Ruth Cash-Smith - The Graphic Designers Guide to Better Business Writing

2007 Barbara Janoff and Ruth Cash-Smith

All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne Copyright Convention, Universal Copyright Convention, and Pan-American Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

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Published by Allworth Press
An imprint of Allworth Communications, Inc.
10 East 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010

Cover design by Derek Bacchus
Interior design/composition/typography by SR Desktop Services, Ridge, NY

Global Graphics is reprinted from The Business Writers Companion, 3e by Alred, Brusaw & Oliu Copyright 2002 by Bedford/St. Martins Reproduced by permission of Bedford/St Martins.

ISBN-13: 978-1-58115-472-6
ISBN-10: 1-58115-472-0
eBook ISBN: 978-1-58115-804-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Janoff, Barbara.
The graphic designers guide to better business writing/Barbara Janoff
and Ruth Cash-Smith.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-1-58115-472-6 (pbk.)
ISBN-10: 1-58115-472-0 (pbk.)
1. Design servicesMarketingHandbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Graphic artsMarketingHandbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Business writingHandbooks, manuals, etc. 4. Business communicationHandbooks, manuals, etc. 5. Career developmentHandbooks, manuals, etc. 6. New business enterprisesManagementHandbooks, manuals, etc. I. Cash-Smith, Ruth. II. Title.

NK1173.J36 2007
808'.066741dc22
2006100743

Dedication

This book is dedicated to
Al Silverstein
and
Tracy Smith
who have enriched our lives
in so many ways with their
patience, support, and good humor.

Acknowledgments

Publishing our first book is indeed a cause for celebration. We owe thanks to the many kind souls who helped us during this twenty-month journey.

First, we are indebted to all of the designers from across the country who generously gave us interviews and contributed their experiences, wisdom, and writing samples to this book. We are especially grateful to designers Shamus Alley of New York City and Buddy Chase at Studio 3 in Ellsworth, Maine, who always made time to answer every single question we posed, and whose help was invaluable.

Our deeply felt gratitude extends to Tad Crawford, Nicole Potter-Talling, and Allison Caplin of Allworth Press for their professionalism, courtesy, and patience.

Special thanks go to Kathleen Kelly, our writing partner since 1992, who graciously supported our work on this book at the expense of other collaborations. We deeply appreciate the input from another dear writing buddy, Sherry Christie, for volunteering to read a draft of this manuscript and for providing superior editing and all-around support, plus chauffeuring services.

Our lives have been greatly enriched and nourishedboth personally and professionallyby the members of our womens circles and our writing groups, who have kept us on the path and on the page. We also want to acknowledge Tide Mill Farm, Twin Farms, and Wellspring House for providing welcoming safe havens for writers on retreat. And thanks go to Natalie Goldberg who inspired us and brought us together.

For library assistance far above and beyond the call, we are grateful to Carol Briggs and the volunteers at the Roe Jan Library in Hillsdale, New Yorkthe little library that couldfor providing us with dozens and dozens of books through the Mid-Hudson Library System.

Likewise, we commend the dedicated faculty of the Gladys Marcus Library at the Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, for researching and making available for us, as well as the students, a vast array of specialized periodicals, online articles, and bibliographies.

Thanks are also due to the Fashion Institute of Technology for granting Barbara a sabbatical to research and complete this book.

Last, but certainly not least, we are indebted to the students in our business communications classes over the past twenty years. We salute your thirst for knowledge, your drive to get ahead, and your knack for keeping us on our toes. Being your teachers has been a gift we treasure.

Quick Reference to WRITING SAMPLES

Graphic Designers ON WRITING WELL

The belief isand this is perpetuated by teachers in design schoolonce you come up with the very best design idea, it will blind people with its brilliance. Thats not true. You need clear writing in order to show how it works. Good writing is concise, polite, and graceful. The people who work for me need to write with clarity, and they know I dont like bad spelling, which makes writers seem stupid. Stupid people shouldnt be trusted.

Michael Bierut

People forget email is business writing. It needs to be clear and straight-forward. Its important to find your voice in business writing of any type. You have to come across as genuine.

Margo Chase

Reread your e-mails and letters. Take your time. Make use of checklists. Dont assume youve written what you meant to write. Try to reread the message from the point of view of someone who doesnt know what you meant.

Cathy Teal

Recent grads need to develop an eye for detail. All too often, after theyve input the type, they dont look back, when they need to check and recheck their work. I learned this through the school of hard knocks; I was working for a design shop and didnt see that the term high-interest yield was misspelled high-interest yeild until it was a ten-foot-high banner in the bank. I almost got fired over that and it was very costly for the design firm. It is important to always check and recheck the work, particularly the spelling of words.

Steffanie Lorig

Proposal writing is one of the most painful, yet necessary, forms of business writing, and Ive discovered that a large number of my peers have no clue how to generate an intelligent proposal.

Phil Opp

Im very word conscious. I write lots of business proposals, which need to be very clear and concise. Basically, I take loads and loads of chaotic information and then synthesize it down to one and a half pages.

Sally McElwain

Thinking about language is crucial to a graphic designer; otherwise you permanently relegate yourself to a lower tier... of clients, of work, and of success.