No one likes to be told that they don’t understand—or, worse yet, that they aren’t doing what they’re supposed to. So how do you conduct those potentially uncomfortable conversations without setting fire to the goodwill you’ve cultivated?
As creative professionals in higher education, we often need to translate design-speak into language that is more easily understood. While terms like “RGB,” “PMS” or “white space” may elicit nods of understanding, they’re usually pretty meaningless to those outside our circles.
A further challenge is getting our non-designer colleagues to adopt and consistently use production best practices. Ensuring that every task and assignment goes through the pipeline with the greatest efficiency is a team effort, but some members may need a little coaxing.
No one likes to be told that they don’t understand—or, worse yet, that they aren’t doing what they’re supposed to. So how do you conduct those potentially uncomfortable conversations without setting fire to the goodwill you’ve cultivated?
I believe the answer is a spoonful of sugar. As the Sherman Brothers’ legendary song states, “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” In this case, the medicine is the topic you need to address, while the sugar is the means by which it’s communicated.
With this in mind, I created a simple series of flyers titled Tips From the Cranky Creative Director. Each flyer includes a stylized photo of my scowling face followed by a tip geared toward either clarifying or reinforcing creative terminology, best practices or rationale. Occasionally I’ll feature something more lighthearted, such as tip #16, “Creative Juices,” which featured a music playlist curated by Creative department staff.
These are submitted to the entirety of our marketing department. The language is a little snarky, but not too over the top—just enough to elicit a smile and open a dialogue. It’s done wonders for clarification. On the occasion when the message still doesn’t stick, a “Cranky” will be re-sent under the heading “Cranky Greatest Hits.” An especially challenging situation prompted the creation of an Extra Cranky Edition. On that one, I swapped out my face for that of Samuel L. Jackson’s Jules character from the movie Pulp Fiction.
It’s clear from the Cranky flyers that while I don’t take myself too seriously, I do take the topic at hand seriously. It’s that little spoonful of sugar that allows me to right a wrong without singling anyone out. (Although, from time to time, the guilty party will reach out to sheepishly admit they’re the reason for the tip. I typically assure them that they’re not alone, which is usually—but not always!—true.)
If you create your own tip sheet, it should reflect your personality. Be yourself, but play with the volume a little. I would also caution you to avoid sending something out the moment an issue comes up, to avoid singling someone out. Instead, make it second in line.
If your content is specific to your department, give careful consideration before sending to a broader audience. They may miss the point. For example, the frequently referenced Project Management Tool (PMT) holds no meaning outside of our department. Basically, you should never use lingo to explain lingo. More generic messaging may better serve your needs.
While nothing beats a good ol’ fashioned face-to-face, a tip sheet can be an excellent communication tool. Since you’ll mainly send them when something has gone wrong, don’t forget to mix in some off-topic content every so often to keep it light. It just goes to show that even difficult topics can be addressed “in a most delightful way.”
The UCDA Journal will highlight several of these tips each month and the ideas here can help generate discussion in your own offices on how best to handle some of these same issues—if and when they arise.
Q: Why are you always nagging me for .eps logos? Can’t you just use a .jpg?
A: Unlike .jpg’s, an .eps (vector) logo will maintain a transparent background and can be scaled up or down with no loss of clarity. This becomes relevant when a design uses color or a photo in the background or the logo needs to be enlarged for use on a poster or billboard.
Left: .eps logo allows color behind it to show through unobstructed
Right: .jpg logo maintains a white bounding box that obscures the color behind it.
Left: .eps logo at 1000% is nice and sharp.
Right: .jpg logo at 250% becomes pixelated.
Q: So, why do .jpgs exist if .eps files are all that?
A: .jpgs are a compressed file format that allow a lot of visual data in a relatively small file size. This is ideal for web where load speed is crucial or on simple designs with white backgrounds.
Q: Why are you messing with my ad copy all the time?
A: Likely because it doesn’t fit the format, or beacuse it depends too much on words rather than directing the reader to our website.
Let’s Make It Better
- Reference the Ad Toolkit or Graphic Standards to determine which ad format will work best.
- Enter the ad format letter into the PMT.
- All-purpose ad for sharing general info.
- Good for promoting a program or sharing deatiled info.
- Good for promoting an event or as a College image piece.
- Preferred ad for congratulatory or recognition message.
- Preferred ad for general promotion of the College (New version: Where futures begin).
- Break your copy down in to Headline, Subhead and Body Copy
Be aware that the smaller the ad, the less copy can fit. A larger ad has room for more content — but does it get to the point quickly, or will the reader stop reading?
This tip may change in the future as we look to update our Graphic Standards.
Q: There sure are a lot of rules for the mascot logo. Can you bring it down a notch? Sheesh!
A: A logo is at its most fragile stage when newly introduced. Often, before a brand has a chance to cement itself in the public eye, there are many actions and requests to modify or misappropriate it. So the definitive answer is: no time soon.
In the short time since the logo was introduced, the following improper uses have been either perpetrated or requested:
Left: “My bad! I took it off a news article. Didn’t know there was a proper one to use.”
Center: “I always stretch things to fit. I didn’t notice it was shaped funny as a result.”
Right: “But I wanted it to go up a hill...”
Left: “I can’t wait to put running shoes on him!”
Right: “We didn’t have teal ink, so we just used blue.”
Eric Wheeler is the Director of Creative Services, Cuyahoga Community College.
Tips sheets are made available as PDFs to clients.