Tag Archives: Documents
Issues 16 and 17 of the Creative Tips newsletter are now live on the newsletter page. Number 17 covers “capital offenses” — all those places where people commonly use ALL CAPS, but shouldn’t. (Hint: It’s most of the time!)
Ever since Sprint’s success with their “movie trailer” marketing campaign for the Instinct cell phone, it seems every tech marketer has to have movies. Now it’s Microsoft, with “Office 2010 — The Movie.” It’s been up on YouTube for a couple of weeks, so if you haven’t caught it yet, here’s the link. Actually, it’s kind of fun. It won’t really tell you anything about what 2010 will do differently, but there are various screen shots about the net and … Continue reading
The Creative Tips newsletters have proved amazingly popular, far more than I ever expected. There’s an interesting double-effect here: as I write more and get more feedback, I find the newsletters taking on a life of their own. Number 10 is the start of a series on company image that I suspect is going to shock some folks, because the definition of what constitutes “good” design isn’t nearly the constant that some would like to believe. And the more I … Continue reading
I’ve been amazed how many people have told me — enthusiastically — that after reading Creative Tips #5 they are battling to overcome their years-long habit of typing two spaces after a period. Those typewriter habits we learned at our mothers’ (or fathers’ secretaries’) knees are sometimes hard to break, but folks tell me they’re persevering! Oddly enough, the two-spaces thing never was considered correct in the UK, so ex-pat Brits don’t have a problem with it. It’s all in … Continue reading
Number 5 covers such things as “two spaces after a period” and other typewriter practices that don’t belong in proportionally-spaced type. It’s also true that when you type something in a word processor these days, you’re not strictly “typing” in the accepted sense of that word. What you are really doing is a simple form of “typesetting,” and the rules are different! You can find Issue 5 here.
From the amazing amount of feedback I’ve been getting to the Creative Tips newsletter, it’s clear that there’s a vacuum of basic “how-to” information on simple layouts and making documents look good in standard office-type programs. This is mildly surprising, considering how many books, websites, etc., have been devoted to the topic over the years. On the other hand, I’ve looked at Microsoft’s website and discovered that the good stuff is hard to find. Lots of “Gee Whiz!” but the … Continue reading
I’ve had a ton of positive response to the first newsletter. Thank you to all those who emailed their appreciation. The second issue is now online for those who aren’t on the mailing list.
The first Creative Tips newsletter has hit the cyberwaves. The idea of this series is to help improve the world’s documents by giving basic tips on using Microsoft Word and similar programs that are as ubiquitous as the generally boring (or, let’s be brutally frank, downright awful) documents that are turned out by the millions every day. If we can get rid of some of the uglies, I think the time will be well spent!
