Our Communication Philosophy

The central goal of all writing and design is to communicate content. That is our goal as well. We believe in clear, simple text, presented in an attractive way that helps the reader to understand the message. We believe in simple designs and ease of navigation in both on-line and hard-copy publishing. We believe that a design which calls attention to itself is a good advertisement for the designer, but may not communicate what you wish the reader to learn. In practice this means:

• Our goal is to write copy in which simple declarative sentences give strength, to avoid the passive voice and to prune the unnecessary adjective. The best writing, and the hardest to achieve, is simple and clear. We use computer technology to assure that all our copy reads on an eighth grade level and that it is easier to read and more clearly presented than most newspaper articles.
  Our goal is to use graphics and design solely to enhance the presentation, never to overshadow its content.
• When designing for the World Wide Web, we try to create pages that will load quickly and help the user to navigate from one part of the site to another. We believe a Web page, like any publication, should display content—not show off the expertise of the designer. In planning a Web page, we keep in mind that the majority of users have slow modems, slow telephone connections, and Web browsers with limited capabilities.
• The simplest text and design are often the most difficult to achieve. If we work with you, we will make every effort to reach that simplicity in which every word and every part of the design seems inevitable. That is our promise and our commitment.