Few issues that people may face while writing

As my blog is correctly titled "Dappled Thoughts", you can definitely expect random things coming your way. I have been doing some article correction lately as a little help to a good friend. Reflecting on how things have been in the past couple if days and also on my past experiences of article checking, these are a few things that I feel cause a problem in putting forward good content:

1. Some people tend to do a lot of reading, which is a very good habit I feel. Getting thorough with the topic is a great way to go. But when they need to really reproduce their content out of it, all the information seems to flow out in one go. This causes, what I would call it as, a "brain choke" [the antonym of "brain drain" maybe]. Elaborating on this phenomenon, what happens is that at the very beginning of the article itself, the writer gets overflowed by the info and wants to put everything in the very first part. As a result, the segregation or the sequencing of information doesn't really happen. This, in my opinion, leads to a very cluttered article and also at times, an article that is very poorly punctuated.

2. This brings me to my second point - Poorly sequenced/articulated articles. With the information heavy in the head, the writer some time tends to flaunt all he knows in one article. I am very carefully choosing the word "flaunt" here because I personally feel that a good article about a subject need not essentially cover everything about the topic. It could contain a few bullet points about it but in a way that whatever is conveyed is conveyed very clearly. It is great if you can put across all the information, but not at the cost of the clarity of the subject. Information beyond need or understandability is a mere clutter and leads to the disinterest of the reader.

3. This is an issue which is an extreme end of the first point. At times, one doesn't really have enough information - due to lack of willingness or sources. Either ways, the writer tends to make all the information he has too stretchy. I have read a lot of content that makes me feel like the writer is merely "beating around the bush". After reading an article that feels as long as an eternity, there is almost nothing I gain out of it.

4. Another problem I see people facing is that they don't like to read their own articles. Once they are done with writing, they just want to let it go. That is something that the writers should really see. When you read your own article (i.e. if you do, which I think you should), you should read it twice and from two different points of view. First is from a writer's point of view. Tighten you content and get rid of any errors that might exist. Second is from a reader's point of view. Any product should be reviewed at from a user perspective. This is applicable to articles too.Read your article and see if it really catches your attention. Ask yourself if you are persuaded to look further into the topic you have just written about. This might be a good feedback session for your content.

Well these were just a few points I thought of writing down as they came to me. I shall add in more as and when they strike me.

P.S.: In case that this post is one of the things mentioned about, please pardon me and also, do let me know. Its something that was very impromptu and I was keep on posting it as an almost involuntarily written article and not as finished content.

The design mini-travelogue

In years that have passed, the concept of design in India has evolved greatly. Back in school, design to me was nothing more that something that involves both art and logic. But with a carefree yet confident attitude, I dived into it with a hunch that this was what I was meant to do.
To cut the long story short, I graduated with a much more developed idea of design and with the words of wisdom that said "To say that I was born to do this would be dramatic, but I am happily stuck with it now".

I graduated as a Professional in Product and interface design. The most valuable thing that this field gave me was flexibility and adaptability. A "never to say no to anything" attitude was what became an inherent part of me. So from being a "product" designer and doing bamboo lamps, I switched to doing mobile and software interfaces and now into web interaction/usability and even graphics at times.

But this strange journey has retained my belief and even made it stronger. Design is definitely an exquisite combination of creativity and logic. As a graphic designer, I go crazy on the web layouts and making things fancy and appealing but the usability professional in me tones things down onto a more logical ground to make things more user-friendly.