Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
This blog isn’t for designers. This blog is for the people who write and want people to read their work, people who work with designers, and people who have always wanted to learn more about design. You don’t need to become an expert in Adobe Illustrator, become fluent in color theory or learn all there is to know about fonts. In order to create a good design, you just need to follow some rules about layout, visuals, and text.
I’ve written up some very basic guidelines based on my experience with designing infographics and apps. I hope they will help you think about how you want your content to look. I’ve also included sources with more in-depth information if you’d like to take a deeper dive. A well-planned design will make your content more readable, your key take-aways easier to find, and people will want to read your work. You don’t have to follow these guidelines, but it’s always good to know the rules before you break them.
Note: If you have a style guide you want to reference, now is the time to check it for tips. When I talk about your page, I’m referring to the area on which you’re designing. Your page may vary in size and shape. When I refer to your copy or content, I simply mean the words on your design.
Layout
One of the first things that you should focus on when drafting your page is what it looks like from far away. You should be able to identify the different elements and see how they interact. If your entire page is covered in text with no spacing, it’s not going to be readable. If your eye doesn’t flow over the page, it’s going to be frustrating to look at. If you want people to be able to read your text, you need to know how to adjust your layout based on your medium and you need to grid your page.
Gridding is the structure that your design is based on. It buffers text from the edges, separates columns, aligns content and makes it visually satisfying. The organization that gridding brings makes your design cleaner and more readable and, if your content goes across multiple pages, helps bring the pages together. Using a grid with two or three columns for text is a great choice in many mediums. It’s generally accepted that column widths should hold between 50-80 characters.
To determine how to grid your content, first you need to consider where it will be shown. The medium could be an image posted on Twitter, a word document, a banner or one of many other formats. The medium should determine the size and shape of your page. It should also suggest margin gridlines based on visible area, which can help you determine other grid spacing.
When working on your layout with a designer, discussions on layout can include the addition of open space, aligning text with other elements, and mirroring other formats. It may help to provide sketches or find examples of layouts you like when giving feedback.
Visuals
Next, think about what the entire page looks like together, considering the colors of your work and the images or graphics you plan to use. If you use colors that don’t match the content or colors that clash with the other colors on the page, your reader may become distracted and choose not to read your content at all.
When you’re working with color, less is more. Consider how different one area of your page looks from the rest, or the contrast. A pop of color will bring your readers’ eyes to that area, so use it for your most important information or key points. If your brand already has defined colors, use those. Otherwise, choose a color that you like or one that fits with your content. Depending on the hue or saturation, you can use this as your accent color, your background color or your highlight color. The next step is to find or build a color palette, or a selection of colors that go well with each other. Ideally, choose colors that are different enough that a black and white print out would still be readable.
When it comes to graphics, prioritize quality. An image that’s pixelated or doesn’t relate to your content makes it seem like you don’t care. A well-chosen image elevates your subject by connecting your readers’ unconscious relations to whatever the picture is. To ensure your image won’t be pixelated, check your medium and try to have a minimum of 180 pixels per inch (ppi). If you’re using non-image graphics, make sure that you’re using a vector graphic rather than a raster graphic.
Like word associations, color and image associations can have a mix of cultural and personal influences and may not always translate between people. When working with a designer, discuss emotive goals and consider requesting versions of the work using additional color palettes to compare the differences.
Text
Finally, look at your page’s text. In English-speaking countries, text goes from left to right and from top to bottom, so make sure that your copy flows the same way. If you set up your gridlines correctly, your copy will line up cleanly with the rest of your page, you’ll have space between columns, and your lines of text won’t be longer than 80 characters. Try to avoid what designers call orphans, the lone word ending a paragraph on a different line, or widows, a lone line of a paragraph in a different column.
Like many of these concepts, typography is its own area of expertise with such immense amounts of detail that it can become overwhelming. Font is a variation on the weight or style of a typeface, but, in most cases, they’re interchangeable. For now, I’ll simply introduce the categories of typeface: serif, sans-serif and display. In general, it’s a pretty good bet to use a serif font at one size and a sans-serif font at another.
