{"id":616,"date":"2014-08-15T13:35:58","date_gmt":"2014-08-15T13:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/m-web.co.uk\/site\/?p=616"},"modified":"2018-03-20T11:32:15","modified_gmt":"2018-03-20T11:32:15","slug":"importance-ernst-proof-reading-vital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/m-web.co.uk\/site\/blog\/importance-ernst-proof-reading-vital\/","title":{"rendered":"The importance of being Ernst – or why proof reading is vital"},"content":{"rendered":"

OK, let\u2019s face it. Computers have changed the face of design and marketing. A lot of the skills I learned as a young graphic artist aren\u2019t necessary any more. Gone are the days when we had to cast off type to find out what size to have it set. Mapping pens and Graphos pens are things from a by-gone era. As is art board with its delicate china-clay coated surfaces and the judicious scraping of inked lines to achieve beautifully squared corners. No more mathematically scaling transparencies, no more hand-drawn visuals (or very few at any rate) and the heady aroma of Magic Markers. And alas, sadly no more cow gum bungy balls.<\/p>\n

The old skills have been replaced by new of course. Hand skills replaced by head-skills. There\u2019s a lot of technical stuff to know, a lot of processes to learn \u2013 and the landscape is changing all the time. But there is one skill that is still necessary and cannot, as yet, be replaced by the computer. Proof reading.<\/p>\n

Proof reading is a skill that is often overlooked or entrusted to the unqualified. It\u2019s no good hoping that your web builder will do your proof reading for you. As a rule of thumb, it is far more effective to ask someone who has never seen the work before to proof read than to ask the person to whom the work has become familiar, and mundane. Add to that the fact that most web designers, with brains highly attuned to coding, are virtual dyslexics when it comes to spelling. I should know.<\/p>\n

Neither should you rely on your trusty computer to help you out. Here\u2019s a poem to demonstrate why\u2026<\/p>\n

Eye halve a spelling chequer
\nIt came with my pea sea
\nIt plainly marques four my revue
\nMiss steaks eye kin knot sea.<\/p>\n

Eye strike a key and type a word
\nAnd weight four it two say
\nWeather eye am wrong oar write
\nIt shows me strait a weigh.<\/p>\n

As soon as a mist ache is maid
\nIt nose bee fore two long
\nAnd eye can put the error rite
\nIts rare lea ever wrong.<\/p>\n

Eye have run this poem threw it
\nI am shore your pleased two no
\nIts letter perfect awl the weigh
\nMy chequer tolled me sew.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an old ditty but it demonstrates the point very well. There\u2019s nothing more unprofessional than allowing grammatical and typographical errors into your finished article. They can be expensive \u2013 especially if it\u2019s vital information, such as a telephone number, or a price-point.<\/p>\n

Here are five top tips for effective proofreading:<\/p>\n