When copy really counts.

I've made a career as an advertising and interactive copywriter (or digital copywriter or web writer or whatever else ya wanna call it) for a host of clients including Hawaiian resorts, fish tacos and shoes. This was some of the most challenging copy I've ever written – The Law Office of Warner & Szakall. The subject matter - child advocacy – is a serious issue. The fate of children's lives and futures are at stake here. The goal here was to be conversational, reassuring and non-intimidating.

Boy wonder Joey Pfeifer was the designer (and now with Happy Cog OMG!) Joey had the great idea of making this site a one pager to make it more accessible.

See the site here.

Curate: musty and crusty no more.

Back in the day, curate was a word with crusty and musty associations.

Originally, a curate was a dude in a long block cloak who was an assistant to a pastor or rector at an Episcopal parish.

And there were art curators at museums, who if they really wanted job security had English accents and Ph.D.s in Art History. At the zoo, there were the Reptile Curators, Mammal Curators and Marine Life Curator. (They all had Ph.D.s too.)

But recently, the word curate has become, dare I suggest it, cool. Design blogs are curated. Art/music/culture events are curated. And even the merchandise in fashionable boutiques is curated.

Thank goodness, because we need curators more than ever.

Just think how much bombards you everyday on the Internet. You could spend hours wading through all the crap to find the rare things that that inspire and make you say, “Damn, that’s good.”  The home page for Brain Pickings says it takes almost 200 hours a month to edit and compile content for that amazing site. And just like the curator back at the museum, who selects are pieces to be seen as a collection, a digital curator selects items than may change in meaning when juxtaposed against other items. So really, the act of editing, has become an art form in itself: the art of curating.

Of Waves, Water and Women.

A guest post I did for Athleta Sportswear, a division of the Gap. Friends that play together, stay together.

Sometimes I like to joke that I haven’t made any friends since elementary school. I have, but two of my best friends are still my oldest friends. (Old meaning length of time.)

I grew up around the corner from Barbara and Donna and have known them since I was 6 or 7.

In grade school, Barbara and Donna bought their dad a skateboard with clay wheels for his birthday and we all took turns trying it out. On roller skates we made the transition from metal to clay to polyurethane wheels. (And I still have a chipped tooth, the result of falling in their driveway.) After school, we played kick the can and whiffle ball with other neighborhood kids.

Then in junior we were on a bowling team together—The Gutter Girls. As our team name suggests, we placed last in the league. In high school we were in Girl Scouts together and hiked the Grand Canyon, canoed the Colorado River, and even learned to play poker.

Fast forward more years than I care to admit and we’re still friends. Over the years, life has grown more complicated with careers and other commitments, bu

BE COMMITTED. For the past 10 years, we’ve had Girls Night Dinner once a month. It is sacred. No significant others. No husbands. No offspring. If we didn’t have a schedule, months could go by before we’d get together.

MAKE MEMORIES. Dinner is one thing but we still create memories together. Whether it’s camping at the beach, walking dogs or going surfing, our relationship is still growing and evolving.

MIX IT UP. Over the years, we’ve continuously added to our repertoire of fun. As teens we lusted after surfer boys and settled for boogie boarded. Now adults we’re surfing ourselves. (Why let the guys have all the fun?) Ten years ago, we all took up kayaking and enjoy paddles in the ocean, harbor and bay. And this year, we’re flirting with stand up paddle surfing. (But you’ll have to wait for another blog post to hear that story.)

And at the end of our lives, if all we can do is sit in rockers next to one another at the retirement home, we’ll know it’s been a good journey. Together.

More Surf Stories:

Girl, You've Got Cajones: Life Lessons Learned Surfing

Baby on Board

The 7 word rule.

As a copywriter simply love billboards. They're one of my favorite forms of media because you have to pare your idea down to the simplest concept – which is harder than it seems. (And as much as I love being an interactive copywriter, I am always SO excited when I get to do outdoor. Or radio.)  The classic rule of thumb is that if you're going to gain the attention of motorists whizzing by at 65 miles an hour (our customers drive the speed limit of course), that a billboard can have no more than 7 words.

Chipotle, purveyor of oversize burritos,  ran a great billboard campaign for years, usually featuring a shot of one of their huge burritos and a short, pithy line. Well, recently they took their advertising in-house and the gist of the campaign is that they don't need an ad agency. It's quite cute.

