What's the Point?

Colored writing on a colored background can be a fantastic way to decorate your writing and organize your work. Using colors in text or backgrounds can also destroy the effectiveness of the piece. If something is too loud or poorly color-coordinated, it will be too distracting for the reader, especially when writing on the web.

How Can You Prevent This?

~Use the color wheel to check for correct color opposites.

~less is more, the font and background don't have to both have color.

~Don't use obnoxious colors like neons unless the page theme calls for it.

~Keep accessability in mind, can EVERYONE see this color clearly?

How to Efficently Apply This To Your Writing.

If you use the color wheel method I mentioned, use complimentary colors like red and green. If you don't like how that looks, make sure a bright color background is not paired with a bright colored text. Opposites attract.

The Debate: First-Person vs. Third-Person  

When writing professional content, should we use first-person (I, we, us) or third-person (he, she, they, it)? Some argue that first-person makes writing more engaging and personal, while others believe third-person maintains objectivity and professionalism. 

My Suggestion

To keep our writing clear and consistent, I suggest using third-person for formal writing and first-person for conversational content:

• Third-person works best for reports, research papers, and technical documents because it maintains professionalism and objectivity.

• First-person is more effective in blogs, marketing materials, and user-friendly guides since it creates a more engaging and relatable tone.

According to the APA Style Guide, third-person is preferred for academic and professional writing, but first-person is acceptable when emphasizing personal responsibility or direct engagement.

By applying this strategy, we can adapt our writing to different contexts while keeping our messaging clear and effective. Let’s make sure our content is professional when needed but also engaging when appropriate!

When we're writing headlines for our stuff, have you ever thought about how we capitalize the words? There are two main ways that people do it: sentence case and title case. Sentence case is like writing a normal sentence, where you just capitalize the first word and any proper nouns, you know, like "New study shows interesting things." Then there's title case, where you capitalize the first and last words, and pretty much all the important words in between, like "New Study Shows Interesting Things." It makes you wonder which way looks and reads best for what we're doing.

What's the big deal about capitalizing headlines?

It might seem like a small thing, but how we capitalize our headlines can make a difference. Some people think title case makes headlines pop and tells you, "Hey, this is important!" It can create a strong visual look. But then, others think that sentence case feels more natural, like you are just reading a regular sentence. It can be easier on the eyes, especially if the headline is a bit longer. Plus, if we're going for a friendly, chatty vibe in our writing, sentence case might fit that better.

What do I think is better?

Keeping in mind how we normally write, it's usually pretty clear and easy to read, right? I feel like sentence case is the best way to go for headlines. Ginny Redish talks a lot about making things super easy to scan. Sentence case just feels more natural for that. When you see a headline in sentence case, it's like you can quickly grab the main point without being overwhelmed by a bunch of capitalized words. It just feels more friendly. 

Who backs this up?

I found a really helpful Grammarly article titled Title Case vs. Sentence Case: Which Should You Use? that discusses the pros and cons of both styles. They explain that sentence case is often preferred for online content because it enhances readability and provides a cleaner, less cluttered look. This aligns perfectly with what Ginny Redish emphasizes in Letting Go of the Words about creating clear and scannable web content. Both sources suggest that prioritizing readability is key for engaging online audiences.

So, if we stick to sentence case for our headlines, based on the clear expectations from the Grammarly Blog and what Ginny Redish recommends for good web writing, I think our stuff will be easier to read and feel more natural for everyone checking it out. 

By: Benjamin Davidson

By Alisha DeWolfe

Headings in writing are debated for the effect on flow versus their practical benefits. The real issue lies in balancing readability with flow. How can headings be used effectively without overwhelming the reader?

What Is the Debate? (H2)

There are two sides to the debate. Some argue that excessive headings break the flow and make writing feel mechanical. Others believe headings improve clarity, especially for online readers who scan rather than read every word.

What Is My Suggestion? (H2)

Headings can improve readability and structure. They aid readers in following the argument, identifying key points quickly, and retaining information more effectively. It is important not to overuse headings, but they should be employed to indicate changes in topic or emphasis.

Sources

Learn UI Design 

Explores the importance of justifying font choices in design and offers practical tips for selecting the right fonts to enhance usability, readability, and brand identity.

Jotform 

Discusses how to effectively mix multiple fonts in web design, with tips on creating visual hierarchy, maintaining readability, and achieving aesthetic harmony.

Webflow 

A guide to choosing the right fonts for web design, covering topics like font pairing, readability, and typographic principles.

Alex McDonald

What is the debate?

Often times in our writing we might want to engage or connect with  our audience by being humorous or even sarcastic in our writing. Many suggest its unprofessional or even potentially offensive. How do we know when and not to be funny?

