Hi there, it is me again. At this time, I changed the towels (the way I was doing things was wrong). I would like to say that I was unaware (just because I was excited about doing graphic design so fast) of these issues, but I am taking measures that this will not happen ever again. What I am doing now is to be more relaxed doing this stuff (mockups), take a look at the details, see others designers’ works etc… but more important is that I know someone(s) who is very frustrated with me and I don’t want that. I am making changes. Usually I don’t use a grammar check, but right now I use it all the time, so the thing is to think like a Graphic Designer, not like the other way. I made three new mockups with the same product. Please take a look and tell me what you think:
How many times should we say, “check your spelling?”
Not anymore because I am using a grammar check and there should be no misspellings anymore. From now, I promise to use a grammar check before sending any mock-ups or any design and there should not be any misspelling errors anymore!
OK, I see there is just one graphic with grammar, my fault, but here is the new one. Thanks Printdriver for letting me, and here are the correct ones:
try spaghetti
Ok let me show you something that it is happening because this may be something with the grammar checker :
I may need to use another grammar checker and i am going to change the mock-up again thanks so much !
If you must pluralize, they’ll be “Fishes”, “Spaghettis”, and “Sandwiches”.
Dishes ARE food.
Characteristic of food is “flavour”, unless you are writing for North America.
Thanks Eriskay, yes I will do many changes right now I am looking for another grammar checker online, the thing is that I learned English in the USA (Boston) and I lost the level of my English because I began took so much jobs in Spanish this is one of the many reasons why I joined this GDF to keep in touch with English people and to improve the level of my English (that’s why i thanks to all of you) because it is a mess (My English) and I know that I can improve so much with a grammar checker.
Fishes is acceptable, but most people use fish as both singular and plural. Fishs is never correct.
You have an extra space between food and the exclamation mark.
On a bulleted list, use bullets, not hyphens.
Most people misuse exclamation marks. Their purpose is not to add emphasis or excitement. Their purpose is to serve as an indication of strong, forceful emotion. For instance, “Help me!”, “Damn it!” and “Get out of my house!” warrant exclamation marks because the mark signals the intensity of the statements.
Even though people do it, adding an exclamation mark to a sentence to make it sound more important is incorrect. For example, “Remember to use spicy sauce with moderation!” does not warrant an exclamation mark. In addition, the sentence should read “Remember to use spicy sauce in moderation,” not with moderation.
Ad copy often takes liberties with grammar and punctuation rules, but when those liberties are purposeful, they’re acceptable. When they result from not knowing the correct way to do it, they’re mistakes.
There are also differences between British and American spelling, grammar, and punctuation, so being aware of the audience and using the writing rules appropriate to that location is important.
You might want to try asking an AI LLM, such as Gemini, ChatGPT, or Claude, to check spelling, grammar, and punctuation. If you do this, you need to specifically ask them to check for errors.
Another thing you seem to constantly downplay is the importance of the text being visible and readable. For example, I can think of very few instances where a large, attention-grabbing headline isn’t needed in an ad, yet you consistently omit them.
Pay more attention to the hierarchy in which people digest ads. Compelling visuals are important, but equally important is attention-getting text that can be read at a glance. For example, your last ad, which shows a pepper plant, contains only a single sentence of small body-copy text and a tiny bottle of sauce. This just won’t work. People won’t bother to read the text, and they won’t have a clue what the ad is about unless they study it, which they won’t because you haven’t done what’s necessary to engage them.
You need to be more strategic about the hierarchy. People are pulled into ads a step at a time. They see the visuals (photos, headlines), and if they’re interested, they’ll read some of the smaller text to find out more. If they’re still interested, they might take whatever action the ad is about. You need to use a little psychology to determine whether the ad (or flyer, or whatever) will capture the target audience’s initial attention, and then build their interest until they take that action.
It’s a bit like fly fishing. You need to assess the entire situation—weather, temperature, angle of the sun, time of day, whether it’s cloudy or sunny, what the fish are biting, and more. After that, you need to cast the right fly to just the right spot and move and wiggle it in just the right way to attract fish and get them to bite. Do any of those steps the wrong way, and you won’t catch fish.
Thanks so much for your help Just-B, now I am taking care of my grammar and also the spelling. I think that I found the perfect tool for it (Language tool, is not a generic tool like the other one, but I can use Grammarly too). But yes, this is what I want to tell me when I am failing on the design errors to improve them because this material is going to be added to my portfolio which I am making again. Now I think that I got a fascinating tool, I am going to work on the designs, specially the last one. I am going to do some changes, may be also taking a look to other advertisement and apply all changes to them.
Grammar check allowed “Fishs”? That’s just wrong. But hey, it was free.
And even though it did give you the correct spelling for sandwiches, you still got it wrong.
Where spelling and grammar are important
I don’t fix any spelling or grammar errors the content goes in exactly as supplied by the client. It’s explicitly the client’s responsibility to provide correct copy.
However, when the system gives the correct spelling and you still get it wrong, that’s a different issue. As I mentioned in another post: NEVER EVER TYPE ANYTHING - ALWAYS COPY AND PASTE.
For example, if the system allows “Fishs,” you can use that, even if it looks odd. But if it says “Sandwiches” and you type “Sandwichs,” that is a mistake on your part, not the client’s. These errors are costly:
- Reprints – The client has paid for something that’s now wrong. You’re responsible for fixing it, and that usually comes out of your pocket.
- Client trust – On large-format projects like billboards, mistakes can cause public embarrassment. Clients lose confidence in your work.
- Installation costs – For billboards or outdoor signage, a reprint isn’t just the material cost. Installers have to return, equipment like cherry pickers must be booked, permissions may need re-approval, and the replacement work takes extra time. All of this adds up, and it’s your responsibility. Plus billboards are generally booked on a time allotted basis, usually a few weeks, so they may demand you pay a portion of the billboard slot time.
The takeaway: copy exactly, double-check against the supplied text, and never assume spelling is wrong. Small mistakes can become very expensive problems.
YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO MAKE BASIC ERRORS
I am using another tool (language tool) to make a better grammar, and thanks to all of you for your help, but I will keep in mind and check my grammar twice (using this program and a word processor) to avoid such mistakes. Btw, what do you think about this ! (LOL), AI make spelling error too :
AI is only as good as the human using it.
That’s one way that some parts of the business work. For me, though, the only times I’ve received pre-written copy from outside the company have been with some of my freelance jobs, and even there, I edited the copy as part of the service I offered.
Out of the nine or ten full-time jobs in my career (agencies, in-house, and studios), all projects were assigned to creative teams, which always included at least one writer or copy editor. I’ve never had a job (other than freelance) that included the client in any aspect of the creative or production process. We always kept clients at arm’s length for that.
You, PrintDriver, and I probably have well over a hundred years of combined experience, yet each of us has traveled different paths. I suppose this shows how diverse the work in this field can be.
Sorry, but I have to do this; spaghetti is already plural. An i at the end of a word, denotes the masculine plural form. A single strand of spaghetti would be spaghetto.
Yeh it will depend on the field you’re in.
I should have specified currently.
Definitely past jobs as a typesetter definitely went through spell chcecks and copy editors. And my first job in prepress had a proofreader.
It can be part of the job. But i deal with languages that are not english, so grammar and spelling im not expected to know.
The rule is, leave it and if they want to change its up to them.
Sorry wasn’t wearing my glasses and typing on my phone. Getting old.
I stand corrected. Saw one years ago and my sub conscience said “That’s cast in stone” and the notion stayed. Never bothered to look it up.
Thanks for the enlightening.