I learned that the Beijing dialect of Chinese has four “tones,” which make it possible to say the same combination of characters four totally different ways, something that’s [>>]]]> I’ve just returned from a Thanksgiving trip to China. It was one of the best vacations of my life—great food, good people, amazing sites—and a truly challenging language.

I learned that the Beijing dialect of Chinese has four “tones,” which make it possible to say the same combination of characters four totally different ways, something that’s not feasible in English. As a newbie to the tones, I was terrified of using the wrong one and accidentally calling someone’s antecedents into question, while I was simply trying to find the toilet.

The question of tone and how it paralyzed my communication skills got me thinking about the importance of tone in American communications. While the consequences for using the wrong tone probably aren’t as severe, it can still alienate your audience, create misunderstandings, or detract from your campaign.

So, for this end-of –year post, I’m celebrating two companies who do tone right. They use words and images in pitch-perfect harmony to enhance, augment, and advance their cause.

Luxe City Guides
Tone: Sophisticated, stylish, and smart
Audience: Travelers who want to experience the best of a city and won’t be satisfied with run-of-the-mill recommendations.
How do they do it: The guides come in a pocket-sized (really!) format, feature consistent categories of information no matter the city, and all of them—and the site—showcase razor-sharp writing. Every word is carefully curated, there’s a definite point of view, and they’re not afraid to be a little naughty. Take, for example, this intro on Paris: “…while this lulu of a city can be sweet and coquettish, she can also be a very snooty grande dame indeed. We’ve taken her over our knee, given her several smacks with the manners stick and she’s promised to behave.”
Genius: The guides feel exclusive, but never exclusionary.     

Droid
Tone: Strong, capable, “doing”
Audience: Anyone looking for an alternative to the iPhone
How do they do it: Early ads for the Droid phone went a little overboard in the testosterone department, but in 2010 they’ve found their tone by sticking to one key message: Droid Does. All words and images focus on what the Droid can do, not what it can’t do. The gravelly-voiced announcer (men want to be him, women want to be with him) calmly lists the phone’s capabilities, the TV ads show the “doing” power, and the site features sci-fi graphics and reads like Earnest Hemingway wrote it—if he worked for  an ad agency.
Genius: Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman.

These are just my two favorites. Are there sites, companies, or products that you think use tone well? What about those that get it wrong? Email me and let me know.

Author Chris Zender wants you to watch your tone when you email her.

Unfortunately, I’ve noticed a lot of garbled use of visual design [>>]]]> Jargon is an expected component of any specialized field. But visual communications is, I feel, a special case. Many of us have to deal with visuals in some aspect of our jobs, even if we aren’t actually designers or users of design tools like PhotoShop.

Unfortunately, I’ve noticed a lot of garbled use of visual design terms. In fact, I’ve observed individuals who appear to be communicating because they’re using the same terminology, only to find later–when deliverables are handed in–that they were going in completely different directions.

Below are some commonly misused terms, and a few resources to help you keep your design terminology straight.

Color terms—Color terms are the most commonly misused and the least understood. Many people don’t even realize that there is a difference among them. But there is. And knowing the differences might help out when it comes time to talk color. Here’s a quick rundown of the basics:

• Chroma—the saturation or intensity of a color.
• Hue—the color of a color; the basic true pigment.
• Shade—a hue mixed with an amount of black. For example, maroon is a darker shade of red.
• Tint—a hue mixed with an amount of white. For example, violet is a tint of purple.
• Tone—a hue mixed with an amount of grey. For example, rose is a tone of red (or pink).
• Value—the relative lightness or darkness of a color. A bright blue and a bright green have a different hue, but a similar value. If you removed the hue, you would be left with a similar gray. (Have you ever printed out a PowerPoint in black-and-white and you can’t read the bar graphs? It’s because the bars of color have the same values.)

Infographic—Short for information graphic. An infographic is a specific type of graphic that is intended to visually display information, data, or knowledge. A bar graph and a subway map are two examples of infographics. Lots of people refer to any image displayed on a website as an infographic, but unless it’s displaying some kind of information, it’s just an image.

Mock-up—A working model or prototype. In a Web design context, a mock-up would consist of an HTML page with the navigation, draft or placeholder text, and visual elements in place. A mock-up would come after wireframes and before the staged Web pages. Mock-ups are often confused with wireframes (see below).

