So what's the KISS like?

KISS is short for Keep It Simple & Stupid. May also mean, Keep It Simple & Short or Keep It Short & Sharp.

KISS refers to:

• Text
• FLOW
• Supporting Elements
• Layout

TEXT WITH THE KISS

Ideas, concepts and messages are delivered in many formats such as in books, magazine, proposals, brochures, web sites, emails, presentations, video, audio and etc.

Unfortunately, some articles are written like I'm entering a jungle. This is hard work. I usually trash these away immediately because they're choking, tiring and exhausting.

I prefer to enter a garden of words and a nice landscape of sentences. I will feel relaxed, comfortable and felt welcomed to be in such gardens.

Here's the sort of text GARDENS for me and for readers like me:

1. Short sentences. ( exactly as it means )

2. Short paragraphs ( the most 5 lines ). Use a combination of 3-liners, 4-liners and 5-liners. That way, your write-ups won't look dull or boring. When a paragraph has more than 5 lines, it looks like a thick bush. When it has more than 10 lines, its a jungle. It goes to the trash before any snake creeps out from it.

3. After a short while, highlight main ideas in BOLD between paragraphs. Its a sort of signboard keeping me on the right track of mind. It could be in 1 or 2 lines.

4. Some ideas are listed in bullets. Its like highlighting some roses growing among other attractive plants around it.

5. Use Arial or Verdana FONTS. Both are the clearest ever. Arial might give you a slight issue because the slash '/' is the same as a capital i 'I' when it becomes an italic i 'I'. Here's an italic 'i' in Verdana : 'I'. Your choice.

6. SIMPLE WORDS. Many of us are not in your field. IF YOU HAVE THE SUDDEN URGE TO SEND MESSAGES to us, use WORDS WE UNDERSTAND. Jargons will cause indigestions. Prevention is better than cure, so articles like this will go to the trash.

7. You Are What You Write. If you're sincere, we can feel it. Whatever you write, projects your innerself. Your writings flow your spiritual-self towards us. If it's insidious, we can feel it too and thus another article goes to the trash.

When you have the above style as your text, you gave the KING (content) the KISS.

I'll talk more about FLOW, SUPPORTING ELEMENTS and LAYOUT in the next few articles.