Case Study: Desert Sky Islands

Desert Sky Islands, "The Social Magazine for the Residents of Pima Canyon and Sin Vacas," is a monthly print publication produced by N2 Publishing. N2 serves residents of affluent neighborhoods nationwide by facilitating the regular creation and distribution of a full-color magazine with content provided by the residents themselves. The magazine is funded by local businesses advertising throughout.

Background:

Opportunity: "Invisible editing" is a term most often used in the film and television industry. Scene cuts are best if the continuity of the story is not broken and the viewer sees all transitions as natural.

While I'm at it ...

While I'm at it, I might as well define "mimesis" (see previous post for other Mimesis basics). I've already written how we define content, composition, design, and information element for our business practices. Looking up the denotative use, you'll find that it is something that encapsulates or frames what already exists in nature, even if it is ethereal or intangible. This is the mimetic function language, in our case the mimetic function of text. The Mimesis logo itself is a red frame containing text. It is our job to take the ideas you already know to be true and frame them, bind them, communicate them via text.

Being able to put an idea into words, to express it in a way that is understandable to both self and listener, represents true knowledge. "Feeling" is not enough. Just feeling as if you know something, that there is an idea that can only be understood by the heart is fine, but it does no service to content. Writing, "there are no words to express ..." is just a waste of space. If there are no words to express it, you either don't fully understand it, or attempting it professionally is an exercise in futility.

Steve
Founder, Mimesis Content Strategies

For Further Reading:

• The ultimate guide to logo design: 30 expert tips
• 10 Common Mistakes In Logo Design
• The University of Chicago :: Theories of Media :: Keywords Glossary :: mimesis

Building our Language

As we get started, I think it's important to speak the same language. We need to make sure that when we talk, we're using the same words with the same definitions. The definitions Mimesis uses probably won't be found on dictionary.com, the OED, or Merriam-Webster; we use them for very specific things. There is a good bit of denotative use, but as with much language, it must be personal. We can certainly debate the meanings of words (which is really weird), but let's at least establish what Mimesis means when we talk about certain concepts.

Content: This should be the easiest one. Guess what; it's not. In some (probably most) circles, content may include text, images, video, charts, graphs, and other design elements. For the purposes of Mimesis, "content" includes text only. The reason for this is simple: it's our specialty. We narrow our focus on our strength and maximize our effectiveness. We understand that other things may be considered content, but we're focusing on the written word. 

Composition: Not many people or companies will use this in the same way as Mimesis. When we talk about composition, we're including all of the things left out by our definition of content in their sum. As text, images, video, charts, graphs, and other design elements are combined, they create a composition. Composition is product. Whether a website, a brochure, a magazine, an e-zine, an ebook, or a presentation slideshow, it is a composition.

Design: For us, "design" is arrangement. That's obviously an over-simplified definition, but bear with me. A composition may include many elements, and for those to be presented in a usable, reasonable way, there must be great design. Design may include the creation of video, images, fonts, or other information elements. Simple creation of information elements, however, is not enough for great design. Great design must present these elements, as stated before, in a way that is usable and reasonable.

Information Element: Information elements are any bits of knowledge, however they may be conveyed. Some will be video, others images, and yet others as text. Yes, content is itself an information element.

If any other terminology should become problematic, let's discuss it. Effective communication, efficient communication, requires a common language. 

Steve
Founder, Mimesis Content Strategies

For Further Reading:

• Content Is Dead -- Long Live Content
• Welcome to the Era of Design
• Balancing SEO and Content for True Optimization
• Generation C