Raster graphic—A graphic file composed of pixels (or little squares of color) on a grid. Also called a bitmap. Each pixel contains color information that adds to the image. Common raster file types include .jpg, .gif and .tiff. Raster files with high resolution are packed with color information, making them ideal for print production. But because they have a fixed resolution, they are limited in terms of their ability to scale. Scaling a raster image too large will result in jagged edges or pixelation.

This term isn’t so much confused as typically met with a blank stare. But it’s helpful to understand which types of graphic files are used in different formats and why.

Vector graphic—A visual image composed of paths (or lines) anchored by points. A vector image is created by the relationship of the points to one another, so it can be infinitely scaled up or down without loss of image quality or pixelation (no pixels!). Adobe Illustrator, for example, is a vector-based graphics program. Because of their scalability, vector graphics are ideal for logos and are often used in Flash. Examples of vector file types include .svg, .vlf and .swf.

Similar to the term raster, the term vector is more unknown than misunderstood.

Wireframe—A visual representation of how the navigational elements will be laid out on a webpage.  Usually consisting of simple boxes with perhaps a few labels, a wireframe will indicate where the navigational and content elements will be placed. Creating a wireframe is an important part of the planning process prior to developing actual pages. Here are some wireframe examples. Wireframes are often confused with mock-ups.

Getting familiar with visual design terminology is a great first step toward ensuring a successful project. Here are some reliable glossaries to help you determine the meaning of specific terms in the context of visual design:

• Adobe Glossary of Color and Press Terms
• The Design Encyclopedia
• SAP Design Guild Color Glossary

Have any funny examples of misused visual design terms or additional resources to offer? Post a comment.

And yet because visual design brings together [>>]]]> For many people, the most fun part of creating a website or publication is the visual design aspect. I know it is for me. It’s what I call “fun” creativity (as opposed to “not so fun” creativity, such as trying to transform a product data sheet into an interesting and engaging article for readers).

And yet because visual design brings together people who are visual thinkers and people who are, well, not visual thinkers, projects can often go awry.

Understanding and embracing the creative process, and keeping the channels of communication open, are the best ways to ensure a design that will meet your goals.

In that vein, here are a few tips I’ve picked up from working on creative projects.

Tips for working with visual designers:

1. If you’re not sure, ask. Visual designers don’t expect everyone to know their jargon any more than a rocket scientist does. So don’t worry about anyone thinking you’re ignorant if you need to ask what sans serif means. Designers are always happy to explain terms. If they aren’t, find a new designer.
2. Use examples to illustrate what you mean. My interpretation of “modern” or “fresh” might be different than yours. It’s always helpful for designers if you can point out examples of what you mean by certain descriptions.
3. Define how you’re using visual design terms. Or, ask your colleagues to do so. Many terms are misused, so you might think you’re communicating clearly when you really aren’t. (For example, I’ve seen the term wireframe used to represent everything from a content outline to a fully functioning HTML page mock-up.)
4. Start with a creative brief. Sorry folks, but “I’ll know it when I see it” just doesn’t cut it. No one expects you to design your project yourself, but you are expected to be able to clearly articulate the goals, audience, key qualities, and/or characteristics of your project for your designer. Otherwise, you’re just wasting time and money.
5. Be patient. Except in rare circumstances, no designer will produce exactly what you want the first time. And maybe not the second. This back-and-forth process is perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of design (and writing!). More often than not, your ideal design is reached through feedback, discussion, and collaboration that happens during the design process.

By keeping these tips in mind, you can avoid some of the potential pitfalls in the visual design process, and instead focus on the fun stuff. Enjoy!

Have some tips of your own to share, or disagree with any of mine? Leave a comment to tell me about it.

If it does, you’re probably ready [>>]]]> “This book is about a yearning and a need. It’s about finding a quiet, spacious place where the mind can wander free.” Does this quote strike a chord? Does it conjure an expansive horizon over a shimmering blue ocean and warm sand under your feet, your BlackBerry or iPhone left behind?

If it does, you’re probably ready for that vacation. It’s that time of year, after all.

The quote is from the introduction to Hamlet’s BlackBerry, Bill Powers’ new book about the frenzied world of ubiquitous “screens” and constant connection that we now inhabit. I haven’t read it yet, but from the reviews and author interviews I’ve read, it seems like a perfect vacation read.

I heard about Hamlet’s BlackBerry during an NPR interview with Powers a couple weeks ago. Having just gone without a mobile phone for two weeks, I had noticed an odd sense of relief. Without a connected device in my pocket, I felt free. There was nothing to check, no nagging curiosity to satiate, no distraction lingering in my thoughts. It was great. It was a bit like the “spacious place” Powers alludes to.

