chapter 5

The Obligatory Glossary

SEVERAL YEARS BACK, Grey Advertising, Inc. felt it was perceived as a somewhat lackluster agency: large, dependable, and successful at delivering results, but not exactly cutting-edge in a world of Chiats and WeidenKennedys (the people who have made commercials for Apple and Nike).

Grey wanted to enhance its image, and as companies often do, it brought in an outside consultant. A depressing sum of money later, the consultant unveiled this recommendation: make the logo orange. A Grey company with an orange logo, get it? Unexpected. Cutting edge. Fresh. Or so the consultant argued, and the agency apparently agreed.

The story may be apocryphal, we hasten to add, because Grey has more lawyers than our publisher. We mention the whole thing because, as if Internet terminology itself weren’t confusing enough, job nomenclature at web agencies can be dazzlingly baffling. This is thanks, in part, to consultants who think an orange Grey makes an Apple and “user experience transactional information architect” sounds better than “designer.”

The Web is an insanely great medium. The young industry is exciting and challenging enough to fulfill you through a dozen lifetimes, but the business is so new that even people who work in it get confused over terminology.