Chiara Foppa Pedretti

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A dictionary of colors

I am not an expert in linguistics.
But I love words, I’m fascinated by their etymology, and I love serving the world of colour. 🎨

That is why, starting from a series of posts on LinkedIn, I conceived a Small Rational Dictionary of Colours 🌈 [only available in Italian at the moment!].

It is free to download, without sharing email or other information with me.

Piccolissimo dizionario ragionato dei coloriDownload

If you are curious about the history of azzurro (light blue), you want to know why indaco (indigo) ended up in the rainbow due to a lazy translation, and why the colour rosa in English is pink and not rose… you’ll be delighted!

Words in design

Have you ever realised that the words used to describe a designer’s work are often the same used for a translator’s work? MediationNegotiationInterpretationMetaphorsTranslation of a concept into a visual productLanguagesVerbal/visual referencesCodesRewritingImitation In design, there is no source language, but something (a concept, an idea, a need) to be interpreted and finally translated …

“Design IS translation.”

I’ve started reading a wonderful (Italian) book drawing similarities between the design process and translation paradigms – Design è Traduzione. In a word: 📐 designers act as 📚 translators by moving and transitioning among different linguistic worlds, different materials, different techniques and technologies, different forms and functions, different media and formats. 👉🏻 They interpret …

Word palettes

Is it possible to create word palettes just as you do with color palettes? 🎨 I think it is! 📔 Word palettes can be described as collections of words or phrases that evoke certain feelings or ideas. In a way, they are automatically created when selecting a “bouquet” of adjectives for color books and …

How do you market machinery?

Industrial machines, plants, and equipment in general (e.g. those manufactured by many of my clients, intended for surface treatments of any kind, from shot blasting to coating) are certainly a bit more difficult to make “attractive” to buyers than (many) other products. 👉🏻 Here are my tips for communication in this field: …

The POLISHED Business English Workbooks

You already know English, but you sometimes think you could take a small step forward and “polish” it a little bit to stand out in your business environment… right? As a technical translator and business English tutor, I’ve created the “POLISHED Business English Workbook” series to share useful knowledge and …

How do you make paint talk?

💬 How do you make paint talk?In the paint & coatings sector, communication is not an easy matter. 🎯 On the one hand, you need to be 100% clear and hyper-detailed when pointing out your product’s technical characteristics and performance features. 🎨 On the other hand, when it comes to writing about its aesthetic properties, its …

Case study: The transcreation of a slogan

So, let’s get immediately to the point: what’s transcreation? Transcreation = translation + copywriting Basically, I take your original text, I translate it, and then I revise/rewrite/revolutionise words, sentences, and paragraphs to make sure it stays true not to the original wording, but to the originally intended impact. I do …

Translation: a simple roadmap

Sometimes, you want to hire a translator because you need one stand-alone text written in another language. That’s all. And that’s perfectly fine. But it can still be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. And what if what you actually need is to start a journey to localize …