If you’re a writer and you believe that your only tool for doing your job is words, then you’re not creating to your fullest potential! For writers, words are important; and for many people, words are hard. Having the skill to use them well is a gift, but it’s not the entire picture.

Being able to work with everything on a page (or a billboard or a banner ad) that isn’t words will elevate your creative output. And that’s true whether you’re a marketing copywriter who deals with long-form work like brochures and annual reports, or you’re a creative copywriter who concepts ad campaigns.

Here are tips, grouped by writer type, to stimulate your visual problem-solving capabilities.

Long-form tip #1: Think about the white space

Chances are good you’ve worked with an art director who doesn’t even look at your manuscript, yet will ask you to cut it by 20%. And the designer has a point: White space makes a design look more elegant and modern. You can use white space to reduce reader fatigue and move them down a page.

One of the best ways to help achieve a greater balance of white space is to simply have fewer words. Go back and ruthlessly copyedit your work. One of the best indicators that a passage needs a surgical intervention? Look for semicolons and em dashes. We writers really do love our words, and these punctuation marks enable our dependence on complicated and overly wordy thoughts. Also look at paragraphs with more than three or four sentences to see if they can be simplified.

Long-form tip #2: Use charts and graphics for creative effect

Don’t let yourself be limited by the idea that you have to use numbers to create a chart. Charts and infographics can be used to suggest a family or grouping of things, linear narratives, and changes over time. If you want to be wowed by how infographics can bring an inherently non-technical story to life, look at this history of The Beatles and their creative output. Way more fun than reading something like a Wikipedia page, right?

Creating infographics, or data visualization, is a skill unto itself. But that doesn’t mean you can’t start thinking about graphic ways to tell a story.

Long-form tip #3: Evolve your copy

Here’s what happens most of the time: you’ll attend a kickoff meeting. You and your designer receive the same brief, you’ll write a manuscript that eventually gets dumped into a layout, and that’s the end of the story for you.

If there’s time and budget, grab the layout after the designer has set it up and flowed your copy in. How does it look? Are there places you could break the copy up with subheads and bullet points? Strive for that balance of content and space that invites readers in.

At every stage, you and your designer should work collaboratively so that everything you’ve created, individually, works together as a finished piece.

Creative copy tip #1: Do what your AD does

As a creative copywriter, your first instinct for concepting is probably to sit down and write lines. But what if you did what your art director partner does and immediately went to Cannes Lions or a great portfolio site? Give it a try. Better yet, look over your art director’s shoulder and talk about the work that really moves and excites you.

Creative copy tip #2: Challenge yourself to create concepts without words

Whether you’re working in print, digital, or out of home, you’ve got seconds to capture your audience’s attention. Figure out how to say what you need to say without words.
Rich territory to explore includes:

• A visual metaphor of the problem to be solved or the need for your product. What kind of images or scenarios can you imagine that demonstrate the need for what you’re offering? This is a strong approach to cause or non-profit marketing—you get the points of this Thai diabetes campaign and this Canadian Mothers Against Drunk Driving ad immediately.

• What your customers (or the world around them) look like after the use of your product. This approach simply showcases the benefit, like this word-free light bread ad or this sugar-free candy ad. This vintage, copy-free candy ad is a little hokey, but it’s a visual formula (candy = happy kids) that reads fast—and clients will always love an ad that shows their product making people happy.

Final note: Keep practicing

For marketing or long-form writers, that first set of tips is something you can put to use immediately and see results. For creative copywriters, shifting your paradigm may take time. But keep at it. Being able to think visually is another tool that, besides enhancing your own work, makes you a better partner to your art director. And for both types of writers, it’s an approach that makes your work better and your job more fun.

Lisa is a Creative Circle candidate and seasoned advertising copywriter who lives in Los Angeles. Her background includes both in-house and agency work on Fortune 500 and global accounts in the consumer and healthcare/pharmaceutical fields. She excels at words, fashion, and cats. If you want to work with Lisa, contact Creative Circle Los Angeles.

Ah, procrastination, the scourge of the work-at-home freelancer! As a freelance writer, editor, and researcher, I spend an inordinate amount of time habitually procrastinating. Deadlines are, however, a reality in my freelance practice, and to meet those I’ve learned a few strategies for managing my procrastination.

Note that I say “managing,” not “overcoming.” Procrastination is a part of my nature, and I will never be able to eradicate it. I’ve learned that beating myself up for it is a waste of time. Self-recrimination does nothing but prolong my procrastination. Instead, I use tricks like the ones below to get myself on task.