Which brings us to this billboard. Yes, I love the copy on it. But I almost got hit slowing down trying to read it. It's long and hard to read but I was rewarded with a chuckle for my efforts.

What do they expect? People to stop by the side of the road, take a picture and post it on their website?

The most important infographic of all time.

The year was 1972. Moon walks were recent history and space exploration was all the rage. (And glory of glories, Tang was still sold at the grocery store.)

NASA sent out the unmanned Pioneer 10 as a sort of calling card to the universe. It was the first spacecraft to leave the solar system. This plaque was mounted on Pioneer 10 to help aliens figure out something about the beings that launched Pioneer.

So we have a nude male and female. The man raises his hand in the classic "How" position. Even if the aliens don't know this is our way of saying hello, at least they'll be able to check out our opposable thumbs.

There's a couple of diagrams including "a schematic representation of the hyperfine transition of hydrogen, which is the most abundant element in the universe" and "hydrogen spin-flip transition frequency."

Then there's the nifty diagram of our solar system.

This infographic reveals almost as much about the era it was created in as about the location of our home planet.

If it was created today, would the content differ?

Hopefully the aliens will be able to figure it out.

Take Your Daughter to Work Day 2010

In addition to being Earth Day, April 22 was also Take Your Daughter to Work Day. So after school (it was just too exciting of a day to miss,) I picked up my daughter Gina, 7, and she joined me for an afternoon at Hivehaus, the creative collective where I have an office.

Since I am an interactive copywriter, Gina was going to join me for a day of wireframing and creating content for a website. First, we had to decide the subject of her site. She chose Cleopatra, one of her enduring obsessions.

Then she faced the realities of domain names. Cleopatra? Taken. Egypt? Taken.

So we settled on CleopatrasEgypt.wordpress.com

Then Gina and I discussed what pages she wanted and came up with:

Home | Alexandria | Egyptian Art | Games | Love Life

Gina wanted to use icons for navigation. But I told her that would have to be a Phase 2 sort of thing. (Way beyond my technical knowledge.)

Then Gina did a white board sketch for a homepage.

Originally, Gina wanted to include flash games on the Games page. Once again, I told her that might be a lot to do in an afternoon. I told her we could include links to games on other sites. Gina didn't agree, she said that would be disappointing for someone and didn't want to send them away to another site. So we settled on describing Cleopatra's favorite game.

Gina dictated all of the content. She wrote it from the point of view of Cleopatra. Even the homepage copy said:

I am Cleopatra, I am the Queen of all Egypt. This is my home on the Mediterranean seaport of Alexandria.

She was pretty consistent with that POV through the whole site. It made for some interesting content. She also selected the photos she wanted to use.

Of course, we also had to go to Java Jones, because getting hot chocolate is very important to the creative process. It was great fun and gave my daughter a better idea what my working days are like and it will be a pretty nifty item for show and tell at school.

You can visit Cleopatra: Queen of Egypt in all its wordpress.com template glory here.

The Power of a Creative Sabbatical: Off to Atascadero.

Last fall, Lindsay Preston and her fiance and fellow talented artist, John Zappas, traded palm trees for oak trees when they left San Diego for the tranquil beauty Atascadero to concentrate on creating art. Their mission: expand their horizons, stretch themselves creatively and assemble portfolios that would get them accepted into grad school. I recently chatted with Lindsay and asked how the change in environment influenced her work.

So tell me about your experiences with Yeller.

John and I were part of the art collective Yeller (in San Diego.) With Yeller, the concept was to create our own opportunities. We offered a first-time experience for many of our peers – buying art at an affordable price point. As a result, the work was created quickly and with the intent to sell, and promote an interactive experience with our community – prints, t-shirts and bags. It was a lot of fun.

What inspired you to apply to grad school?

I found myself wanting to focus more on making conceptually rich art. And the only way to do this is to give yourself more time. I wanted the experience of going to grad school. So John and decided to move to Atascadero (where John’s parents live) to focus on creating a portfolio to apply to grad school.

Atascadero just might be heaven on earth. How did the change in environment  influence your work?

Atascadero is amazing...although a little boring... It’s between Paso Robles and Moro Bay and is beautiful. There aren’t any distractions – which is good and bad!

