ever get down to organizing what we have? For many people in the “sandwich generation,” the issue gets even more complicated, as we find it necessary to organize information for other people in our lives.Admittedly, this is not a fun job, This may sound extreme, b Public Responsibility and Citizenship - Values and Concepts of the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria Part 9 The definition of vortex is a spiral motion of fluid or air that sucks everything near it toward its center. All marketing and communications professionals have been sucked into an editing vortex like a dust bunny into a power vacuum at some point during their careers. It's a rite of passage.In this issue, I will share my experience acquired from the conglomerate and its operating companies. For the purpose of this article, I will articulate the Public Responsibility and Citizenship which is one of the Eleven Values and Concepts in Malcolm Baldrige Criteria. As before, I will use case studies to show how some of the companies implement them.To recap, below are the Eleven Core Values and Concepts of Baldrige Criteria:-Visionary Leadership | Customer-Driven Excellence | Organizational and Personal Learning | Valuing Employees and Partners | Agility | Focus on the Future | Managing for Innovation | Management by Fact | Public Responsibility and Citizenship | Focus on Results and Creating Value | Systems PerspectiveI will deal with the one of the Val Here's the scenario: You're working on a new, exciting project. It's an annual report. You have all the players in place: copywriter, designer, photographer, editor, your supervisor (or board member or company president) and you, the communications director/project manager. You discuss the project's direction, the schedule and the parameters. Everyone is clear. The copywriter outlines the project and you get initial approval from your supervisor. The photographs are taken. The copywriter writes copy, you get copy approval from your supervisor and approve the design direction. The designer then lays out the report. You get the First proof and it looks great. You leave it with your supervisor to review. A few days later your supervisor hands you a stack of annual reports. Somehow your proof has reproduced itself. There are now four of them. There's red ink everywhere as if each cloned proof is bleeding out. You take a deep breath and face the daunting task of assembling the edits on the only clean copy you have. The task is like trying to make sense of four babbling toddlers. You ask the copywriter for rewrites and then hand it back to the designer for edits. You receive the next proof from the designer and present it to your supervisor. Two days produces four more copies. It's like black magic. Try as you may, compiling the edits becomes impossible. Editor A completely disagrees with Editor B, Editor C may as well be reviewing the report for the First time, and Editor D could really use a grammatical intervention and rehab. You bring a new proof to your supervisor and discuss the problem, but it is too late. You're stuck in the editing vortex. Your supervisor admits that she didn't really have time to review the report so she passed it off to several board members and the accounting director. She's tells you the new proof will only be seen by her eyes. Great. Her eyes have never read the report in the first place so the edited proof she returns is, once again, bleeding out. By now the copywriter and designer are talking at a bar about you behind your back and getting closer to needing an intervention and rehab themselves. The quality of their work declines, the edits reduce in number but you still don't see the finish line. You're past deadline and over budget. This may sound extreme, b Branding: All My Ex's Live In... the communications director/project manager. You discuss the project's direction, the schedule and the parameters. Everyone is clear. The copywriter outlines the project and you get initial approval from your supervisor. The photographs are taken. The copywriter writes copy, you get copy approval from your supervisor and approve the design direction. The designer then lays out the report. You get the First proof and it looks great....my senses. I know, you were thinking ‘Texas’. Well, if they do live in Texas, then it’s a good thing that I live in Virginia (dodged that bullet - swish!). In fact, most of my experiences, good and bad, nestle deep in the base of my subconscious until ‘something’ wakes them up. It could be the ocean air, a certain perfume, the sound of fireworks or a song, the touch, the feel of cotton, or even the taste of burnt pizza. Yup, all of these sensory experiences can bring any memory rushing back to the front of your mind.So, what does this have to do with branding?Have you ever smelled french fries and said, “Oh, I could go for McDonald’s”.Nokia, the leader in cell phone manufacturing design their phones to touch at least 4 of the 5 senses, and touch some more than others. The You leave it with your supervisor to review. A few days later your supervisor hands you a stack of annual reports. Somehow your proof has reproduced itself. There are now four of them. There's red ink everywhere as if each cloned proof is bleeding out. You take a deep breath and face the daunting task of assembling the edits on the only clean copy you have. The task is like trying to make sense of four babbling toddlers. You ask the copywriter for rewrites and then hand it back to the designer for edits. You receive the next proof from the designer and present it to your supervisor. Two days produces four more copies. It's like black magic. Try as you may, compiling the edits becomes impossible. Editor A completely disagrees with Editor B, Editor C may as well be reviewing the report for the First time, and Editor D could really use a grammatical intervention and rehab. You bring a new proof to your supervisor and discuss the problem, but it is too late. You're stuck in the editing vortex. Your supervisor admits that she didn't really have time to review the report so she passed it off to several board members and the accounting director. She's tells you the new proof will only be seen by her eyes. Great. Her eyes have never read the report in the first place so the edited proof she returns is, once again, bleeding out. By now the copywriter and designer are talking at a bar about you behind your back and getting closer to needing an intervention and rehab themselves. The quality of their work declines, the edits reduce in number but you still don't see the finish line. You're past deadline and over budget. This may sound extreme, b Hello, May I Help You? ou a stack of annual reports. Somehow your proof has reproduced itself. There are now four of them. There's red ink everywhere as if each cloned proof is bleeding out. You take a deep breath and face the daunting task of assembling the edits on the only clean copy you have. The task is like trying to make sense of four babbling toddlers. You ask the copywriter for rewrites and then hand it back to the designer for edits.There is nothing in this world more annoying than being place on hold for an extended period of time. Not only