Serif fonts have small embellishments like the base on the “l,” the weight at the tip of the “a,” or the tail on the end of “u.” Many feel these fonts are easiest to read in print and have an older feel to them. My favorites are Times New Roman, Perpetua and Georgia.
Sans-serif – or without serif – are the cleaner, minimalistic fonts you often see online. These are easiest to read and ideal for online body text. My favorites are Lato, Segoe UI and Tahoma.
Display fonts are used for small areas of text like titles or subheadings. These typefaces are not designed for legibility, so don’t use them in bodies of text. My favorites are Pacifico, Satisfy and Elephant.
One of the trickiest but most valuable concepts is visual hierarchy, which is basically how your brain understands and prioritizes the content on the page based on size, shape, color and contrast. A large, bold header is going to attract more attention than the smaller text you put in your paragraphs. An italicized section of text in a distinctive color will draw your reader’s eye. Determine the three or four most important sections or elements of your text and use formatting to prioritize them. Too many fonts, weights or colors will muddy your text and make it harder to read. Be mindful about the flow, what you want your audience to remember, and how weight and color affect the balance of the page.
When giving feedback on someone’s work, ask them how they chose the typefaces and why they decided on that organization of visual priority. If you disagree with the ranking of information, discuss the first three pieces of text you want the audience’s eyes to see.
If you follow these recommendations, you should have a good foundation on which to build your skills. Simply, leave space for the text to breathe, use a color palette when you can, and stick to two or three fonts. When in doubt, ask someone you trust for feedback.
Following design rules will lead to cleaner, more legible work that your audience will want to read. Designing is imparting mindfulness, structure and creativity into what people see. You may not call yourself a designer, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create well-designed work.
According to data from the Pew Research Center, one-in-five U.S. adults say they get their news from social media. That’s slightly higher than print newspapers. If you’re reading this and you have a Facebook or Twitter account, you probably already know that this trend presents serious concerns in the age of COVID-19.
Further data proves those concerns warranted. A recent Pew Research Center article shared findings from a survey uncovering that people who turn to social media for political and election news are less likely than others to closely follow coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey data also reveals that more than half of these consumers have seen made-up news about the pandemic on social platforms. According to the survey, “Those who use social media as their common news pathways – 18 percent of U.S. adults – fare comparatively poorly when it comes to answering” questions about the virus.
It’s simply harder for individuals who scroll through social media feeds for their news to know whether that post their friend’s uncle shared is backed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Additionally, the spread of false updates or preemptive sharing of developing stories can exacerbate already challenging situations. For example, with social media news feeds constantly updating, individuals could be exposed to a developing story’s headline once and then potentially never again.
We’ve seen information spread like wildfire during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is critical that reporters and news sites don’t take advantage of these uncharted times. It’s equally as important for the rest of us to ask questions of our sources.
Social media can be a great source of comfort and connection, especially now. Unfortunately, it’s not the best source of accurate information about COVID-19. While reading the news can be anxiety inducing, ensuring the spread of accurate information is critical to keeping people safe.
If you have gotten into the habit of relying on social media for news, please check out CDC and World Health Organization’s “latest updates” pages, as well as their social media accounts. These sources may provide important perspective for you and your loved ones.
As offices were closed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and individuals shifted to working from home, there was a spike in Zoom and MS Teams meetings. Virtual team happy hours were added to peoples’ schedules and existing meetings were converted to video conference calls.
We all enjoyed a glimpse into our co-workers’ homes (at least the background behind their video images) and relished working in sweats from the comfort of our kitchen tables. We adjusted lighting and video camera angles to look our best and shared memes about video calls gone bad.
Now it’s been a few weeks into working from home and the novelty of these virtual meetings is starting to wear off.
