Federal Reserve System 2011 Editors and Designers Conference
The conference titled, Welcome to the website of the 2011 Editors + Designers Conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago took place at noon, Wednesday, October 5, to noon, Friday, October 7, with an optional trip to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Wednesday morning before the conference officially begins. Some topics that were addressed included increasing central bank transparency, developing communication strategies for the Fed Centennial, creating websites for multiple platforms, incorporating usability practices into social media sites and multimedia journalism. Communication professionals to shared knowledge, celebrated editorial and design excellence, reinforced friendships and connections and stimulated thinking about the critical issues that we central bank communicators encounter.
The conversation on the direction of the E+D group, included developing a formal structure and a mission statement and seeking opportunities to raise our profile in the System and contribute our professional expertise.
Editors and Designers Group Mission
The Editors and Designers group of the Federal Reserve System facilitates the exchange of knowledge and best practices among central bank communicators responsible for the crafting and dissemination of internal and external communications, through an annual conference, e-newsletters and social media business platforms. The group also provides, through the contributions of individual members, communications expertise and creative skills to varied projects across the System.
John J. Lothian is the founder and owner of MarketsWiki and MarketsReformWiki.
He is also a futures broker, newsletter editor and publisher, commodity trading advisor (CTA) and industry consultant as well as a frequent moderator of industry panels. Lothian is the president and chief executive officer of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc., a National Futures Association member CTA.
Read more...Jeremy Gilbert received both a bachelor’s and a master’s in journalism from Medill in 2000 and comes to Medill from the Poynter Institute where he managed online staff, wrote about and taught news design and Web publishing and led the recent re-imagination of poynter.org. Before that he worked in a variety of online and offline capacities for media companies in St. Petersburg, Fort Myers and Chicago.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Tour
141 W Jackson Blvd
Chicago, IL
Contact: Anne O’Shaughnessy
In addition to Chicago’s impressive architectural, culinary and neighborhood attractions, the city is also home to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, also called “the Merc.” Founded in 1898 as the nonprofit Chicago Butter and Egg Board, the Merc has evolved over the past century into one of the nation’s key trading forums for commodities, interest rates, equities and currencies. Although the viewing gallery is closed to the public, we have an opportunity to visit the area overlooking the Merc trading floor.
Pre-registration is required.
Contact Anne O’Shaughnessy if you're interested in attending. We’ll meet at 8:45 a.m. at the Chicago Fed lobby for this insiders’ tour, which begins at 9:00 a.m. Confirmation and details will be sent closer to the date.Buffet
Chairs
Note
Sessions taking place in the Moskow Auditorium will be available via live webcast. We will make links to each days sessions available to Federal Reserve employees at our new Connections site, 2011 Federal Reserve System Editors + Designers Conference. Become a member and join us, virtually. Questions? E-mail us!
In Fall 2010, the University of Chicago Press published the 16th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style simultaneously in print and online. This panel of press staff members will discuss content changes made for the new edition, many reflecting evolving requirements and processes of electronic publishing. They will also address issues involved in the simultaneous launch, including the use of an XML-based workflow and the need to market both print and electronic versions.
Today’s publications demand to be suitable for both print and web, and not only websites, but tablets and mobile devices too. Learn trends, strategies and best practices in user experience, branding and visual design. What skills do you need to develop for the ever-evolving digital frontier?
The Fed is on Facebook? Come hear about this and other social media successes and lessons learned. See how best to adapt your writing and editing styles for social media. Get the lowdown on Slideshare and Scribd, find out how to use QR codes effectively and pick up tips for enriching tweets and posts with photos, illustrations, charts and graphs.
It happens every year, but not in the same way. Editors and designers from Banks and the Board will discuss recent changes to their annual reports: the content, the format, and the process.
Refresh and update your InDesign skills with these tips and tricks with an expert from Seneca Design (website).
Take a virtual tour of the Chicago Fed's Money Museum before you arrive. Then, check out the exhibits in person, as you reconnect with long-time colleagues and meet new ones!
Beverages and a light buffet will be available.
The reception will end at 7:00 p.m.
Continental Breakfast
Spencer Krane will speak on the macroeconomic outlook and monetary policy. Bill Testa will provide overviews of each U.S. region’s economic conditions in the context of the recovery; he will also discuss the regions' typical behaviors during business cycles as well as inter-regional patterns of growth and decline over the long term. Doug Tillett will talk about recent changes in the Fed's public image and how we are working to address various internal and external communications issues.
Are you on Facebook? Ever find yourself wishing there was a similar platform for sharing information and collaborating at work? There is. The Federal Reserve System will transition to SharePoint as the System’s collaboration platform, which is designed for encouraging employee engagement and productivity. It’s not quite “Facebook for Business Users,” but it’s a step in that direction. This session will offer speakers who have experience using SharePoint for collaborating on and managing System or department projects. Hear what they like, what they don’t like, and how you can use SharePoint to enhance your work.
What makes good digital design? Learn a few usability best practices and how to create a great website design without you and the developer becoming life-long enemies. Resources for developing your web design skills will also be discussed.
With Chairman Ben Bernanke calling for greater transparency in communicating with the public, the role of internal communications has gained new urgency. Being able to communicate effectively with the public begins with all employees having a clear, consistent understanding of what their Bank, and the Fed, does, and why. Increasingly, the writers, editors, and designers responsible for internal communications are charged with relaying strategic messages to their colleagues. How are they doing it? What are the challenges? This session will explore these questions and provide some best practices from around the System and from other central banks.
Hear how a trader became the publisher of five electronic newsletters (website), and how he uses Federal Reserve publications and data as resources.
The workings of central banks have long been mysterious to outsiders. Over the years, however, decisions have been more apparent and more clearly explained. The global financial crises of recent years have prompted even greater transparency. How have various organizations managed this cultural shift? What motivated it when it started? What motivates it now? Different organizations will describe the cultural shift in what gets told and how it gets told. Presentations will be followed by an interactive, moderated discussion.
Sharing client stories —and solutions!
Overview of InCopy and broad discussion on positives/negatives
Continuing discussion from previous joint session.
Sharing resources, materials and processes across the Federal Reserve System.
Learn how this central-bank-to-other-central-banks operates.
The Fed turns 100 in less than two years. If this notable occasion had occurred five to ten years earlier, the development and marketing likely would have looked very different. What is the message the Fed needs to communicate to the public? Bryan will update us on Fed Centennial planning, focusing on communication issues, goals, and upcoming projects. Time will be left for questions and answers.
Greek Islands, 200 S Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60661, (312) 782-9855. Restaurant is a 10-15 minute walk from the Bank and a 5-10 minute cab ride.
$30 per person; payable by check on Wednesday at conference registration. Please make check payable to Helen Koshy.
Journalism and Technology: We're at the Merge, Not the Crossroads
As the electronic age of communication continues to expand, the art of mobile journalism through hand-held, tablet and web-based media applications dominates media product design and digital innovation. Jeremy Gilbert will take us on a fascinating tour of this interdisciplinary approach to communicating. Gilbert, a professor at Northwestern University’s School of Journalism as well as the McCormick School of Engineering’s Segal School of Design, will share how journalism and technology can be integrated so that information and knowledge can be shared accurately, credibly and efficiently while also capturing and holding a reader’s attention. His dynamic, interactive presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session.
Editing of Economists Revisited
What do you see? How well do you know corporate logos? Or which colors were the first to be given names in primitive cultures? Test your design and color IQ with this fun group quiz. Team up and get ready to have some fun, learn, and maybe even win a prize!
Box Lunch available
Last Updated: 11/03/2011
