I've heard people say that you learn so much more by doing/from experience, than you do sitting behind a school desk. I agree.
So far this year, I have had three placements with marketing agencies - all sourced off my own back I might add, yay me. And while I am significantly poorer financially (I can't be the only person who didn't realise how expensive trains are - even with a railcard?!), I am richer in knowledge.
But, let's start with a confession..
Six months ago I didn't know what a copywriter was. A heads up - it isn't the person who puts a legal bind on original material (hint, not to be confused with copyright).
So here are a few (fun?) things that I wish I'd known earlier this year...
For some reason, this one always makes me think of fish. (There's a river in California somewhere with the same name)
So far this year, I have had three placements with marketing agencies - all sourced off my own back I might add, yay me. And while I am significantly poorer financially (I can't be the only person who didn't realise how expensive trains are - even with a railcard?!), I am richer in knowledge.
Have you heard the comments about English students being unemployable? - They're quite laughable. And not because they're funny.
I truly believe the ability to write well has been lost, and all too often good writing skill is unappreciated.
I truly believe the ability to write well has been lost, and all too often good writing skill is unappreciated.
I've always known I wanted to write. Although, I approach my long held detestation for English literature with facetious remark, because I now enjoy reading modern poetry.
When I was younger I had a song book, and while none of the contents were the work of a famous lyricist [insert your preference here], I truly believe it was the beginning of my writing journey.
I am a copywriter. That is a person who writes the content for marketing material.
Whether it's four words or a thousand, a copywriter has the skill to treat words with commendable malleability.
Six months ago I didn't know what a copywriter was. A heads up - it isn't the person who puts a legal bind on original material (hint, not to be confused with copyright).
So here are a few (fun?) things that I wish I'd known earlier this year...
Leading
- pronounced /ˈlɛdɪŋ/ LED-ing
Leading is line spacing - the vertical distance between the lines of text.
I'm sure I'm not the only person who, on many occasions, has become exceptionally frustrated with Microsoft Word, when the appearance of one paragraph does not match the one below it. - this is because Word's default layouts all offer different leading settings.
The term was coined when text was still produced by mechanical typesetting. 'Lead' refers to the strips of lead that were used to create the spacing.
The spacing between lines hugely influences the density of text. For example, newspapers have a tighter line spacing value, compared to magazines and brochures. This makes newspapers look darker. if your page seems a bit dense - try increasing the leading.
Kerning
For some reason, this one always makes me think of fish. (There's a river in California somewhere with the same name)
Forgetting about fish, kerning is the vertical spacing between letters. Kerning is intended purely for aesthetic purposes. It enables the designer to adjust the spaces between any two, consecutive characters, so that they can be placed on a line without touching.
& Tracking
Similarly to kerning, tracking is the adjustment of spacing between characters.
In particular, it allows the editor to create universal spacing - changing the appearance of an entire word/phrase/line.
Lorem Ipsum
Dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer suscipit congue turpis quis maximus. Vivamus malesuada suscipit varius. Mauris augue neque, placeret eu maximus id vestibulum a lorem. Etiam nec tincidunt justo, at semper odio.
Probably the most unoriginal idea ever, was to post a paragraph of spoof Latin and expect you to try and understand it.
Lorem Ipsum is one of the most universally known concepts in marketing and design, and embarrassingly I didn't know what it was until the start of this year.
If you're still none-the-wiser (please tell me so I can feel less idiotic), then Lorem Ipsum is used as a placeholder. Used by graphic designers, Lorem Ipsum allows the final piece to be visualised, before the copy has been written.
Get it?
I find it hard to believe that I was so ignorant less than six months ago, especially considering that these terms are now super-glued in my brain! And this tells me that I have so much more to learn.
Can you think of any other terms you think I should know?
Please read my previous post - Chat vs. chatter - and tell me if you think there is a difference!
Please read my previous post - Chat vs. chatter - and tell me if you think there is a difference!
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