It seems there are a lot more meetings, leaving less time to actually get the work done. Friends have shared that they are maxed out on video calls. They have back-to-back meetings with the intent to stay connected and intentionally try to overcommunicate with colleagues as we all work in isolation. At the end of the workday, as the virtual meetings wrap up, we face the challenge of trying to get work projects and tasks done. On top of pressures to stay connected, working from home can make work-life separation challenging.
Below are some tips to navigate the increased demand for meetings while working from home:
- Block time on your schedule to work through your to-do list. Each day have a block of time dedicated to doing the work and GSD. If someone sends a meeting request for this time, see if there are alternative times to conduct the meeting. Some requests may require you to flex your scheduled work time; however, having something on your calendar will make it easier to push back.
- Schedule breaks. Make sure you take a couple of 10- or 15-minute breaks to get up and move around your home. Breaks give you a chance to recharge and when you’re working at home, it is easy to lose track of time.
- Say no or gracefully opt out of participating in the meeting. There are likely some meetings that are optional or which your participation is not required. Additionally, sometimes a video call is not the most efficient way to move the project forward. Be selective in participation of virtual social gatherings. Be mindful of how you say “no” or decline a meeting; especially as everyone is working remotely, nuance can get misread via email/text.
- Have a clear agenda and objective. When setting up a meeting, provide an agenda in advance and let intended participants know what the objective is of the meeting. Take time to check in with people at the start of the call and then focus on working through the agenda and staying on task to accomplish the intended objectives. If you are invited to a meeting and the objective is not clear, secure that information when accepting and/or at the start of the call.
- Remember in some instances, people just need human-to-human socializing. Around the world, we’re all going through stressful times and many of us are experiencing considerable change in our home, work and social lives. As a result, catching up and maintaining emotional connections is critical. If you sense a co-worker is anxious or depressed, check in with them and consider being a sounding board.
For additional guidance on virtual meetings, please consider the following articles:
- What you Need to Know About Holding Productive Virtual Meetings During COVID-19, Forbes.com
- What it Takes to Run a Great Virtual Meeting, Harvard Business Review
- When Coronavirus Causes you to Meet Differently: 6 Tips for Making the Most of Remote or In-Person Meetings, Forbes.com
What tips do you have during this time to manage the uptick in meetings, getting work done and maintaining work-life balance while working from home?
Growing up, my main source of news came from the television or newspaper. It seemed like a simple transaction. Accredited journalists discussed politics and ethics. I watched and listened, without a doubt in my mind that what they told me was true. Thanks to social media, news is constantly at our fingertips now. Determining what’s true has become a much more difficult proposition.
We see it all the time – a misleading or plain old false tweet blows up, and only after it’s been recirculated thousands of times is it debunked. It happens to me too. I see something that feels urgent and important, and there I go, off to the retweet races before checking the source. I know better. Still, it happens.
As we are flooded with countless articles about COVID-19, the issue seems especially urgent. I decided to create a step-by-step system to make sure I slow down and question everything. It’s difficult to decipher fact from fiction in a situation evolving so rapidly. I thought it would be helpful to share my list with others.
Check the Profile
- Who is in their network and who do they follow?
- What’s their background and apparent biases?
I’ve found it helpful to follow a handful of trustworthy journalists who possess a strong background and an objective lens. It allows me to save time by not scrolling through hundreds of posts. I also have the confidence that the information is credible and reliable.
Do They Cite Sources?
- Are their sources clearly cited in the post?
- Is the information being distributed in other media outlets?
Citations are one of the key differences between a factual and fictional post. A simple hyperlink to a report or to a credible article is an easy way for readers to be certain the information is true.
Does It Add Up?
- Trust your intuition – if the headline doesn’t match the article, you should be wary.
- Refer to dependable websites when there is information being spread that’s hard to verify.
There’s a handful of great websites that fact-check information buzzing around the internet. Snopes, Factcheck.org and PolitiFact are a few of my favorites. If you’re still unsure, it’s helpful to look at government websites such as the CDC’s site, especially during times of natural disaster or the current Coronavirus pandemic.
