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Welcome to…
As Mountain Muse proceeds with a client project, we will be talking with the client, sharing ideas, suggestions and reactions. We at Mountain Muse truly believe in communication—in making certain we all understand each other and our expectations. To facilitate good communications and share ideas, we offer Musings. Here you will find tips, resources and creative expression, as well as a place to share your own thoughts.
Example issues that we discuss with clients are shown below. We give clients the option of being involved in the creative and production phases as much or as little as they like. Musings Sound Off, below, gives clients a venue to share ideas, feedback and project progress.
Production Issues
We will help identify production goals and make sure they are met through scheduled
and budgeted drafts and final products.
Design Issues
You will be offered design choices if you request and allowed a specified number
of revisions within the scope of your budget. Throughout the process, we will
always be open to your ideas and needs.
Cost Savings
Can we use a template to produce multiple print pieces or multimedia pages?
Could we deploy your web site in stages? We will look for ways to save you money.
Resource Savings
Can we convey more information on less paper? Will a single label serve multiple
purposes, thus saving on inventory and waste? Can a print brochure be smaller
or printed less often if it refers to regularly updated information on a web
site? We will also look for ways to save resources.
Keep in mind the relationship of ideas or objects when you present them. A good example is the image below of the Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Missouri, USA ("Light Reaching" by Max B.; used with permission). The image on the left shows the arch with a what is presumably a sunburst, while the image on the right has been stripped of that detail.
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The sunburst detail gives the viewer a reference point that helps to supply information such as direction of the viewing angle, size of the object and material of construction. The absence of the marker transforms the arch into an abstraction, rather than a tangible object.
Which approach is better? The answer lies in what the communicator wishes to convey. If the message lies in the viewer recognizing the object, then a closely placed reference point may be in order. If the goal is to focus the viewer's attention on the abstract shape, the reference point may only serve to distract.
Keep in mind that the principle of position and relationship—some call it proximity—can be applied to the use of words, colors, and media as well as images.
"Although James Thomson, second poet of the name, belongs to no school, and
defies classification with any poetic fraternity, his place in literary history
is, perhaps, most appropriately fixed in proximity to the poets of doubt
and of 'the sceptical reaction.'"
The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in Eighteen Volumes,
ed. by A.W. Ward, A.R. Waller, W.P. Trent, J. Erskine, S.P. Sherman, and C.
Van Doren.New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons; Cambridge, England: University Press,
1907Ð1921 Volume XIII. The Victorian Age, Part One. IV. Matthew Arnold, Arthur
Hugh Clough, James Thomson. pg. 29.
The
current administration has embarked on a new era: one with a second annual tax
time. If your tax rebate has arrived, yet you feel that the government should
be doing more for you, its other citizens and the environment, consider the
Brighter Idea Pledge.
Essentially, the pledge is about telling the administration that you think the tax dollars made up by our rebate could have been better spent on issues like energy efficiency, women's rights, clean water and environmental justice.
This pledge isn't for everyone: if you feel you can better spend those dollars on your own, you'll want to pass on this tip—and you might be right! But, if you think we can do more good by pooling our resources, send a message to the White house and help your favorite organizations do just that!
Of course, if you just want to spend your rebate wisely, you can follow the recommendation of The Home Depot and invest in energy-saving improvements that will continue to put money into your pocket long after this administration has retired. Check their site for details.
*The information provided here is believed to be accurate. No guarantees or promises of satisfaction are made; these statements are for informational purposes only. This information does not necessary represent the political views of Mountain Muse Communications.
*You may enter any portion of the above information you wish to send. However, items sent without identifying information will either not be posted or posted as "anonymous." We will make every endeavor to publish appropriate submissions. Client communications regarding projects will remain confidential. Thank you.
When you are finished, click Sound Off!.