There are oak trees everywhere, growing up in surburbia, it’s so different. That’s what a lot of my work is about now, that contrast between my childhood filled with planted palm trees and track homes with something more natural, more real.

A lot of it is just having more time and allowing myself time to think about concepts like that. A lot of the pieces I did were concepted over a period of weeks. Others I just thought of and busted them out. With every idea there are a couple of pieces that I started and never finished. You just have to go through that process.

So did you have any structure to your day?

During that time, we had a 9 to 5 schedule. We’d have breakfast, coffee and get into the studio around 9. I would check Google reader and the blogs of friends and designers, it’s inspiring to see what other people are working on. But then time for work.

Tell me about one of your favorite pieces.

Most were created and shot in studio. But for one piece I mended branches together with yarn and then we woke up at 5 in the morning and sneaked onto a ranch. We went out when it was still dark and set up my piece and got some awesome shots at sunrise. I left mine up there on top of the mountain.

Lindsay was accepted to the MFA program both at the acclaimed Cranbrook Academy of Art and the University of Michigan. (Touch decision!) She's accepted Michigan's amazing offer – full ride, a teaching position and the opportunity to study abroad – and will be starting there in the fall. It will be fun to watch where Lindsay's artistic adventures take her!

Check out more of Lindsay’s work at www.lindsay-preston.com

You can catch some of Linsday’s work at an upcoming show in Cardiff:

New Beginnings Art Show,

Art of Health Gallery, Cardiff, Saturday, April 24.

Of dragons.

Last week my family spent some time at a cousin’s ranch in New Mexico. We stayed in a 1860s adobe, saw the inner workings of a cattle ranch, explored ruins of a fort from the 1860s and saw Indian artifacts littered on the ground. For me, it was an eye-opening and educational time.

At the end of the week, I asked my six-year-old son what he liked best: “Playing with my dragon in the rock pile.”

A pile of gravel in the driveway, but to him that equals excitement.

It was just another reminder to me how different people can have different perceptions of the same thing. Working as an interactive copywriter, I have to constantly work at getting into the minds of the people I'm trying to appeal to – that's people – not users, consumers or customers.

Your portfolio: baring it all.

I've been working on revamping my portfolio site for quite some time with designer/illustrator Matt Luckey. The entire design process as been about stripping away the extra, giving emphasis to the work. Which brings me to a site where a copywriter literally stripped. May I present Lawson  Clarke, otherwise known as MaleCopywriter.com. His site, as well as his work is hilarious.

Of course, Lawson's site is even funnier when you realize his inspiration – Burt Reynolds circa 1972.

Lawson appears in Erik Proulx's Lemonade, a film about advertising professionals reinventing themselves. He also appeared as the original Straight Guy in the pilot for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. For not always quite work-appropriate commentary, follow him @malecopywriter.

1,000 words a day.

So if a picture is worth a thousand words, that's a pretty damn good blog  post.

Here's the challenge suggested by Shelly Bowen, one of my favorite people  and content strategist extraordinaire:  Take a shot. Every day.

It can be low-tech. (Hello iPhone!)

But the idea is to take the time to notice the small details, an interesting pattery or a new viewpoint.

Because the more I work as an interactive copywriter, the more important the visual has become.

Follow along here.

The Power of a Creative Sabbatical: Off to New York City.

As creatives, it’s our job to remain fresh and creatively inspired. How do you do that? Hang out with other artists? Go see a new band? Take a new route to work? Spend your lunch hour browsing in a bookstore?

Well, how about closing up shop for two months and going to New York City with the sole intention of soaking up the atmosphere and working only on personal projects?

That’s exactly what photographer and HIVE resident Chaz Cruz is planning to do. For the last few years, Chaz has run a thriving portrait and wedding photography business and has developed a reputation for getting shots that no one else does.

“I always ask my clients what make you you? What makes you tick?” he explains. “And then try to capture that.”

But Chaz felt in need for a little creative rejuvenation so he’s planning a two-month sabbatical to New York. “For the last two years I’ve only shot people. For these next two months, I want to shoot everything but people and do totally personal work."

Chaz was inspired by a TED talk given by noted designer Stefan Sagmeister who proposes the concept of the creative sabbatical. Sagmeister says taking time off from work to explore new avenues of inspiration can have big pay-offs in the form of higher levels of creativity and a renewed passion for your work.