These past few weeks have been extremely difficult, to say the least. We are all doing our best to simply stay safe and healthy. It’s more important than ever to filter out false information and focus on the truth.
For additional ideas on how to determine if you’re receiving news from a trustworthy source, check out these other posts:
In college and even before, I’d always heard that finding a job after graduation was the hardest and most important part of graduating college. I knew several people who had spent thousands of dollars on a degree they weren’t using or that they couldn’t put to use because they couldn’t get a job in their field. When approaching my own college graduation, I made sure to be ahead of the curve.
I asked for help to tune my resume, I practiced interviewing, I sought to acquire as many relevant skills as I could, I networked my rear off, and I applied everywhere. And then to my immense joy, one of the first post-grad internships I applied for worked out. When the internship was over, I found a job within a week’s time. I had succeeded! However, as time went on, I realized the adjustment to be a “real” working adult was not what I expected.
For all my soon-to-be-graduate peers, below are three important lessons I’ve learned since leaving college and entering the workforce.
You will mess up, and that’s ok.
As a senior in college, we’ve mastered how to be a student. We understand what teachers in our program look for when they grade, and we have a better sense of what to focus on when we study. We also know the ins and outs of our respective campus, where to find the best deals on textbooks (or if we even need them) and how long we can procrastinate a paper before we absolutely have to start writing.
Entering the workforce can feel like starting from square one. Deciding how to prioritize deadlines and gauging what a supervisor values are not spelled out on a rubric. However, you are not expected to know everything. When you make a mistake, own it and come up with a plan to avoid making it again in the future. More importantly, don’t get hung up on the mistakes you make – take them in stride. Treat them as a learning experience and glean as much from each mistake as possible. Reach out to your teammates, mentors and friends to reassure you that the learning curve is normal. Remember: Everyone above you was once in your position. Mastering your craft takes time and mistakes come with the territory.
Make time for yourself.
Working a 9-5 essentially requires that we give our day to someone else. By the time we commute home it’s after 6 p.m. and we’ll have done nothing for ourselves, five days a week! To feel like I still have a personal life, I’ve learned it’s crucial to maximize my mornings. I recommend going to the gym or for walks in the morning, listening to podcasts during your commute, or catching up on the latest episode of the show you’re watching while you eat breakfast.
Now that college is over and there aren’t as many accessible clubs to join, I recommend investing in a new hobby. Whether it’s cycling, rock climbing, knitting or playing the piano, finding something you enjoy doing outside of work other than watching Netflix helps your life feel full and well rounded. Lastly, it’s vital to protect breaks. It may be tempting to follow the example of coworkers who work through lunch every day, but taking the time to disconnect can hit your refresh button and help you remain productive and tuned in for the rest of the afternoon. It can also help us avoid burnout.
It’s OK if you don’t know everything.
In a similar vein to my first important lesson, it’s OK if you don’t know everything. I remember in my post-grad internship I was introduced to the world of B2B tech. There were so many acronyms I had never heard before! SEO, DDoS, PPA, ISO, CCA, EOW, GW – there was an entirely new language I had to learn! Since everyone around me spoke the language fluently, it was intimidating (and even embarrassing) to ask someone to explain these seemingly simple words to me. But in doing so, I was able to keep a running note of all the terms and eventually I was a fluent speaker, too.
Successfully adjusting to the workforce means being willing to ask questions and being willing to ask for help. If we jump into our field eager to learn, we’re so much better equipped to add value than if we pretend to know what’s going on around us.
Graduating college is an enormous feat and a huge life milestone. Equally momentous is entering the workforce. Both thrilling and a little intimidating, beginning a career brings changes to our lives that we may not see coming (i.e., feeling like we have less time now than we did with a job, an internship, clubs and 15 credits). Recent college graduates should be patient with themselves as they learn the tricks of their trade and protect their personal time as they adjust to life after college.
