January 2012 - Judy Gregory Writer

Deciding how much detail to provide

I've been wondering this week about how communicators can ensure that they provide the right amount of information for their audience - the right amount of detail, presented in the right order, in a way that doesn't either overwhelm people with too much information or leave major gapsI've been reflecting on two situations where the information seemed to be lacking: in a consultation I had with a doctor, and in a recruitment letter for a research projectThe consultation was with a...

Which direction?

Here's a sign that's guaranteed to either confuse or get you thinking:Presumably, you follow the direction of the road (to the right), turn first left, turn left again, and then turn right But is that what the sign says Do the three right-facing arrows simply mean that you follow the road to the right before taking the first turn left Is it confusing to write 'first left' while giving the visual signal to go straight to the right Are you supposed to follow these instructions in sequence to lead...

Alignment as a design tool

I was reminded this morning just how important alignment is as a design tool - as a way of making design elements look as though they belong together (and communicate the same message)I was at Hoyts - watching the endless pre-session ads before being captured by Puss in Boots (one of the joys of this school holidays!) Every time the Hoyts logo appeared on the screen, it bothered me The logo is the Hoyts name, with little red boxes on the left, and the URL printed underneath with a little open...

Editing difficulties caused by layout

I've been sidetracked this holiday season with a few editing projects - all interesting documents that I couldn't say no to I often think that my working time is privileged - I get to read and think about fascinating topics, work on documents that are written with some social justice purpose, and help the authors find ways to make the work easier to read (And yes, I recognise that this sounds kind of cheesy, but it really is the way I feel about my work)But over the last few weeks...

Holiday chuckle

Sometimes, in the calm of holiday reading, you come across something that makes you chuckle Like this error in the latest edition of InStyle:Whoops!There's nothing quite like that feeling of flicking through a newly-printed publication (always the result of hard work) and noticing a stupid error We've all been...