Re: Manual non-standard font question

[DURL <durl -at- BUFFNET -dot- NET>]

        I agree with everybody else, but I'd approach the marketing person
a little differently.
        I would have created a document of some kind that stated the
purpose of the manual and profiled the anticipated user. Do that now if
you haven't, and
then show the marketing person how this plan doesn't fit in w/ the the
manual's purpose. Point out how this is like the marketing person having
to include engineering specs in ad copy: the information is great,
wonderful, innovative...but it doesn't promote the purpose of the ad,
which is to generate name awareness/get people to call Sales/or whatever.
        Likewise, using this format to make the product name stand out
interferes w/ the *manual's* purpose, which is to faciliate use. Maybe
print a couple of pages (maybe not--unless you pick the right pages!)
Point out it's not the decision maker who will be using the manual (if
that's true).
        You're on the same side. Yes, you both work for the co., but
they pay each of you to contribute to sales in your own sphere.
        Mary

Mary Durlak  Erie Documentation Inc.
East Aurora, New York (near Buffalo)
durl -at- buffnet -dot- net

On Tue, 20 Jan 1998, Martha J Davidson wrote:

> At 06:49 PM 1/19/98 -0800, Tom Herme wrote:
> >I have a question for all of you. I have a 300 page manual that uses a
> common serif
> >font, twelve point for body text and headings. The product name includes
> 32 at the end,
> >for example, "Software32" to distinguish it from our older DOS product. I
> include a
> >non-breaking space between "Software" and "32".
> >
> >My marketing manager wants to format every instance of the product name in
> Brush >Script and give a superscript appearance to the 32.
> >
> >I question the readability of this since every page may have multiple
> instances of the
> >product name. I think that readers may become distracted by this.
> >
> >I'd appreciate your thoughts on this. Please reply on the list.
> >
> I agree with you completely.  Changing the font for every occurrence of the
> product name to match the format of the logo would be immensely
> distracting.  It's one thing to do that for marketing materials, but
> another thing entirely to disrupt the flow of text with it.  I want my
> readers to focus on the content of the text, and I trust that as they read,
> they remember what product they are reading about.  I don't feel the need
> to emphasize its name by using a special logo font over and over again.
>
> martha
>
> --
> Martha Jane {Kolman | Davidson}
> mailto:editrix -at- slip -dot- net
> Senior Technical Writer
>
> "If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
>  If I am only for myself, what am I?
>  If not now, when?"
>         --Hillel, "Mishna, Sayings of the Fathers 1:13"
>
>
>
>