Creative Ref

Creative Ref

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How to Write Better Captions
How to Write Better Captions
Featuring an interview with FONZIE, a copywriting duo that has worked with brands like rhode, A24, Netflix, and more.
First we get clear on the brand’s core values + goals. Then we define the voice attributes. We actively seek out perception issues and challenges so we can use differentiators and frankness to our advantage. The more honest, the better. Build trust, be clear, stay interesting.
On your website it says "If we wouldn’t say it, we don’t write it." I think so many brands write copy that would be completely unnatural to deliver out loud.
What are you more likely to buy: a sales pitch or a friend rec? Are you sharing information you find interesting or forcing the facts? People are smart and discerning, and can easily catch any whiff of phoniness. If the copy’s not flowing as seamlessly as a conversation, it’s a good indicator something in there is forced or cringe.
As for RULES…Don’t talk down, don’t punch down.Be clear about what you want from people.Bring them into a world. Give them a reason to stay.
Sure you look good, but who are you? Visuals allude to it, copy speaks to it.
Writing with “gravitas” can cause your head to turn upward. You tell yourself this is important, your page is filled with this aspirational, big-wide-arms stuff. It’s a trap. Put it down and step away. Start with something true, e.g., Moms aren’t feeling appreciated. They don’t know how to make time for themselves anymore. They just want to be left alone. Whatever it is, let the truth resonate, then move in the direction of what you want to see in the world. Always look straight ahead.
RK: What copy mistakes do you see a lot of brands make on social?AD + MP: Sounding too trend or too vague never really serves you—you end up with copy that could be from any brand. Tapping into a strong POV (whatever that looks like) and shaping something that feels real to you is key. From there, the rest takes care of itself, words flow easier, you’re pulling from that anchored place, and the caption naturally sticks out.
Longer-form captions that start with a punchy tagline, factoid, or something to draw you in tend to feel more interesting and effective. They make you want to read the rest, get the info, tap into the content.
RK: Any brands that you think do social copy really well?AD + MP:Dunkin’ — fun, creative, not self-serious. Feels true to themselves and tapped into their community! Coming Soon — short, sweet, clever Loewe Perfumes — editorial headlines, sleek product details, where to find them. All you need.FXNetworks — show-specific copy that supports each of their titles while still maintaining their overall brand voice BODY — humor, topical, interesting tips and recipes…martinis Also s/o to The Cut, that’s my v talented cousin
·milkkarten.net·
How to Write Better Captions
Five Tips to Build UX Case Studies That Set You Apart in a Job Interview
Five Tips to Build UX Case Studies That Set You Apart in a Job Interview
Last year during some of the hardest moments in the tech job market, I found myself, suddenly, without a job. A month later, I signed a job…
Digging deeper often means that for every problem you undertake, it ladders up to both the company’s short and long-term business objectives. Show how it does by projecting an impact to its bottom line. A nice bonus if you can tie it back to the company’s overall vision.
Use the methods you applied in your work to create a single thread of thought that help you illustrate how you made a really complex thing simple.Help the interviewers understand the problem space, through your process.
choosing pauses at critical points where three key takeaways (or criteria or principles — you get the idea) sets you up for the next phase in the case study.
resist the urge to include every project phase in the company’s year-long endeavor to scale a small complex thing into a big complex thing. I know it hurts because you worked on it all, and you want to impress, but trust me — it is better to simplify.
Pick the right case studiesLead with strong whysUse the subject matter to illustrate your processUse the Rule of ThreeSimplify
·medium.com·
Five Tips to Build UX Case Studies That Set You Apart in a Job Interview
Prompt engineering
Prompt engineering
Claude offers high-level baseline performance out of the box. However, prompt engineering can help you enhance its performance further and fine-tune its responses to better suit your specific use case. These techniques are not necessary for achieving good results with Claude, but you may find them u...
·docs.anthropic.com·
Prompt engineering
JohnPhamous on X: "perlin noise mask to make 18k dots shimmer with just css - more performant than css keyframes on 18k divs - 1 image (perlin noise) & 1 canvas (the 18k dots) - can prob be better by doing shader magic the breakdown 👇 https://t.co/YxbqeFpEjA" / X
JohnPhamous on X: "perlin noise mask to make 18k dots shimmer with just css - more performant than css keyframes on 18k divs - 1 image (perlin noise) & 1 canvas (the 18k dots) - can prob be better by doing shader magic the breakdown 👇 https://t.co/YxbqeFpEjA" / X
·twitter.com·
JohnPhamous on X: "perlin noise mask to make 18k dots shimmer with just css - more performant than css keyframes on 18k divs - 1 image (perlin noise) & 1 canvas (the 18k dots) - can prob be better by doing shader magic the breakdown 👇 https://t.co/YxbqeFpEjA" / X
The Aesthetic-Usability Effect
The Aesthetic-Usability Effect
Users are more tolerant of minor usability issues when they find an interface visually appealing. This aesthetic-usability effect can mask UI problems during usability testing.
Sometimes you can work around the aesthetic-usability effect by probing users to think beyond the visual layer of the experience. (But be careful not to ask leading questions.) Use vague questions like: “Do you have any comments about how easy or difficult it was to find this information?” “What made this easy or difficult to read?” “What would you change about this app, if anything?”
You might also return the user to a page that seemed particularly challenging and ask them to describe what happened.
·nngroup.com·
The Aesthetic-Usability Effect
Egstad • Graphic Designer & Developer
Egstad • Graphic Designer & Developer
Jordan Egstad is a graphic designer and web developer creating expressive and enduring brand identities, websites, apps, typefaces, imagery, and more.
