Design elements. Are you a fun place to work at? Or do you adhere to the last letter in the corporate Bible? Your layout can give it away

Layout. Are you a neat and natty establishment? Or is bohemian streaks of surprise your thing? Once you have decided that, the layout of your newsletter will decide the rest for you.

Content. The content in your newsletter should ideally be identical to the language your organisation speaks. However, you might want to consider your audience too in that respect.

Here are some of the basic things to check before freezing on and circulating your newsletter.

The masthead. As the name suggests, it is the head of all things, and should herald your arrival the way you want it. Having the wrong colours or design in your masthead could lead to your brand being identified with the wrong things.

Name. Yes, the name comes only after the masthead does. People see before they perceive. The things to consider while picking your newsletter’s name is the elements of your organization that you want to focus upon.

What is creativity and how is it expressed? Is it by painting a picture, writing a book or decorating a house?

Creativity is loosely defined as, “The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.”

So this does not limit creativity to any particular form or expression. Even if you can't paint or write poetry, you could still be creative and think different. Here are some ideas on how you can unleash your creativity at work and see impressive results:

1. •Get creative with your New Year gifts. Suggest novel gift ideas to your boss and get ready to receive a round of applause.
   

2. •Add a snazzy line to your mails. Say it right but say it differently. Done the right way, word play can earn praises.
   

3. •Look at problem-solving differently. Consider the issue's potential to bring you positive results, or try an off-beat solution. If it works, you know who's the winner.
   

4. •Think of new ways of recognizing your staff; use creative recognition schemes to make them feel happy. Instead of a certificate, try gifting movie tickets, or a parlour coupon.

IDEA – a four letter word that has slowly taken over the business of communications. Even as our gen-next communication specialists acknowledge the thrill an award can generate, they do so humbly. With the full knowledge that it’s not always COPY or ART that wins it for them. It’s almost always the IDEA that deserves the crown. But does that realisation take anything away from their very personal involvement and euphoria of having been recognised? To find out CBEYOND asks young and talented copy writers in the industry whether awards still excite them or not.

We asked Probir Sengupta, currently Creative Director-Dentsu. His work (when he was at Ambience Publicis) got him and his art partner a One Show nomination in 2007.

What wins awards today – crazy creatives or insightful ones?

It’s really not ‘crazy’ versus ‘insightful’. I believe what grabs the jury’s attention is twisted (never-seen-before) takes on real insights. First you get a simple life truth – one that is born out of understanding your target audience and your product offering. Then, do a mad wheelie on this insight… And you’ll have a trophy sitting on your desk.

What according to you got you the One Show nomination? If you were to think from the judges’ perspective, what do you think drew them to your piece of work?

The simplicity of the idea… Combined with the use of an innovative media – the gift wrapping paper.

A little about your award work.

Your reaction when you heard the news. Were you expecting it? What’s the high you experienced?

It was in the middle of the night… And my phone gave out a loud ‘new text message’ alert. I woke up with a start, read the sms from my art partner and then went back to my dream of winning a Pencil.

Write your comments to pause@cbeyond.in

What about the tussle between normal work and award winning work? Are there any moral issues here?

Normal work and award-winning work are not strange bed-mates… One helps the other and become better together. Being forced to do mediocre work everyday makes you want to do some great award work. And when you’ve done some great award work, you want to do your everyday work too in a better way.

How important is an award? Does it help you achieve more?

Absolutely. Don’t we all like some thumps on our backs every once in a while?

An ad – print, TV or radio that you’d want to own…

The ‘Husky & Camel’ print ad done for Jeep by BBDO… It’s simple. It’s great. And it picked up Gold at Cannes. Take a look; you’ll want to kill for it.