1. The 15-minute rule

Some years ago, I read a self-help book that described a woman who had completed her class work for her graduate degree, but was completely blocked when the time came to sit down to write her thesis. She was asked how much time she felt she could realistically bear to spend every day on beginning her writing—a half-day? Two hours? One hour? She finally agreed to 15 minutes.

She set a timer for 15 minutes, calmed by having the end of her writing time well in sight. And that was how she completed her thesis—15 minutes at a time. Naturally, as she got more and more involved in her task, she began to exceed her 15 minutes a day. At all times, however, she remembered that she could stop working after 15 minutes with a feeling of having accomplished what she needed to that day. The “15-minute rule” got her through.

It was a revelation, and it absolutely works for me. When I know I have to stop procrastinating, I will set the timer on my smartphone for 15 minutes, after which, I tell myself, I can stop. The alarm seems to go off absurdly quickly. Within the first 15 minutes, I’m usually well engaged in my writing, and I don’t feel like stopping for at least another hour or two, or until the assignment is completed.

2. The breakdown solution

Bigger jobs can seem overwhelming. Procrastination feels insurmountable as the deadline approaches. When I’m faced with a larger assignment, for example, a white paper or a chapter, I can start to feel overburdened and find it difficult to get my creative juices flowing. A strategy related to the 15-minute rule is to break the job down into smaller components.

I start with a rough outline of the complete paper that can be as minimal as a few lines on a post-it note. That way, I can see smaller units instead of one large task, and I can begin by drafting a single sentence on the topic of the first chunk. The outline will evolve, and it may change as I go along, but the key is that I don’t need to think beyond the first few paragraphs to start.

3. The Ernest Hemingway solution

When you’re working on a longer-term creative project, knowing exactly what you will do at the start of the next day makes it easier to get going. I picked up this tactic when I read about the writing habits of the author Ernest Hemingway, who struggled with procrastination when he was writing his books. According to the Harvard Business Review, “When someone asked Ernest Hemingway how to write a novel, his response was, ‘First you defrost the refrigerator.’”

Hemingway’s habit was to leave a strong cue for himself when he stopped writing for the day. He would stop before the next sentence he had in mind, and make a note of it instead of writing it. When he knew exactly what the first sentence on the next day’s blank page would be, he could sidestep his procrastination and get started right away. In an October 1935 article in Esquire, he advised, “The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. If you do that every day when you are writing a novel you will never be stuck.”

4. Rewards and treats

Anyone who has trained a pet (or raised a child, for that matter) knows how effective a system of rewarding desired behaviors can be. Back in the ‘70s, the term “inner child,” was coined to mean a remnant in our unconscious minds of the feelings of childhood that are supposed to play a role in dictating our behavior. It’s one part of the mind that responds to training by reward. That child-self is also thought to be a wellspring of creativity later in life.

Although I personally prefer to stay in touch with my inner adult, I can’t deny that choosing a reward I’ll give myself when I finish the work I’m putting off can be tremendously helpful. The reward can be as trivial as giving myself permission to watch a silly video, or as substantial as permission to shop for a new sweater. Is my choice of the word “permission” evidence of that inner child in action?

It’s my hope that these tried-and-true solutions may be as useful for my fellow creative freelancers — who occasionally find they are languishing at their desks or drawing tables, avoiding that blank page — as they have been useful for me.

Julie Goodman is an experienced freelance writer, editor, and content creator in Santa Monica, California. A mentor and a career advisor, she cares about the community of freelancers who are finding new ways to work successfully in today’s gig economy.

#LiveCreativeChat Recap

It’s easy to say you’re an out-of-the-box visual thinker or a witty tagline machine, but the only way to show what you’ve got is through your work. Enter: the portfolio. Instead of listing your experiences on a boring sheet of paper like an average resume, embrace the portfolio as a chance to advertise not only what you’re capable of, but what it means to #livecreative. Both you and your future employer will appreciate it.

We turned straight to the source for what recruiters, employers, and other creatives look for in a successful portfolio in our monthly #LiveCreativeChat on Wednesday, April 19. Check out the highlights below on what makes your portfolio a representation of who you are and what you have to offer. Also be sure to check out our Portfolio Guide for more resources.

 


4-19-17 Live Creative Chat Q1

Your portfolio should be a compilation of your best and most recent work. Make your portfolio a reflection of who you are as an individual by showcasing your most unique and creative pieces.