Powers’ book describes my experience almost exactly. He explores the “conundrum of connectedness” and how it has changed our work and personal lives, for better and worse. Powers is no Luddite and he’s not advocating that we ditch our smartphones. He admires and sees the value connectedness brings to society. But he’s aware of its downside, too.

From what I’ve read, Powers’ book is part discourse on our need to connect and communicate and part practical guide for today’s hyper-connected world. Whiling admitting to loving the technology himself, Powers suggests we embrace it with caution. “What I’m proposing here is a new digital philosophy, a way of thinking that takes into account the human need to connect outward, to answer the call of the crowd, as well as the opposite need for time and space apart. The key is to strike a balance between the two impulses,” says Powers.

Looking at our current reality and the countless screens that fill our daily lives, Powers writes, “But as we connect more and more, they’re changing the nature of everyday life, making it more frantic and rushed. And we’re losing something of great value, a way of thinking and moving through time that can be summed up in a single word: depth. Depth of thought and feeling, depth in our relationships, our work and everything we do.”

Vacation is always a prime opportunity to get away from the day to day and gain new perspective on work, life, and self. As a communications professional, you know better than anyone about the degree to which we’re now connected. If you need a book for vacation and have questioned the implications that connectedness has on your job, how you reach customers, and manage your personal life, check out Hamlet’s BlackBerry. I plan to.

Nowadays, most of us probably receive text messages from someone with whom we do business; for example, a message from your [>>]]]> Much has been said about the benefits of using social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace for connecting with customers. However, there’s another much-less-touted although equally valuable vehicle for reaching customers—SMS or text-based messaging.

Nowadays, most of us probably receive text messages from someone with whom we do business; for example, a message from your bank regarding some questionable activity on an account or an appointment confirmation from your doctor. Currently, retailers have made the most use of SMS to engage their customers.

There’s a wealth of opportunity for marketers in other industries to incorporate text messaging into their communications strategy, not only to improve customer relationships but also to boost sales.

There’s no denying that mobile usage is up. In 2008 sales of mobile devices outpaced those of PCs 4-to-1. Because a majority of cell phones have text capabilities, SMS provides an ideal opportunity for communicating with your customers, especially when so many are inundated with email and may be missing your message entirely.

In its Mobile Market Survey 2009, Netsize reports on how some companies are using mobile as part of their marketing strategy to attract and keep customers:

“The vast majority of respondents (56%) currently use mobile to acquire new customers. But that will change as respondents follow through on their plans to boost customer retention and loyalty through mobile marketing (64%), streamline transactions (37%) and enable commerce and sales using a mobile device (37%).”

In addition to strengthening relationships with current customers and attracting new customers, text messaging provides a way to increase brand awareness. For example, Clorox ran a national promotion to connect its brand with Keith Urban fans by offering the chance to win a backyard BBQ with the singer.

At the end of the campaign, Clorox experienced total mobile activity of more than 300,000, and 6% of those participants opted in to ongoing Clorox brand promotions. And that’s one of the key benefits of SMS: You’re reaching your customers on their terms and at their request.

The simplicity of text-based messaging, though, creates the possibility for overexposure. You don’t want to abuse the privilege of having your customers’ permission to communicate with them. According to a recent Nielsen report, sending too many texts or not targeting them appropriately can adversely affect your ability to connect with your customers.

As with any social medium, SMS is another way to engage your customers in a conversation. As with all marketing activities, though, make sure that an SMS strategy fits in with your overall business goals.

Searching based on [>>]]]> Sure, your company has a presence on Facebook and Twitter and is probably using the social media platforms primarily for pushing public relations and marketing messages. While you’re doing all the talking, who’s listening to what your customers are saying? And not just to what they’re saying, but to how they’re saying it.

Searching based on tags and keywords is no longer enough. They tell only half the story. It’s the feelings behind what your customers are saying online that tell the real story. According to a recent New York Times article, the new search frontier is sentiment analysis.

Scout Labs, which is backed by the venture capital firm started by the CNet founder Halsey Minor, recently introduced a subscription service that allows customers to monitor blogs, news articles, online forums and social networking sites for trends in opinions about products, services or topics in the news.

In early May, the ticket marketplace StubHub used Scout Labs’ monitoring tool to identify a sudden surge of negative blog sentiment after rain delayed a Yankees-Red Sox game.

Stadium officials mistakenly told hundreds of fans that the game had been canceled, and StubHub denied fans’ requests for refunds, on the grounds that the game had actually been played. But after spotting trouble brewing online, the company offered discounts and credits to the affected fans. It is now re-evaluating its bad weather policy.

