Have you ever wondered why celebrities are constantly coming out with new brands and products? When did we switch from celebrity endorsements to celebrities becoming the CEO of brands?
Why do we, as consumers, care what they are selling? And what do we gain by purchasing their products?
Below, I have attached some of the most well-known celebrity-owned lines that will eventually be used in a medium-length article in the upcoming weeks that discusses the consumer psychology behind celebrity brands and the stories of both successes and failures celebrities have seen from their line.
See anything wrong with that title? Maybe the grammatical errors that were all throughout it? You didn’t notice? Then this is the refresh for you!
In On Writing Well, author William Zinsser writes an entire chapter on the importance of grammar in writing. Beyond having the article or piece of content readable for the audience, Zinsser explains the importance of using grammar to enhance your writing while stressing the importance of not losing your voice or message because of technical writing. But first we have understand or better yet, refresh ourselves on grammar as a whole.
Example: (!) – I can’t believe he said that about her!
Not to negate Zinsser’s ideas about the importance of grammar when it comes to conveying your message and developing your voice as a writer, but it is also important to remember its proper technical use in writing.
Sources:
Zinsser, William K. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction. HarperCollins, 2006.
In Chapter 5 of On Writing Well, the author William Zinsser brings up an interesting point of not losing the audience of your writing to distraction, and who you should tailor your writing to. I agree with the importance of keeping your audience entertained and enticed throughout the reading of your content. Zinsser states, If the reader ‘dozes off in the middle of your article because you have been careless about a technical detail, the fault is yours”(Zinsser, pg.25)- which is true; it’s hard to keep and develop an audience if your writing is filled with grammar mistakes and poor syntax.
However, Zinsser also tells us that it’s important to remember not to write to cater to a mass audience. I found this point interesting as I feel it goes against what the majority of us were probably taught in grade school and maybe even college. We were often taught to write to a mass audience and to remove each reader’s individuality. Zinsser, however, believes we should write for ourselves and use the diction we’d use conversationally and not try to sound more sophisticated than we would normally speak. I found this concept interesting as I think if more writers (including myself) wrote for ourselves, I think would allow for less burnout amongst writers and maybe even lead to more creativity as we aren’t boxing ourselves in for a potential mass audience. I know personally, I have felt stuck having to write and tailor my voice and thoughts for this concept of a mass audience and try to sound like the author I’d want a reader to read and learn from, rather than myself, which definitely led to me feeling my original message or concept being lost among the words I chose.
Sources:
Zinsser, William K. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction. HarperCollins, 2006.
Kelly O’Malley received her bachelor’s degree in Public Relations with a double minor in RTVF and Civic Engagement in 2023 from Hofstra University. She is from Long Island, New York. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, she took some time to explore her interests and ultimately decided to pursue a Master of Science in Interactive Communications and Media from Quinnipiac University. She chose to pursue this degree because her past jobs, internships, and previous experience have always led her down the path of being a creative designer, whether that be for social media posts, print, or just general marketing materials.
While Kelly had some level of knowledge of design before starting this program, she wanted to pursue a degree that would allow her to be able to pivot throughout the industry as seamlessly as possible, as her interests and career may change over the next few years. Kelly also wanted to be able to position herself with having concrete technical skills in areas she had little to no experience in before this program, like UX/UI design, to help market herself to future employers and clients.
Kelly’s career goal would be to work as a graphic designer for a brand she loves and feels creatively inspired by, and then eventually venture out and develop her own design agency where she would help brands and companies with all aspects of design to make lasting and impactful experiences for their consumers.
Kelly is currently in my fourth class in this program, and she is excited to continue to grow as a professional and a designer through this program.
Oftentimes, authors assume that their readers will just be able to understand what they are talking or better yet writing about because they are blinded by their own knowledge. This doesn’t knock or diminish their hard work or knowledge; if anything, it actually allows the author to be able to show how truly experienced they are in the topic or concept they are writing about. Pinker recommends that the cure to this curse is to not assume but to imagine as if the reader is looking over your shoulder at what you are writing. This will allow you to be able to develop a more cohesive and understandable piece of content for your reader. By following the remedy Pinker provides, both the author who gets to show their true expertise in their topic and the reader who walks away with a clear-cut answer to their question walk away feeling satisfied and more knowledgeable than when they first sat down.
KOMA designs 