 


4-19-17 Live Creative Chat Q2

After selecting what to show in your portfolio, stay cohesive – make it look like a complete family of design work. Your portfolio is a chance to express your creative aesthetic and your passions.

 


4-19-17 Live Creative Chat Q3

Your portfolio should be updated as you start to take on new projects that you want to showcase. Interested in learning secrets to a successful portfolio? Download our Portfolio Guide here.

 


4-19-17 Live Creative Chat Q4

The most important elements in a portfolio are variety, unity, showing your best work, and personal branding. In terms of variety, you want a collection of exceptional work that captures the range of your skill set. To focus on unity, make sure your presentation method flows nicely and that the pieces complement each other. Showcase your best work because your portfolio is only as strong as your weakest piece, and make sure your portfolio reflects your personal brand: the essence of your work and you as an individual.

 


4-19-17 Live Creative Chat Q5

Shine a light on your critical thinking skills by succinctly breaking down each project from start to finish. Showcasing your design process and the ideas you brainstormed for a client can help show your problem-solving capacity.

 


4-19-17 Live Creative Chat Q6

 

Sad it’s over? Sorry you missed the live conversation? Don’t worry – we have a live Twitter Chat on the 3rd Wednesday of every month at 12pm PST! Tune in then for the next #LiveCreativeChat.
Want to hear more about building your portfolio? Download our full Portfolio Guide here.

In college, design schooling outlines the basic requirements for career preparedness, and instructors try to give as much real-world training as they can in such a short amount of time. Not everything you need to know in preparation for your design career can be taught in four years, and instructors know that not every concept can be realized or practiced.

We asked design educators from some of the top design programs in the nation to share the number one fundamental area of typography that their students have a hard time grasping. Think of these answers as recommendations on typography areas to brush up on to help excel past your peers.

Mindset of the Craft

“Type learners only get into technical (historical, analog, digital) and aesthetic detail when they see how they need to be invested in the craft as part of learning and eventually working as typographers, in addition to being visual artists; not illustrators, Photoshoppers, game designers or other fields or technology they might first be exposed to as young artists and designers in high school, community college, or foundation classes.”
— Joseph Coates, Lecturer at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)

“Negative space and relatedly, scale.”
— Margaret Urban, Associate Professor of Graphic Design at the State University of New York at Fredonia

“The proportion of type size to page and everything in between: margins to column widths to type size to leading. They keep looking at the type itself, not at the type and how it’s connected to the page holistically. Everything’s connected proportionally.”
— Michael Stinson, Adjunct Faculty at Laguna College of Art + Design (LCAD)

Personality

“That type has a specific voice that comes along with it. I try to get my students to actually find photos of people that match type.”
— Andrew Hochradel, Design & Photography Educator, California Baptist University, Riverside

“Choosing an appropriate typeface for a project.”
—Victoria Pickett, Lecturer of Visual Communication, Northern Arizona University

Don’t Leave It to the Software

“I think most students fail to understand that they do not have to use the default settings that come in a font. Type is scalable and the type designer optimized the internal metrics of a font for a particular size. Once a student starts changing the size and setting, adjustments to the letter space and word space must be made, and that is where they generally go wrong. I would also add that I think there is too much emphasis on ‘experimental’ or ‘conceptual’ typography in design schools. Most students cannot set a proper paragraph justified, rag right, rag left or centered. And most still cannot find the correct quote marks. But it shouldn’t surprise me, most working designers cannot do it either.”
– James Montalbano, Assistant Professor at Parsons School of Design

“That perception trumps mathematics. It’s developing a typographic sensitivity to know when to break the mathematical system in order to perceptually adhere to it. Like how an ‘O’ overhangs the baseline so it isn’t perceived as floating.”
— Ben Hannam, Associate Professor at Elon University

“All type needs to be adjusted once typed. Auto leading and kerning is not acceptable. Also stretching type and not “knowing” about the fonts they choose. For example, I say, “why did you choose Impact as the type for this project?” and they say ‘how did you know I used Impact?’ and ‘I don’t know, I like it.’”
— George Garrastegui Jr., Design Educator at New York City College of Technology

Final Details

“Have you ever had a client say they gave proofed copy to a designer and it came back with formatting errors? Students are not catching the basics. I tell my design students they should be known for caring about accuracy and quality. They don’t understand that typography is about communication and when they don’t run spell checks or understand the basics of grammar, they are doing themselves and their clients a disservice.”
— Rachelle Woo Chuang, Graphic Design Educator, Chapman University, Orange

“Restraint.”
— Nikki Juen, Design Faculty at Rhode Island School of Design and Vermont College of Fine Arts

Are you an educator who feels your students could improve their typography in a certain area? Let us know what they have a hard time grasping by tweeting at @TypeEd.