In the midst of COVID-19, the news can be overwhelming. There is the potential for millions of us to get sick, many people may die, there may not be enough hospital beds and ventilators, businesses are closing, and unemployment may go up to 20 percent.
But at the heart of this pandemic, there are some amazingly positive resources and stories that can make our lives better. I thought I’d recap a few of them as a reminder for the Communiqué team and the readers of our blog.
The below list includes ideas for how to give back, how to stay entertained and more. Take a look and, if you have additional suggestions, I’d love to hear from you.
How to Help
- Donate blood. There is a severe shortage of blood and the American Red Cross has an easy-to-use website that allows people to find a drive near them. I found a location within three-miles of my home, but before you zip over to donate, make sure you confirm walk-up donors are allowed. With COVID-19, many locations are requiring that you have an appointment.
- Sew masks. The global demand for masks and other personal protective equipment has created a shortage. In the Seattle area, Providence requested volunteers to make medical-grade masks. As of my writing of this post, all of its kits were claimed, but other organizations may also be looking for volunteers. Check your local hospitals’ websites to see if they need help.
- Donate money. Consider a donation to a charity responding to critical community needs. There are a number of charities that are supporting caregivers, research around COVID-19, or the poor and vulnerable people in our community.
- Help a neighbor. To identify people in need, I recommend checking out Next Door, the social media site for neighborhoods. They have just created a “Help Map,” noting that daily activities may present a challenge for those at higher risk of complications from COVID-19. You can post a description of how you can help and they’ll help you to connect with someone in need.
Staying Entertained
- Have an online Netflix party. USA Today provides instructions for how to do this in its article here.
- Check out some animals from these fun animal cams. We can thank the staff of Adventure Journal for developing these recommendations which allow viewers to watch otters feeding, bears emerging from hibernation and more.
- Have a socially distant happy hour. Turn on Skype or Facetime your friends. If you have a subscription to Zoom or access to Microsoft Teams you can use those tools as well. Finally, many people I know are sitting on their respective porches and raising a glass with their neighbors, talking, albeit more loudly than normal, to communicate with one another from a safe distance.
- Enjoy an online music festival. Stay at Home Fest harnesses the power of the internet for good, creating a central hub to find all the fantastic decentralized events that are happening online, and aiding music discovery during the global pandemic.
- Visit the Seattle Art Museum. The museum as launched a new blog called Stay at Home with SAM. Check out their “Object of the Week” and other content to stay engaged with art.
- Learn something new. According to experts, already 400 million students have been disrupted by the spread of the coronavirus. Fortunately, there are some excellent ways to learn online. I’m a huge fan of Coursera and its courses, many of which are free. Some of the resources they’ve put together include the following:
Exercise and Health
- Don’t read too much news. Get an update on the information you need and then move on, otherwise you may find yourself getting overwhelmed and wound up.
- Participate in an online exercise class. Many fitness and yoga studios are offering classes for free. For instance, CorePower offers a variety of pre-recorded flows and has promised to add new classes each week. A good list can be found in this article.
- Go for a walk or run. Even in cities or states with mandates to shelter in place, running and walking are still permitted as long as you maintain the appropriate social distance. As a reminder, the benefits of walking and running include improved cardiovascular and pulmonary fitness, reduced risk of heart disease and stroke, better management of high blood pressure, cholesterol, and more. In my experience, a nice long walk also helps improve my mood.
- Meditate. With the help of Audible, I have recently begun to meditate and have downloaded “Everyday Meditation,” a free audio program from Aaptiv offering 20 days of guided mediations. During this time of uncertainty and change, it has been very helpful to focus on calmness, mindfulness and positivity.
Keeping the Faith
- Several religious institutions are offering worship services online. In Seattle, you can find online church services listed here. Many other community news outlets have compiled similar list for their area.
For more positive updates on COVID-19, please check out this article from the Good News Network.
I hope this list of resources is helpful for you as you #StayAtHome, doing your part to stop the spread of this virus and flatten the curve.