Gordon Kaye, Publisher of Graphic Design USA struggles with the meaning of Twitter and opens up the debate in the September/October issue of the magazine with this quote from David Langton’s article, “The first thought comes from David Langton of the Langton Cherubino Group in New York. He suggests that Twitter, with its strict 140 character-per-message restriction, may have the unintended effect of encouraging discipline and efficiency in communications that too often ramble.”

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My favorite saying when it comes to communication is, “If I had more time I would have written a shorter letter.” This is often attributed to Mark Twain – but he never said it. Blaise Pascal wrote in 1657, “I have made this letter longer than usual, because I lack the time to make it short.” Perhaps it sounds better in French. The point is, it takes time to get messaging just right. Editing, reviewing and selecting the right words are skills sorely missing in fast-paced communication where this is often taken for granted.

I used to think email was destroying our ability to writer properly – or at least clearly. It often takes 4 or 5 exchanges to clarify a simple message. One phone call with instant back and forth where you can hear the tone of the caller can get the job done. Our written words lack the nuance and frankly we just don’t think of everything when we’re dashing off an email. The person on the other end of the phone often provides the questions or clues that we are missing critical ingredients.

Texting is another communication mode with its own language and rules. You must be brief – but there can be a lot of back and forth that’s part of the fun. And then there’s Twitter. The 140 character limit provides a framework that is poetry in some hands and indecipherable in others. One of the advantages of twitter is that you can’t go on and on — and I think people actually spend more time composing and thinking about their language.

Can we bring the attention to precise word usage required in Twitter to our blogs, emails, brochures or longer-form communications? How can we cut-to-the-chase? “Cut-to-the-chase” means to get to the point without wasting the reader’s time. The phrase is attributed to silent movie editors from the 1920s who were literally cutting film to the climactic chase scene. Yet as late as 1988, William Safire was writing in The New York Times about the term as a new way to express “get to the point” or “bottom line.”

As visual communicators we use imagery and words to convey meaning and emotion. We are often challenged by long meandering manuscripts or poorly conceived content that had not been subjected to edits, reviews and clarifications. It takes time and work to evaluate and improve communication. As A.J. Leibling said, “I can write better than anybody who can write faster and I can writer faster than anybody who can write better.” The most effective communications are succinct and on-target – and they only get that way after many rounds of thoughtful review and refinement. The end result is a communication project that expresses the right mood, delivers the right information and successfully engages the recipient.

As Dr. Seuss says, “My believe is the briefer the brief is, the greater the sigh of the reader’s relief is.”

2009 Apex Award, Award of Excellence
- GMHC Annual Report

Langton Cherubino Group was honored to be chosen as the designers for the GMHC annual report. The theme we developed is “The Web of Truth.” For 27 years, GMHC has born witness to HIV from its frontlines. And in those 27 years, they’ve charted a pandemic that changes continuously and profoundly.

2009 Apex Award, Award of Excellence
- Verizon Wireless Total Rewards Program

Langton Cherubino Group along with Mercer Human Resource Consulting created a video, direct mail and email marketing campaign for a contest that highlighted the commitment of Verizon Wireless to their employees. The video generated over 2000 responses in the first 48 hours.



The Communicator Awards is the largest and most competitive awards program honoring the creative excellence for communications professionals. The awards are judged and overseen by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA), a 450+ member organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media.
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1. Blog where your clients are
Find websites and blogs that offer content and resources that your clients need to keep informed. Where do they get their critical information? We’ve written articles for World-at-Work’s Workspan Magazine and Training Magazine to reach clients and prospects in the employee communication sectors. If you don’t know where your clients get their business information ask them. That’s another way to reach out and build a relationship with your audience.

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Friends and colleagues are out of work. The stock market seems to drop every day. And everyone wants to get back to “normal” again. But there’s no going back. A new paradigm shift is developing. Economic realities will force the hands of corporate America. Bad business decisions, greed and sloppy winner-take-all tactics are forcing us to make a change in values that will lead us to reexamine why we do business and how we communicate our products, services and values to the public. Businesses will need to develop clear, concise and meaningful communication platforms with messaging that support these new attitudes. (more…)