Rachel Elnar is the producer and co-founder at TypeEd, where she helps bring the craft of typography back to design education. Get more type in your inbox and sign up for more about TypeEd columns (and other announcements).

Most people work with inches when designing their pages. Makes sense, right? We are used to working with inches when we start designing because that’s the physical measurement unit of the format, and where we typically start: the size of the flyer, brochure, box, etc.

But when we stay in inches, the type is not in harmony with the page. To rectify, we need to use the correct unit of measurement.

Our type is measured in points. For example, 9 – 12 point size for body copy is typical. So how do we build visual uniformity from the page to the type? Easy. Picas.

I think I just heard you groan out loud. Yeah, yeah, I hear you, designers don’t like math. Well guess what, this isn’t rocket science, it’s simple division. The units are so small using picas are easier than using inches because there’s little need for fractions and decimals.

our-notebook-picas

A pica is a unit of space that connects points to inches. There are 6 picas to an inch. See? Sooooo simple. It is a term from the 1580s, probably from pica, a name of a book of rules in the Church of England for determining holy days. I know, a little random.

A point is the unit we use to measure overall type size, and there are 12 of them in a pica. So, if there are 12 points in a pica and 6 picas to an inch, there is 72 points to an inch. That means, depending on the typeface, a header that’s 72-point type size, could be possibly an inch high. Easy, right?

our-notebook-picas-points

Next time you open up a fresh Adobe InDesign document, don’t immediately switch your measurement system to inches (um yes, points and picas are the default!).

Instead, try typing in your format size in an inch measurement (for example: 8 in), and InDesign will convert it automatically for you. Thanks, Adobe. Picas and points are the measurement system of the environment you’re working in for print. It’s not inches. It’s not pixels. It’s points and picas.

I use points and picas to create a visual relationship from the page to the type. It’s that intimate relationship that creates great looking copy on the page. Columns, alleys, gutters, margins; they all look better if set in a relative measure to the type size.

Develop a fondness with points and picas. Love them and they’ll love you back.

Do you use picas or inches? Tweet us at @TypeEd and let us know your preference.

Michael Stinson is a co-founder and instructor at TypeEd, where he helps designers implement better typography, efficiently. Get more typography in your inbox when you sign up for more updates about TypeEd.

You no longer need to pay big bucks, commute to a crowded classroom or sit through long lectures to expand your knowledge, learn a new skill or advance in your career. Save your hard earned cash for gifts for your family and friends, fun activities, or maybe even a vacation, all while continuing to feed your intellectual well-being through online education.

Check out some of our favorite websites below that allow you to learn new things for free.

Highbrow

Highbrow is an email subscription service that brings bite-sized courses to your inbox on a daily basis. Courses are 10 days long and lessons are 5 minutes or less.
Topics include: art, business, health, history, languages, nature, philosophy, productivity, psychology, science, technology, travel

Free Code Camp

Free Code Camp teaches you how to code while helping nonprofits at the same time. Win win!!!
Topics include: computer programming

Lifehack

Lifehack is an excellent lifestyle blog that helps improve all aspects of your life.
Topics include: work, technology, money, communication, productivity, lifestyle

Guides

Guides is one of the largest collections of online resources that allows you to organize and share information while continuing to learn about new things through simple and beautifully designed guides.
Topics include: wide variety of topics with ability to search by interest

w3schools

w3schools teaches you computer programming through numerous web tutorials, definitions, references and examples. You can also test your code for accuracy before going live!
Topics include: computer programming

TED-Ed

TED-Ed is a collaboration of animated educational videos that are fun to view and easy to share. All videos are 10 minutes or less to watch!
Topics include: wide variety of topics with ability to search by interest

TED Talks

TED Talks are short talks given by outstanding professionals from all over the world devoted to sharing ideas.
Topics include: technology, entertainment, design

Free Management Library

The Free Management Library provides a collection of online articles and resources to help your professional and personal development.
Topics include: wide variety of topics including but not limited to career development, e-commerce, employee benefits, project management, time management, work life balance, etc.