Chaz is excited about the next two months. “I’ve already contacted a lot of photographers that I want to meet for coffee. I’ve seen their work and just want to get insights into how they work.”

Spending time on personal project should be a liberating experience. “Right now I just want to go out and shoot for myself,” says Chaz. “I want to grow as a person and an artist. Then my business can catch up.”

We’ll look forward from hearing from Chaz and seeing some work from his time off.

You can follow Chaz’s New York adventures at @chazcruz

Lessons from the art lesson.

I regularly volunteer as an art teacher for a second grade class. And sometimes, I think I learn more than the kids I am supposedly instructing.

A recent lesson was about the color wheel. We started out with the primary colors – red, yellow and blue – and then proceeded to mix secondary colors. Then the kids quickly sketched out ceremonial masks and then painted them. Some of the kids could have spent the entire sketching their masks but we gave them only three minutes so they could spend most of their time painting.

In class I find myself repeating the same phrases over and over, from lesson to lesson – many are applicable to my work.

“You guys, just go for it. Just get something down on paper, you have to start somewhere.”

“It’s art. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just wing it.”

“Don’t worry if you make a mistake, work with it. Make it part of your piece.”

“Coloring in between the lines is way overrated.”

Lessons to take to heart.

Collaborating during Friday Morning Brew

On Fridays, theHIVE hosts Friday Morning Brew, a time to get to know fellow HIVE mates better. Recently, Lauren Walsh of Citrus PR and I were talking how our writing has changed in the interactive realm and how our approaches were different coming from PR and copywriter backgrounds.. That lead to us working together on a blog post for SoCalPRBlog.com entitled "Pitching in an ADD-Friendly World.

You can read it here.

Girl, You’ve Got Cojones: Life Lessons Learned Surfing.

During a surf session out in the big and mushy waves last week, a crusty old fellow gave me the best compliment I could ever receive:

“Girl, you’ve got cojones.”

On my previous wave, I took a late takeoff and went straight down the face for Mr.-Toad’s-Wild-Ride. I barely made it. But sometimes, barely is good enough. That’s one of the valuable lessons I learn over and over surfing.

It always amazes me how much the ocean and surfing can teach me:

Live life. Now. Surfing isn’t like tennis or basketball where the courts are always available for a practice session. Wave conditions are a temperamental thing. When there are waves, you surf today. They may not be there tomorrow. The takeaway – don’t live life in the future, waiting for the time until you graduate, get that job, get that promotion, get that house. Life happens right now.

Live on the edge. A wave is a precious commodity. Yet, if you don’t push yourself, you’ll never get better. So when the board is locked in the face, it’s time to cross step and make your way towards the nose. (Guess what my New Year’s resolution is.) What’s the worst that can happen? I’ll fall and waste a perfectly good wave. But there’s always another wave coming.

Let it roll over you. A big holy-mother-of-god mountain of water appears right before you. What do you do? Turtle roll you and your board over and let the wave pass over you. Then you paddle like hell to get out of the way before the next one hits. Things in life don’t always run smooth, but the ability to let things roll by, then try to improve the situation is a nice skill to cultivate.

Sometimes you just have to go for it. If you think too much, you’ll miss out. A moment’s hesitation on the paddle and the wave can pass you by. Yes, it’s advisable to put a little forethought into things like having a kid or starting a business. But if you waited until you were 100% sure, nothing would ever happen.

Don't be afraid to look like an idiot. Perhaps one of the most valuable lessons I've ever learned. If I was that self-conscious, I would have aborted at my attempts at surfing years ago. It’s taken me years to become socially mediocre at the sport. And usually, people are encouraging. (Just don’t get in the way of their waves.)

Enjoy the downtime. Sometimes when you’re in between sets, you just have to sit, watch the horizon and wait. This is when the magic occurs. A young inquisitive seal may pop his head out of the water for a closer look or a pod of dolphins may swim by. You never know what might happen.

Savor the bliss. Feeling the wave behind you, carving down a face, it’s 10, 20 or 30 seconds of sheer heaven. After a wonderful morning session, I never feel more alive, more joyous or more blessed. And that’s the attitude I try carry with me throughout the day.