David M. Taylor
Writer, Producer, Creative Director
30 years of making your messages sound right
Early professional milestones
M.A. Natural Sciences, Cambridge University
Natural Sciences is a wonderful pick and mix course. I had the privilege of studying at Darwin’s college, Christ’s College Cambridge. I dabbled in cellular biology in the labs where DNA was discovered and took physics in the Rutherford labs where they worked out how to split the atom.
I ended up focussing my interests in the area of Experimental Psychology, which is a fascinating young science with plenty of everyday application.
I was awarded my master’s degree from Christ’s College in 1994.
Copywriting for Citibank Private Bank
My first job after graduation was as an in house copywriter for Citibank Private Bank in Zurich. I wrote brochures and flyers, client letters, training manuals and much more and learnt the craft of corporate communications.
Founding of Write Solutions
When I left Citibank I began freelancing under the name Write Solutions and was soon translating and transcreating for many of the Swiss Ad Agencies.
Music Producer
From 1994 to 2010 I was involved in professional music production: everything from recording jazz-fusion legends to developing new artists and composing for brand marketing.
It was a very turbulent period for the music industry as affordable recording technology created new opportunities and challenges. And then file-sharing arrived and the market shrunk 5% per year.
My studio was a constantly evolving and far from pretty sight. Because I believed in investing in what the listener hears rather than what the production team sees.
One of the final jobs I did was a mixing live sound for a televised UEFA event supposedly watched by 50 million people.
Founding of SoundsWrite GmbH
As the demand for my services increased I took on an assistant editor and turned my sole-trading business into a limited company.
My client list has grown to include almost all the advertising agencies in Zurich as well as a range of large corporations. I regularly participate in pitches and award submissions.
Power industry copywriting
Deepening of the relationship with Alstom Thermal Services, Baden, Switzerland
Mandate for power industry communications
Thanks to my advertising and science background I am able to write effortlessly at the brand level and yet still understand the finer technical nuances that are important when writing at the product level.
Versatile
My work expands to cover: Product leaflets, consulting concepts, workflows, iPad content, video scripts, pre-visualisations, storyboards, technology explainer charts.
Redesign SoundsWrite GmbH CD/CI and new website.
SoundsWrite GmbH was founded in 2001 to serve Swiss advertising agencies and internationally active companies with high quality English text.
Today, besides translation, writing, we also offer 360 comms service covering everything from creation to deployment.
- Brand quality English & German
- Text and graphics
Consulting: Swiss Re Group Digital Information Services
A fast growing and dynamic unit within Swiss Re needed a one-stop communications consultant and producer to help them communicate their methods, approach and success stories to the rest of the entire workforce.
With the support of SoundsWrite, Swiss Re is developing digital tech understanding at all levels of the company and so ensuring that they maintain their position as an industry thought leader.
From 2016 to 2021 my focus has been on a wide range of internal communications for a global leading reinsurance company.
My commitment
I’ll help you identify the key messages and craft compelling communications tools.
Perfection
Perfection is not what one person thinks can’t be improved any more. The perfect end result is the best consensus that satisfies all the stakeholders and makes realistic use of the available resources.
Effectiveness
According to the Pareto principle, 80% of the result is achieved with 20% of the effort. This means you will be more effective when you play to your strengths rather than working on your weaknesses.
Clarity
Clear writing is the product of clear thinking. And language is the seat of thought, so there is a limit to how far you can separate the process of deciding what to say from how you are going to say it.