is the music mostly horrible, but many companies use it to try and fool you into thinking you're really not holding for very long. Wrong! Most telephones today have the ability to track the time of the call. Really, now, don't you think being placed on hold for five minutes while listening to the Muzak version of "Copa Cabana" is a bit much?When a live person finally answers your call, they may know very little about who you want to talk with, whether or not that person actually works there and, oh yes, "Can you hold while I catch the other line?"Business owners who are in the know have trained their staff to understand that the next telephone call could be that million dollar deal. You receive the next proof from the designer and present it to your supervisor. Two days produces four more copies. It's like black magic. Try as you may, compiling the edits becomes impossible. Editor A completely disagrees with Editor B, Editor C may as well be reviewing the report for the First time, and Editor D could really use a grammatical intervention and rehab. You bring a new proof to your supervisor and discuss the problem, but it is too late. You're stuck in the editing vortex. Your supervisor admits that she didn't really have time to review the report so she passed it off to several board members and the accounting director. She's tells you the new proof will only be seen by her eyes. Great. Her eyes have never read the report in the first place so the edited proof she returns is, once again, bleeding out. By now the copywriter and designer are talking at a bar about you behind your back and getting closer to needing an intervention and rehab themselves. The quality of their work declines, the edits reduce in number but you still don't see the finish line. You're past deadline and over budget. This may sound extreme, b Planning Your Recruiting Efforts Can Help You Find Great Employees four more copies. It's like black magic. Try as you may, compiling the edits becomes impossible. Editor A completely disagrees with Editor B, Editor C may as well be reviewing the report for the First time, and Editor D could really use a grammatical intervention and rehab. You bring a new proof to your supervisor and discuss the problem, but it is too late. You're stuck in the editing vortex. Your supervisor admits that she didn't really have time to review the report so she passed it off to several board members and the accounting director. She's tells you the new proof will only be seen by her eyes. Great. Her eyes have never read the report in the first place so the edited proof she returns is, once again, bleeding out. By now the copywriter and designer are talking at a bar about you behind your back and getting closer to needing an intervention and rehab themselves. The quality of their work declines, the edits reduce in number but you still don't see the finish line. You're past deadline and over budget.Today, companies have an ever-expanding list of options available to them when it comes to sourcing new employees, from advertising in newspapers and trade journals to powerful, cost-effective recruiting options available through the Internet. Unfortunately, the growth in the number of recruiting options available has made the competition for top candidates even more fierce.So how do you break out of the pack to find the people that you need? Like most other business activities, a successful recruiting program must be a planned effort. Here are some tips for ensuring that your recruiting effort produces results:Always Be Recruiting: Recruiting is least successful when you’re forced to find someone quickly due to an unexpected resignation. Out of desperation, many companies often end up fill This may sound extreme, b How To Get Your Customer To Buy? ccounting director. She's tells you the new proof will only be seen by her eyes. Great. Her eyes have never read the report in the first place so the edited proof she returns is, once again, bleeding out. By now the copywriter and designer are talking at a bar about you behind your back and getting closer to needing an intervention and rehab themselves. The quality of their work declines, the edits reduce in number but you still don't see the finish line. You're past deadline and over budget.It can be generally said that all people buy to satisfy some goal or need. Human needs are many and varied, ranging from the basic physical needs of shelter, food and safety essential for survival, through the need to satisfy personal vanity, to intellectual and spiritual satisfaction.It is said that money can't buy you love - perhaps it can't, but florists, card shops and jewellers can make a good profit out of helping it along the way. Retailers of cosmetics sell dreams of beauty, sophistication and youth - satisfying our egos.People buy clothes to keep warm, but more are sold because people wish to project a variety of images - they need to belong and socialize. In each case the consumer is motivated by the benefits they can derive from the purchase and less by the pure physical attributes of This may sound extreme, but it's not. It actually happened. The more seasoned a professional you are, the easier it is to steer clear of the editing vortex, but sometimes you just get sucked in. The problem with the editing vortex is that it leads to an inferior outcome. It is exhausting. By the end no one cares about the quality of the project anymore, they just want it to go away. It stops being a priority for everyone involved. A well-organized project can be completed in three rounds of edits with the final round simply being a once-over before the project goes to press or is published online. Here are six tips to help avoid the editing vortex. Get everyone involved from the beginning. You know there will be a copywriter and a designer. Who will you have to answer to? Make sure your supervisor is involved at the first meeting you schedule. Ask your supervisor if he will have to show the report to anyone. If yes, make sure that person is at the meeting. Tell that person to bring her kids if she plans to ask them for input. Anyone with any say needs to be at the initial meeting. That will get everyone headed in the same direction from the start. If it is not possible to get everyone at the first meeting, reschedule the meeting. If you show a proof to someone who is not familiar with the agreed direction of the project, they will make changes according to their own assumptions and often their own ego. Limit the number of people involved. If you have any power to do so, limit the number of editors to just you (or you and your supervisor). If you need to show the copy to several department heads, avoid showing them copy in layout, and only give them one chance to review the copy. Also, if you require input on the design direction, make sure that everyone you ask understands that they have input, but not final say. You have final say. That's your job. That way, the copywriter can rework the text without being concerned if it will fit in layout, and the designer can finalize a design direction that is not tied to keeping copy in place. After that initial round of eyeba
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