“This is a canary in a coal mine for us,” said John Whelan, StubHub’s director of customer service.”

Interpreting human sentiment may be a fledgling, inexact science today. However, there’s a rich vein of market intelligence just waiting to be mined from your customers’ opinions. And the wealth of information found in those sentiments can make your product launch or break your bottom line.

So, if you’re not looking at the feelings behind your customers’ words, perhaps you should.

Tendo was founded 10 years ago on the [>>]]]> In an excerpt of a recent interview with Josh Tyrangiel, the managing editor of Time.com explains how “long-form” journalism just does not work on the Web. Well, doh! I’m glad the lead editor of Time.com has realized this, but it’s sad that he’s making this statement in 2009.

Tendo was founded 10 years ago on the idea that the Web was changing how media was consumed, and that media executives and journalists like us, who built Web media properties early on, could help marketers use their websites to connect directly to customers by applying the best practices we had learned.

And rule No. 1 when creating content to attract and engage an audience on the Web—proven over and over again by metrics since the early days of Web media—is to remember the media you’re working in.  That means writing in short bursts and using pull-quotes and sidebars; it means creating new scannable content types that allow the reader to get to the point without the work of reading dense, text-heavy pages—or, in print magazine parlance, “long-form journalism.”

I find it both sad and fascinating that a lead editor at one of the oldest and most venerable media brands in our country is coming to this conclusion only now. Perhaps that’s why this same institution is no longer as relevant as it once was?

That’s because of a little thing called conflict [>>]]]> Last I checked, Dr. Eric Schmidt wasn’t jumping on to Google financial briefings to preach about Apple’s latest iPhone firmware update.  And last I checked, the same good doctor wasn’t running across the stage at MacWorld–or whatever events Apple’s keynoting now–arm-pumping to the chant of, “Google!  Google!  Google!”

That’s because of a little thing called conflict of interest. I come from a print journalism background, and these three words are akin to the Great Wall of China for content creation.  That’s not to say that an average marketer or businessperson has no moral code, but it can be a tapdance to do what’s best for a brand without looking like a complete shill–be it for your company, your clients, or your competing interests.

Marketing on Someone Else’s Dime

Consider Sarah Lacy, the Bay Area’s favorite female tech journalist–or, at least, one that’s been talked about a great deal since her big Facebook interview snafu in 2008.  No stranger to inserting herself into the story, Lacy writes about Facebook, of all things, in her BusinessWeek column this week.  The premise of the story is simple: Facebook employees are cashing out their shares of the company’s stock at a high enough rate as to overload the company’s $100 million share buyback program.  Simple.  Done.

Instead of pointing to similar occurrences across the tech sector and drawing some kind of parallel between the companies’ respective situations, or taking the larger spin on the effects of an economic recession on an individual’s desire to keep money close at-hand, what does Lacy do?  If you guessed, “shill for her other job,” you got it.  She references her employment as a blogger at TechCrunch, talks about the site’s awesome environment and strong financial growth, and even uses her BusinessWeek column to jokingly beg her boss, Michael Arrington, for stock options.

Talk about eating where you… well.  I’ll let you finish the metaphor.

Suffice, the entire ordeal makes Sarah look like a wide-eyed fangirl for her other paychecks.  The weight of her words loses legitimacy.  BusinessWeek looks like it has no idea how to manage its employees and, worse, is effectively sponsoring the endorsement of a competitor.

So what?

As marketer, it’s important to realize the walls in which you play.  You can’t just blast your marketing message in every  medium of interaction, otherwise your constant attempts to bring your brand to the forefront of any and all discussions will look like an official kind of astroturfing. The conflict of interest is one of you, an everyday person trying to say everyday things, versus your hidden agenda.

If you’re going to try and frame a brand within the context of a larger, topical issue, at least do it with grace. In Lacy’s case, her TechCrunch employment might be relevant as it relates to working for a startup and the subsequent issues of stock options.  The context of her blog, however, makes this relationship sound like an advertisement–not a genuine piece of insight sparked by insightful comparison, rather, one that’s arisen out of hubris.

You can talk about your brand.  You can be passionate about your brand.  You can even shill for your brand a little bit–it’s okay, everybody else does.  But crossing the line is like the difference between a martini with a twist and a straight shot of booze.  One keeps life pleasant; the other gets you hammered.  Don’t get hammered by your community because you couldn’t keep your words straight.