Codecademy

Codecademy is a hands on website that allows you to learn how to code by doing instead of studying. Learn a variety of programming languages including HTML, CSS, Javascript, Ruby on Rails, and more!
Topics include: computer programming

Lynda

Lynda offers a 10-day free trial which allows access to thousands of courses on a variety of topics.
Topics include: software development, design, web development, business, photography

Studies have shown that continuous learning is a fundamental key to success and happiness. Ring in the new year with new knowledge and perhaps a new routine! Happy learning!

Post has been updated to include links.

Caitlin’s education and background is in Graphic Design. She connected with Creative Circle in 2010 as a candidate. After a couple of years freelancing through Creative Circle and with her own clients, she accepted a full-time job as a Creative Circle Recruiter. Caitlin currently works part-time for the company to help improve the overall candidate experience. Outside of work, Caitlin can be found chasing her toddler around, spending time with family, horseback riding, working on her fixer-upper home and enjoying the outdoors.

Across the board, studies in the liberal arts have been under fire in recent years as the combination of mounting student debt and rising underemployment has led some to question the viability of an unspecialized degree. Some declared it to be one of the Worst Degrees to Earn in 2015. Others have extended the blame to the institutions themselves, claiming that Liberal Arts Colleges Are Failing America. Regardless, with three semesters remaining in my liberal arts experience, I stand wholeheartedly behind the merits of my education. From a greater breadth of knowledge to a more apt preparation for the future, I’m confident that my declaration of a major in the liberal arts was the right decision for numerous reasons.

Liberal arts graduates are often prepared better for the long-term.

Contrary to popular belief, a number of studies suggest that liberal arts degrees prep students best for the career long haul. In 2014, The American Association of Colleges and Universities published a study that drew such a conclusion through an investigation of various career success metrics. As they found, employees who majored in the humanities or social sciences averaged a median income $2000 greater than those who studied in either professional or pre-professional fields by ages 51-60. Additionally, they explain, liberal arts graduates find decreasing unemployment levels from time of graduation until age 41-50. A recent Forbes article confirms such findings, and speaks to a far greater diversity of attractive career opportunities than is typically assumed for English, history, and other humanities graduates.

Liberal arts institutions teach students how to question and think critically.

Rather than imparting career-specific skills and knowledge, liberal arts colleges are best known as institutions that teach students to question pillars of truth and engage critically with the outside world. Such broad-based skills in critical thinking, creative problem solving, and written and oral communication often translate to more active participants in the workplace. As Boston-based consulting firm Charles River Associates explained to King University in a 2015 feature, the creativity and teamwork that liberal arts graduates possess makes them an instant favorite in interviews for new hires.

Liberal arts degrees can actually be better suited for a tumultuous job market.

Despite popular anxiety over unprecedented levels of student debt and a rapidly shrinking job market, a degree in the liberal arts is becoming a sought-out commodity in non-STEM fields. Considering the uncertain stability that many recently-declining professions have been signaling, some education experts point many students without a clear career path away from specificity in their studies. As Karen Abigail Williams, director of admissions at Eugene Lang College, neatly summarized, “A liberal arts education is more important than ever because with the recent economic downturn, we witnessed the decline (and, in some cases, the elimination) of several important industries, leaving highly skilled employees out of work in careers where job growth is not expected.”

Students gain exposure to a greater breadth of fields.

Whether you’ve focused on some form of media studies (as I have) or in another area of study within the humanities and social sciences, you’ve almost certainly been exposed to a far more diverse array of fields if you majored in the liberal arts. Many liberal arts colleges now require such well-roundedness as a graduation requirement. UC Berkeley, for instance, requires a seven-course ‘breadth requirement’  that touches on philosophy, literature, behavioral sciences. Individual coursework generally reflects this as well. Courses I’ve taken in film theory and literature often cover the study of visual art, history, anthropology, and more as a means of diversifying perspective. The liberal arts are grounded by definition in such a methodological diversity, as its historical roots in Ancient Greece imply.

In the face of mounting concerns over the applicability of a degree in the humanities and social sciences, I hope students in liberal arts institutions across the country can find it within themselves to quell fears about the future. Although brief, my internship tenure has been most greatly assisted by the creative problem solving and critical thinking skills I’ve gained in higher education. Furthermore, as countless sources have begun to illustrate, such qualities are becoming hot commodities in a number of creative fields that view well-rounded backgrounds as a virtue.

Evan is a 20-year-old college student, born and raised in Los Angeles, who has been shaped in innumerable ways by its creative community. He is majoring in digital media and minoring in art history with a dream of working in the music industry since his early experiences at punk shows during his teenage years.