Many would say that a humorous comic found in the newspaper or, in this case, online is dependent on great writing to succeed in delivery most of the time.  In fact, I would go as far as to say that as long as you have a picture in your head of the environment of two people carrying on in conversation, the copy would be enough to procure a reaction of laughter.  I have found there are a select few of these comics online that boast some amazing writing.

One such comic would be the recently discovered Cat and Girl.  The thick, pensive dialogue is sardonically proclaimed from the mouth of a cynical, sarcastic girl who never refrains from sharing her critique of pop culture through items such as ringtones and Wikipedia.  Her most common form of communication found through monologues that perfectly reflect the contemptuous, pessimistic attitude of this generation, of course, in a humorous fashion.

In the same derisive form, Penny Arcade focuses its analytical tongue towards videogames.  While the writer for this comic provides excellent dialogue between two malicious gamers (or often a satirical view of videogame company executives), his most impressive writing is found in the blog that shadows each comic.  A dictionary necessary for any review of his blogging work, you would easily forget you were reading a review for a videogame.  An ironic image to be sure, a gamer with the gift of gab.

For fear of copyright (no pun intended) infringement, I could not post an image of the comics discussed in this forum, but I will provide information necessary to read them yourself.

                 Billboards are the ironic piece in the advertising puzzle.  They are a forever effective element in marketing, but seem to forever be a struggle to master for some graphic designers.  For every great advertisement presented on an outdoor board, there are hundreds of grotesque monstrosities that are cluttered with paragraphs of information with red on black text and, somehow, three pictures of smiling families.  It’s these ads that give billboard advertising a bad reputation, but there are beautifully and concisely constructed billboards that really hit the mark.  It is through these great billboards that we can really get an idea of the key elements that form an effective billboard advertisement.

                There are certain successful campaigns that have translated so well onto the billboard format.  One that is most noticeable is the Chick-Fil-A billboard campaign.  While a bit unorthodox, and most certainly more expensive, the creative layout of their billboards certainly bring them bang for their buck.  Using their now infamous cows in a 3D fashion, they have literally placed life-size cows on the billboard painting a simple, yet comical statement onto the board.  On one such billboard, they used their humor-driven slogan of “eat mor chikin”, the words purposefully misspelled so as to reflect the poor literacy of the cows.  With three words and a single (though expensive, but not necessary) visual, the fast food chain has provided a powerful lesson in several key areas of billboard advertising.

                Firstly, the copy must be legible and easily read while driving down the road.  At the mercy of the curvature and allowed speed of the road, the driver has only seconds to receive the message from the billboard.  This requires the graphic designer to limit the elements on the board so the message is concise but still clearly delivers.  To be safe, it is best to have a maximum of nine items on the billboard, and that includes each individual word, imagery, and a call-to-action.  Chick-Fil-A executed this perfectly by using only three words and a single image.  The typeface is perfect as well, fitting the familiar style of the cows’ horrible writing skills, yet legible from the road because of the large size and the black-on-white format.  Combined with the hilarious and easily visible 3-dimensional cows painting the message on the board, the message is delivered quickly and effectively to the consumer.

                As Root & Madison’s revamped site is on the verge of emerging, the copy has gotten a steroid shot by yours truly.  With a little more bark and a lot more bite, the website is sure to impress previous clientele and potential clients alike.  Focused around the customer, Root & Madison has better adapted their site to revolve around the customer’s needs while being pleasing to the eyes.

                The user-friendly navigation is reinforced by copy with a creative edge and smooth readability.  Backed behind a great typeface and color scheme, the copy is clear, concise, yet avoids a bland stroll through legalistic jargon to explain to the customer the goals and information of Root & Madison.

                I know your mouth must be drooling for the opportunity to see it, but you’ll just have to wait for the launch.

                It is a well-known fact the importance of a great first impression when applying for a job in the graphic design industry.  Of course, the key to any interview is your portfolio.  However, far too often a graphic designer focuses too much on what to bring in the portfolio than the carrier itself.

                Sometimes it is better to grab the attention of your potential employer with the outside of your portfolio rather than the inside.  One example of an effective portfolio was the infamous shoe-in portfolio, in which a graphic designer prepared his portfolio in a shoe and propped it in the door of a graphic design firm.  Another portfolio sang, literally, to its interviewer, setting a new precedence for making a portfolio stand out and get noticed.  Sometimes it doesn’t take such elaborate or extreme creativity, turning your drop-off portfolio into a handy tool for the office can be an effective way of getting attention.  The essential purpose of this blog is to state that it is better to take a chance in a creative case than go in with a bland, professional portfolio.  If you have to, at least make sure it looks nice.

i-ro-ny [ahy-ruh-nee]  -  noun
1.       An outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected.

Example:  Web designers out-write copywriters 2-to-1.

                Believe it or not, but when it comes to web design, designers are used twice as often for the copy as copywriters, according to a poll of website owners.  This sounds like a massive difference in the marketing populace, but the difference is rather minute by the percentages.  Only 12% of the website owners polled used a web designer for their copy, let alone whether the web designer had any involvement in the design process of the website itself.  That means only 6% of the websites have copy from copywriters.  An overwhelming 80% of the website owners polled either did their own copy or had a member of their staff perform the duty.

                These daunting numbers are depressing for all involved, both the website owners and copywriters alike.  The copywriters suffer from the lack of business from such opportunities, and the websites suffer from effete body copy that doesn’t reach out to their target market.

                The number one excuse provided by the website owners is their paucity of financial means to compensate for the hiring of a copywriter.  An unfortunate downward spiral then occurs of a deficit in production for both parties involved.  Although some website owners may not have the financial capabilities to hire a copywriter, others do have the means, but do not see the benefit of a copywriter’s skills, going as far as having a lack of trust for the copywriter’s knowledge of their company and providing the information they feel is necessary.

                The goal of a copywriter is to provide the information of a company in a manner that best reaches their target market in a creative and effective way.  This requires research into the business, research into their target market, and creative application of the research into a copy format that portrays the need of both the business and the consumer.  What is not understood by some website owners is the extent in which said copy would boost the business involved.