And on the compromises with clients issue, yes, a few finished pieces were substandard enough that we didn’t want our business name connected to them.

A world full of Apples? Hmmm. Wouldn’t that be cool?

I fully agree that defects, like the ones I was illustrating, are more glaring to creatives who are trained observers. But just as poor grammar or sentence structure might not interfere with the a letter’s actual message, poor formatting just as surely will erode the most carefully constructed corporate image.

I also tell clients that ultimately, your brand is only as good as its weakest link. I remember contracting a tradesman who sent an employee to work in our house who got chatty with my wife, telling her about all his trouble with his parole officer…

Okay, apples and oranges… but I’m willing to bet that an organization with a letterhead-formatting blind spot is also a little sloppy in other areas that could be addressed with usage guidelines.

Have you ever seen something that sloppy come out of Apple? Their image is supremely important to them. Few of us are that finicky, but imagine a world where we were!

With our first business, Cat’s Eye Group, clients would typically spring for the design of a brochure or web site (that would be my husband and business partner’s area of expertise) and decide, “Oh I can do the writing myself.” (IOf course, that was my area.)

WHY do they always think they can do the writing themselves? Ah, but I digress.

I wanted Bob to put a disclaimer on the back that said, “Copywriting NOT by Cat’s Eye.” Never could talk the client into that.

I think what strikes me here, Bruce, is that those defects are always more glaring to us, the creative artists, than the consuming public. They’re more interested in the content of the letter and the dispute between Company A and Company B.

I loved your mark-up, though! Very funny.