My Suggestion 

Depending on your audience or organization will factor in how funny you may want to be.  Take brand like Vans, a brand that's intrinsically part of action sports culture, might have a better chance at being funny in their writing compared to a brand like Lui Vuitton. So make sure to guage your audience to determine how you'd like to write. 

Considerations

Much like before make sure to gauge your audience. Here are things to consider:

• Try humor in just one small area at first. 

• Don't propose a full reband with humor.

• Maybe start with a single campaign, not a whole rebrand.

sources: Embracing Humor 

image source Embrace Humor 

When making lists, think about what you'll write about. Unless you want people to follow steps, you'll most often use a bulleted list for your points.

The Debate

In what ways does background clarity influence how visual content is understood or received by the audience? In visual communication, every detail matters. Including what's in the background. The background can strongly influence how the content is perceived.

• Focus & Clarity: A clean background helps viewers focus on the key subject or message without visual distractions.

• Professionalism: Clear, uncluttered visuals often appear more polished & trustworthy. Especially, in business or educational settings.

• Cognitive Load: Busy backgrounds can overwhelm the viewer, making it harder to process information more quickly. 

• Perception & Tone: Viewers may subconsciously associate messy or noisy visuals with disorganization or lack of attention to detail.

• Creative Intentions: In some cases, a more detailed background may be used for storytelling, branding, or aesthetic effect. So, totally clarity isn't always the goal.

• Consistency Across Content: Establishing a standard for background clarity can help maintain a unified look across a team's visuals.

My Suggestion 

Our class should adopt a standard for using clear, distraction-free backgrounds in visual content. Clean backgrounds help our work look more professional. They also, make the subject easier to understand & keep readers focused on the main message. While there may be creative exceptions. Having a clear default guideline would improve the overall quality & consistency of our team's content.

Why Short Sentences Help

• Easier to read on phones or screens

• Help readers focus

• Good for people with lower English skills
  
  

When Longer Sentences Are Okay

Sometimes long sentences are fine:

• To explain something difficult

• To list many things
  But even then, we will use commas or dashes to make the meaning clear.

Authoritative Source

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) doesn't prescribe a specific sentence length but emphasizes clarity and conciseness in writing. While CMOS doesn't provide explicit guidelines on sentence length, it advocates for clear and concise writing to enhance readability. 

The U.S. government's Plain Language guidelines suggest keeping sentences short—generally 20 words or fewer—to improve readability. 

The Power of Plain Language 

PlainLanguage.gov – Guidelines 

By, Savannah Stein

A content imaging style guide is essential for maintaining visual consistency. It provides clear guidelines on image selection, tone, composition, and formatting, ensuring a cohesive look across platforms. This consistency enhances audience recognition, improves accessibility, and streamlines content creation. 

The debate

• Adaptability Across Platforms: Should images be adjusted for different platforms (social media, websites, print), or should they remain identical everywhere?

•  Filter consistency vs authenticity: The use of filters contributes to a more consistent polished look (enhancing sharpness and enhancing colors) but also can lead to a distorted reality.

• AI-Generated Style Consistency: With AI tools now capable of ensuring uniformity in imaging, there’s debate on whether this enhances creativity or diminishes artistic originality.

My suggestion

• Color Palette Uniformity: Ensure images follow a consistent color scheme. 

• Lighting & Exposure: Keep lighting conditions uniform across images to maintain a professional and polished look.

• Composition & Framing: Use similar angles, perspectives, and cropping techniques to create a cohesive visual experience.

• Texture & Detail Level: Maintain a consistent level of sharpness, grain, or smoothness across images.

• Image Filters & Editing Style: Apply the same editing techniques, such as contrast adjustments or saturation levels, to unify the aesthetic.

Resources

• webstyleguide 

With a person’s attention span being so short, it is imperative to manipulate your line length. Research has found that a ‘line length of 100 characters us read faster than a shorter line length,’ but the fastest to read was medium line length, which is about 50 to 75 characters.

Speed vs Comfort

When it comes to line length the question really comes down do this: are we trying to get information across quickly? Or are we trying to get information across in a comfortable manner? It can also be argued that some topics require longer line length due to complex ideas or topics. In social media we often see shorter line lengths to match the lack of attention span people have while scrolling.

What to do?

The line length you use, is going to depend on the audience you are looking to reach. You also need to consider the medium you are using to convey your topic. If you are writing about a new prescription drug on the manufacturer’s website, you should use longer line length to impart more knowledge. If you are promoting the newest clothing fad on your Tik Tok shop, you would use shorter line length and supplement with graphics to attract attention.

Sources

1.     Nordhealth. “Typography.” Nord Design System, nordhealth.design/typography/. Accessed 15 May 2025.

2.     Redish, Janice. Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works. Elsevier, 2012.