TUESDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2008

Cliché of the Week: Clip Art

True story: I was working with a client, reviewing his existing slides with him, and making notes as to what needed work. We came across a data slide containing a large piece of clip art, similar to the fellow you see here.
It was the only graphic in the entire presentation.
I impulsively reached for the delete key, [...]

Topic: Design, Message
Tags: Clichés, Design, story, Visuals

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WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 22, 2008

Cliché of the Week: The Bullseye

DOUG NEFF

We need to stay focused.
Our numbers are right on target.
We made our goal!
When someone says those words, does your brain instantaneously call up images like the one to the right?
It does? Good. Then your brain is functioning appropriately.
Clichés are perfectly normal and perfectly natural. Your brain was designed to retrieve visuals quickly, and clichés are [...]

Topic: Design, Message
Tags: Clichés, Design, story, Visuals

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TUESDAY OCTOBER 14, 2008

Cliché of the Week: The PowerPoint Starburst

DOUG NEFF

Honestly, I love Batman as much as the next guy. And I’ll even admit to wanting to be Batman at different points in my life.
But—and this is very, very important—I never wanted to be the campy, 1960’s, Adam West Batman. Never. Not once.
The difference between Adam West’s Batman and Christian Bale’s Batman is…well, it’s all [...]

Topic: Design, Message
Tags: Clichés, Design, story, Visuals

Comments (14)

TUESDAY OCTOBER 7, 2008

Cliché of the Week: The Parthenon (and contest results)

DOUG NEFF

Behold, our revolutionary company strategy! It’s so compelling and powerful that we had to build a temple in order to contain it. The foundation represents our technology platform, which is the foundation of our strategy. The pillars represent…
Sound familiar?
You’ve probably seen the Parthenon slide in a variety of styles and colors (the green color represents [...]

Topic: Design, Message
Tags: Clichés, Design, story, Visuals

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TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

Cliché of the Week: Debbie, the Time Life Operator

DOUG NEFF

You’ve known Debbie for years. She’s been there for you since you were a little kid, waiting patiently at the other end of an 800 number to fulfill your most urgent needs: that night when you just had to have the Mysteries of the Unknown collection or that rainy Sunday when you couldn’t live without [...]

Topic: Design, Diary, Message, Strategy
Tags: Clichés, Design, Free Prize!, story, Visuals

Comments (43)