·egstad.com·
Egstad • Graphic Designer & Developer
Trust the Process
Trust the Process
The Smith & Diction Identity Process
In our discovery conversation, we’ll ask questions like:Who are your main competitors?Who is your target audience?What feelings do you want your brand to convey?What are your goals for this branding effort?What other brands or companies do you admire?Why is now the right time for this work?
How did you find us?What do we need to know about your company?Why is this a good time to focus on your brand?Where are you hoping this new brand will lead?
Brandwork is important because it allows you to understand how your type and colors and logo feel in various different contexts. But Brandwork isn’t the same thing as final, production-ready files. If we put together a sample event invitation, it might not be for a real event. If we mock up a website landing page, it may not have all the right content and CTAs. The details are just there to help things feel real, so that you can understand how all the brand elements work together. Because that will help you decide which direction you want to go.
A standard project scope includes two rounds of revisions. That means you’ll see designs, provide feedback, see updated designs, provide more feedback, then see final designs for approval. If you need additional revisions, we can either build them into the scope from the start, or we’ll charge an overage fee — that approach helps keep feedback clear and concise, which saves everyone time and energy all around.
Live with it — set your logo as your lock screen & see how it feels each time you tap your phoneKnow your audience — remember that what works best may not be what you like bestGather the stakeholders — let all your key decision-makers weigh in on the options before any revisions begin
·medium.com·
Trust the Process
"Whirlybird" Reference — Are.na
"Whirlybird" Reference — Are.na
Inspiration and reference for the Titles / Graphics of "Whirlybird"
Whirlybird
·are.na·
"Whirlybird" Reference — Are.na
User Driven UI
User Driven UI
Concept of User-Driven UI, emphasizing the importance of keeping users within the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) to optimize learning and usability. It proposes a novel approach using natural language processors, allowing users to pull in features as needed, ensuring a non-intrusive learning experience while addressing the challenges of software complexity.
·garden.bradwoods.io·
User Driven UI
Scroll Fading 101
Scroll Fading 101
Whether scroll fading is more distracting than usable depends on the following factors: its persistence, responsiveness, and how sparingly it is applied to elements on the page. When used right, this design pattern can improve brand perception, optimize page loading, and make content more digestible.
·nngroup.com·
Scroll Fading 101
Crafting A Killer Brand Identity For A Digital Product — Smashing Magazine
Crafting A Killer Brand Identity For A Digital Product — Smashing Magazine
In this article, Sasha guides you through crucial processes and factors to achieve a consistent brand presence across platforms. She offers an overview of the entire brand identity process, explores collaboration with UI teams, and provides essential details on the assets required for the successful implementation of a digital brand.
·smashingmagazine.com·
Crafting A Killer Brand Identity For A Digital Product — Smashing Magazine
Posters in the Palestine Poster Project Archives
Posters in the Palestine Poster Project Archives
This website has been created to mark headway on my masters' thesis project at Georgetown University. It is a work-in-progress. I first began collecting Palestine posters when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco in the mid-1970s. By 1980 I had acquired about 300 Palestine posters. A small grant awarded with the support of the late Dr. Edward Said allowed me to organize them into an educational slideshow to further the "third goal" of the Peace Corps: to promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. Over the ensuing years, while running my design company, Liberation Graphics, the number of internationally published Palestine posters I acquired steadily grew. Today the Archives numbers some 5,000 Palestine posters from myriad sources making it what many library science specialists say is the largest such archives in the world. The Palestine poster genre dates back to around 1900 and, incredibly, more Palestine posters are designed, printed and distributed today than ever before. Unlike most of the political art genres of the twentieth century such as those of revolutionary Cuba and the former Soviet Union, which have either died off, been abandoned, or become mere artifacts, the Palestine poster genre continues to evolve. Moreover, the emergence of the Internet has exponentially expanded the genre’s network of creative contributors and amplified the public conversation about contemporary Palestine.
·palestineposterproject.org·
Posters in the Palestine Poster Project Archives
Elizabeth Laraki on X: "In 2007, I was 1 of 2 designers on Google Maps. The app was growing like wildfire. But it was becoming a cluttered mess — new features were being shoved into every pixel. Here’s the 4-step process we used to redesign Google Maps into one of the most loved apps in the world: 🧵… https://t.co/6svTptq67I" / X
Elizabeth Laraki on X: "In 2007, I was 1 of 2 designers on Google Maps. The app was growing like wildfire. But it was becoming a cluttered mess — new features were being shoved into every pixel. Here’s the 4-step process we used to redesign Google Maps into one of the most loved apps in the world: 🧵… https://t.co/6svTptq67I" / X
·twitter.com·
Elizabeth Laraki on X: "In 2007, I was 1 of 2 designers on Google Maps. The app was growing like wildfire. But it was becoming a cluttered mess — new features were being shoved into every pixel. Here’s the 4-step process we used to redesign Google Maps into one of the most loved apps in the world: 🧵… https://t.co/6svTptq67I" / X
DepressedBergman on X: ""As a little kid. I would fantasize a lot about stories. And I would draw my own movies." --- Martin Scorsese 11 year old Scorsese’s childhood “film,” one of the many epics he drew in storyboard form. His only audience was his childhood friend. https://t.co/9gDAuFjDLQ" / X
DepressedBergman on X: ""As a little kid. I would fantasize a lot about stories. And I would draw my own movies." --- Martin Scorsese 11 year old Scorsese’s childhood “film,” one of the many epics he drew in storyboard form. His only audience was his childhood friend. https://t.co/9gDAuFjDLQ" / X
Martin scorsese's storyboard doodles
·twitter.com·
DepressedBergman on X: ""As a little kid. I would fantasize a lot about stories. And I would draw my own movies." --- Martin Scorsese 11 year old Scorsese’s childhood “film,” one of the many epics he drew in storyboard form. His only audience was his childhood friend. https://t.co/9gDAuFjDLQ" / X