Typos G@l0re

According to creative directors everywhere, typos are the biggest mistakes that student have in their portfolios these days. The worst part is that copywriters, who are supposed to be dictionaries personified, have big honking typos all over their books. What gives?

Anthony Kalamut, who is my professor and head of the Creative Advertising department at Seneca College, feels that students rely on spell check heavily. One cannot help but agree. It’s the same as having all your phone numbers on speed dial and not bothering to memorize your girlfriend’s number (BIG MISTAKE). The problem is that even though people realize that spell check doesn’t take care of everything, technological dependence has made instant gratification too accessible. People have lost the patience to go through their own work with a fine toothcomb. Everything is done with a click of a button and a quick skim.

Another problem is that people are trained into typing fast because of the recent fast paced cyber-culture. Chatting on MSN and Facebook has put people in the habit of abbreviating, which is hard to shake when typing for official reasons.

Unfortunately, typo-ing doesn’t work in advertising. Since I am guilty of the same crime, I’ve been desperately trying to rid myself of the habit. I asked Alex Bogusky about how I can get rid of this ‘sickness of mine’. He gave me an interesting analogy. He said that we see things like the lens of a camera, some people look at the details by zooming in, and some people look at the big picture by zooming out. The people who can do both, are the ones who are successful. My problem is that I am stuck on a panoramic view, and find zooming-in on the details difficult, which results into typos to power of 10. So I decided to go on an epic journey to find tips that can help cure my typo-itis.

Here are a few helpful tips that I have discovered.

1) Edit in medium doses.

Rather than losing your train of thought by editing each sentence as you go, or editing a mountain of writing in the end, edit in paragraphs. If it’s shot copy, go through each element after writing it, rather than at the end. This way you don’t get lazy or over-confident at the end and hand in sloppy work.

2) Read Backwards

Reading each word out of its context helps in picking up spelling errors because your brain doesn’t automatically fill in the words of the sentence for you. However, don’t forget to go through everything in the proper order as well, because this does not help in catching grammatical errors.

3) Read out loud.

Reading out loud helps when you are trying to make sure everything sounds like it makes sense. Most often people don’t realize that things don’t read well until they are spoken out loud.

4) Play word search games

It’s easy to find word search books, apps and online games. Use them to train your mind into picking up words in a mass of letters and finding proper spellings. Finding typos is all about training your mind to focus on the details, and this is a really good way of doing it. The more you play, the better you get.

5) Check Behead-lines.

I have found that most typos are found in headlines rather than body copy. People don’t expect themselves to make mistakes in short sentences, but that is most often where it happens. Don’t be cocky and double check the glaring headline that is supposed to make or break your ad. If you are a typoholic like me, mistakes can crop up anywhere you type. Especially check things that are in CAPS.

6) Use gigantic fonts.

It’s easier to spot mistakes when you can see them better. Just don’t forget to switch them back to their original font size when you are done editing.

7) Borrow eyes.

Get someone else to edit your work so that they can give you a fresher perspective. This is one of the most common advices people give about editing. However, I find that people need to first do their best to curb their mistakes and then hand over their work to others. This way, when time is short and you can’t find anyone to edit, you can rely on your own ability to edit. Also, having others edit is great, but don’t leave it all to their ability, because you will probably end up making the same mistakes again if you don’t check for yourself.

8) Word is the word.

I find that funky fonts and colourful backgrounds in ads can distract you from finding typos, especially when using programs such as Photoshop and Illustrator. That’s why when you’re using other programs, use Word to write your copy first and then copy and paste. Using fonts like Times New Roman on a black and white background helps you read better, which makes it easier to spot typos. Also, spell check doesn’t hurt, but you have to be careful about not leaning too heavily on it.

9) Write in bulk.

It goes without saying that the more you write, the better you get at it. Only, this isn’t just about content, but typing. And the more you type, and use your editing skills, the better you will get at it.

10) Don’t trust yourself.

The biggest mistake I always make is trusting myself to not make mistakes. Do not fall for that. Remind yourself constantly that you are not perfect and that you need to double check things before submitting them or suffer the consequences.

I hope this helps. Just getting this out there has helped me edit myself better. God, I really hope the irony of the day isn’t that this blog is littered with typos. However, I have already warned you that I OWN typos. So hide that smirk away.

So here's to learning from your typos.

Cheers.