Author Archives: Paul W

007 parachutes into pointless language struggle

Former dashing secret agent becomes whingeing old git in another unwinnable battle against language development.
Posted in I wish I'd never said that | Tagged | Comments closed

Issue 3 of the Plain Text client newsletter

This time we feature two projects where we've worked with AV and design partners to produce short films and a printed report.
Posted in Business copywriting | Tagged | Comments closed

The sublime art of the daft headline

The Register knocks out another tremendous one-liner: read it and weep, tabloid subs...
Posted in Great writing picks | Tagged , | Comments closed

Save our language from the Queen’s English Society

If these are the new custodians of English, we're in trouble.
Posted in Bad writing | Comments closed

The latest Plain Text client newsletter

In this issue of our occasional email newsletter we feature website work for Hay Group, an email for the Energy Saving Trust and Plain Text co-founder Paul Nero's secret life as a radio broadcaster.
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When more is less

One of the secrets of good copywriting is knowing when to stop.
Posted in Copywriting and technology, Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments closed

Dissing office jargon is so last decade

Business jargon is good. There, we've said it.
Posted in Business jargon | Tagged | Comments closed

Nouns as verbs – not all bad

Being 'platformed' is indeed a terrible thing, even for an unreliable British train carriage. But nouns turning into verbs (verbifying, perhaps? Maybe not) is just part of linguistic development.
Posted in Vacuous verbs | Tagged | Comments closed

Brutal warnings

"Fragile - handle with care"... Does anyone ever take any notice when that's printed on the box ? Seems like some manufacturers have realised that language needs to be more hard-hitting...
Posted in Nicely said | Tagged | Comments closed

When money speaks louder than words

Yes, we’re talking about hedge fund websites. They make Google look wordy. I guess it’s a simple way of saying: “If you need to know anything about what we do, then you’re clearly not our sort.” At 41 words, including the phone number, Amiya Capital is exceptionally cool. Whereas IV Capital, sporting 147 words, is [...]
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