The Muse

In today’s Dining In section of the New York Times, Sarah Kershaw writes about “menu psychology” — the science (or art?) of designing a menu that will most entice diners. So, really, someone does understand that the “99″ in just about every price (not limited to food items) does very little to promote quality.

One concept that strikes me is the similarities between a simple menu and a well-crafted manuscript. Kershaw brings up the analogy of music and lyrics, where one may be great but is utterly destroyed by the other (think of a ear-catching pop tune with absolutely horrendous lyrics), and the same may be said for a manuscript. Think carefully about the layout. If your story is about love and the human condition, you probably don’t want a font that is sharp-edged and bold. Or, if you’re going for an academic journal, you don’t want your tracking or leading so far apart that the page looks as though it’s mostly empty space.

A quarrel I have with the way some restaurants mentioned in this article do things is the melodramatic wording in the menu. Saying something is “slammed with flavor” is a turn-off for me, because I appreciate the nuances in food. (You’ll notice that places such as Applebee’s and Huddle House go for the thick wording, while higher-end places go for simple and pithy copy.) I can go to the local supermarket and pick up a Little Debbie cake that is “slammed with flavor,” or I can visit my local baker and get a blueberry scone that has many different flavorful, quality ingredients that work together. One is dominated with sugar and chocolate, the other allows me to experience many of the quality ingredients that the baker uses. I prefer nuance.

When creating your manuscript, I suppose you could ask yourself, “Do I want the equivalent of a laminated chain restaurant menu the size of a legal pad, or a simple, cogent menu from a quality independent place?”

        

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“Mr. Fowler provided quick and detailed proofreading for a film pitch packet.  He took my words and brought a professional feel to them.  He has a great knowledge of wording, style, and structure.”

V.K. Shah
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See Mr. Shah’s projects here.

        

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In the last of a 4-part series, Penelope Pince provides pointers (not a bad run, eh?) on being a good customer and helping businesses keep costs down. That ultimately saves you money. For example, returning grocery carts to the holding pens–or better still, inside the store–reduces the risk of damage by runaway carts and potential store liability. A few extra seconds of your time could prevent a chain of events that would ultimately cost store customers more.

        

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Apple has released a new version of the iPod Shuffle, and while it is smaller, the lack of onboard controls has many consumers upset. MacWorld’s Dan Moren calls it “a step back in both the usability and compatibility departments.” The Industry Standard’s Paul Bolin (who seems surprised that Apple consumers know how to revolt at all) suggests that costs related to the remote-control headphones are problematic.

On the other hand, as Tom Reestman writes, mastering the new Shuffle still requires only three basic functions, it’s the most feature-rich Shuffle yet, and being able to store the 3G Shuffle on your person without having to keep pulling it out for control is a handy thing.

Rob Beschizza hints at the hesitation I share about the new 3G Shuffle: “…for today’s show, the part of Sony will be played by Apple.” When Sony introduced the MemoryStick, I worried about the proprietary technology. It’s turned out reasonably well, but isn’t it frustrating that you can’t use a MemoryStick in all digital cameras, and you can’t always use a XD/SD card in Sony digital cameras?

The bottom line here is that, like a Sony camera and MemoryStick, your iPod will be forever paired with a set of headphones to control it. Forget using your custom headphones, and if you lose the pair that came with the Shuffle, it’s not like you can just grab a spare set from another device. Further, the comparisons to the other iPod models that have headphone remotes don’t fly, because if you lost the headphone remote, you could still control the iPod by the buttons on the device.

        

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I was short staffed and it was the weekend. My graphic artist was on vacation. We had a last minute forty page proposal that had to go out the door by Monday morning LOOKING GOOD. I hadn’t even written it yet and I am lousy at polished layout. I was so desperate I put an ad up on Craigslist on a Saturday needing my deliverable Sunday and a possible $70,000 fee depended on it. Jonathan Fowler came to our rescue.

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Jonathan is now part of the Clear Light go-to team. I heartily recommend him to anyone who wants quality layout/editing services.

Denis Eirikis
President
www.clearlightPR.com

        

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