Author Archives: tim

The Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life

By tim | Published: 02/02/2012

‘In the midst of life I woke to find myself living in an old house beside Brick Lane in the East End of London.’ With these words the Spitalfields Life blog was born, back in August 2009.

Posted in Attention span, Authors, History, London, Reading, Storytelling, Tone of voice, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

You count

By tim | Published: 26/01/2012

Waitrose – it’s the first time I’ve seen the new ‘You count’ line. I just can’t stop misreading it without the ‘o’ after the ‘c’.

Posted in Advertising, Brand, Business, Copy analysis, Design, Food, Tone of voice | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Comfortable among the clouds

By tim | Published: 24/01/2012

Joseph Roth’s What I Saw captures his impressions and observations as he wanders Berlin in the years between the two World Wars. He re-constructs the city before the reader’s eyes. But it’s very much his Berlin – one moment a hard reality of stone and traffic, the next a floating world of dizzying shapes and elusive symbols.

Posted in Authors, Books, Design, History, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Buskers told to Foxtrot Oscar

By tim | Published: 22/01/2012

‘Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.’

Posted in Authors, Copy analysis, Design, Free speech, History, Jargon, London, Plain English, Poetry, Tone of voice, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Consider yourself at home

By tim | Published: 16/12/2011

This is one of my favourite customer service signs, complete with seasonal make-over. You’ll find it in Gaddis & Co, in Luxor, Egypt.

Posted in Brand, Business, History, Photography, Tone of voice, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Random Spectacular

By tim | Published: 14/12/2011

Spitalfields Life is an important counter-argument to the ridiculous but common notion that people don’t like to read online.

Posted in Attention span, Authors, Design, London, Magazines, Photography, Reading, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Tis as human a little story

By tim | Published: 09/12/2011

Designers don’t always limit themselves to pure function; why should copywriters restrict themselves to functional language?

Posted in Authors, Brand, Business, Copy analysis, Jargon, Plain English, Reading, Tone of voice, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mad in America

By tim | Published: 25/11/2011

From Bedlam to chemical lobotomies; this is a harrowing history of the way people with mental illness have been treated in the US and other developed countries.

Posted in Books, History, Writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Planting an idea

By tim | Published: 19/10/2011

Nice touch from the Bishopsgate Kitchen in London: a twist on the old book of matches thing

Posted in Brand, Business, Design, London, Tone of voice, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Wordsnaps

By tim | Published: 13/10/2011

Isn’t it a bit odd to use the conceit of the dictionary definition when your brand name is “rhubarb” – a word sometimes used to connote meaningless talk?

Posted in Brand, Business, Design, London, Tone of voice, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment