Letterheads and Hammerheads

I've always thought I was pretty good at design. I've used Photoshop and Illustrator for quite a while, I've designed logos and flyers and have done plenty of printing. But even with all this, before this week, I had never actually made a letterhead!

Well, it turns out something as simple as a letterhead makes a big difference. It changes the look and feel of anything you write on it, making it more professional and credible. Anyone who reads it will take the writer more seriously, as they're expecting it to be quality work. In turn, those who are writing a document with a letterhead will take their writing more seriously, ensuring that it is up to par with what the reader is expecting.

So what am I going to do about it? A couple things. First off, I'd like to figure out what the company standard letterhead is at the job I just started this week. I think using it in documents I make will make it sink in more that I represent the company, which will force me to make my writing top quality. Also, I'd like to look at more examples of good letterheads and make one for myself to use on resumes, cover letters and other documents.

-Coleman

Ps you're probably wondering why this post is titled "letterheads and hammerheads" it's because sharks are cool, that's why. And this is a cool letterhead.

http://rlv.zcache.com/vintage_hammerhead_shark_illustration_retro_sharks_stationery-r5cb45cee8ba345b0b01555eb64a5d4a0_vg6ke_8byvr_512.jpg

The Real Lesson Is Sometimes Learned In Failure

If there's one thing that not doing assigned reading has taught me throughout my 3 years of college, it's that if you have a quiz on it, you'll probably fail it. Unless of course your clothes are made of four-leaf clovers, you have a bag full of rabbit feet with you and you have a dream catcher on your desk to filter out the nightmares you had the night before about failing the quiz. Unfortunately for me, I had none of such items this week and... you guessed it. I failed. It was only by the graces of the greatest teacher in all the land, Professor Middleton, who had mercy on us and taught us a valuable lesson. She said without words, "do your homework."

Well, the lesson (or principle) that I learned was to not only DO the assigned reading, but to STUDY it. Meaning read with the intent of learning something, because believe it or not, there will be quizzes, and more importantly, there will be writing to do every day for the rest of life. It's a good idea to be able to write correctly and not look like a komplete fewl (I mean complete fool... but you see what I mean?).

So now what should I do? Well, it's pretty obvious isn't it? I'll do the reading, study it, apply it and not look like such a fool! Specifically, read and quiz myself on it as I go. I'll take examples from the book, work through them, and if I have to, find more quizzes and examples online (I'm sure there's plenty out there).

That's my plan. Believe it or not, I'm excited for it. I just got a new job that will require a lot of writing so this will be really helpful!

-Coleman

PS here's a picture of a cat, because this is a blog.

(http://www.freegreatpicture.com/files/157/1562-cute-little-cat.jpg)