Our Real Nemesis

[DURL <durl -at- BUFFNET -dot- NET>]

        Our real nemesis is that face we see in the mirror each morning.
        One *huge* problem facing our profession is our inability to
discuss what we do in terms of how it benefits our employer/client. I
suspect this is true for graphic artists also.
        I spoke to a friend over the weekend who's a copywriter & PR
person for an ad agency. The agency can't convince their clients to spend
their advertising $$$$ on effective advertising techniques, like X number
of appearances in a trade journal per yr. However, the agency doesn't say,
"If you do this, you'll see X% increase in inquiries."
        In business, unless you can tie it to $$$ or to potential $$$, the
company doesn't *care* what you think about the color scheme, or the list
punctuation. Most of the time, nobody even discusses the specific
objective of the document, including web sites. Without that objective,
expressed in measurable or at the very least observable outcomes, you have
no way to *demonstrate*  that the thing is ugly &
unusable. Saying, "Because I'm the TW and I said so!" isn't especially
convincing, unless you can ground the person you're talking to <G>..

        Mary


Mary Durlak  Erie Documentation Inc.
East Aurora, New York (near Buffalo)
durl -at- buffnet -dot- net