Paralleling this trend is the rise of ellipses as the preferred form of punctuation for closing a letter or other copy block! In this trend another blogmentator sees, “the promise of a continued connection between reader and writer, as well as a real sense of nexpectation and mystery!”

The last use of the semicolon is recorded in 2038…

In addition to laying a long-term foundation for Arena’s communications, Applied Storytelling and MiresBall helped Arena with a much more time-sensitive challenge: creating a compelling way to talk about the theater’s 2008-9 and 2009-10 seasons, which will take place in temporary venues far from Arena’s original (and future) location. This effort resulted in Arena Restaged: a two year festival of American Voices, a distinctive positioning and identity for a singular moment in the theater’s history.

MiresBall has served as Arena Stage’s brand design consultant of record for more than a decade, bringing a distinct visual presence to every season, and creating an immediately recognizable tone and manner across the sum of Arena’s communications. In 2006, this effort extended to a concept and identity for Arena’s successful capital campaign effort, the most ambitious for a regional theater to date. Applied Storytelling has supported these efforts with powerful messages, themes and ideas. Today, taking a longer view of how it connects with subscribers and audiences than a season-by-season approach allows, Arena Stage stands to remain at the forefront of regional theaters in yet one more new way.

The new, no-frills airline based in Columbus recently inaugurated service between Oakland and its home city. A business trip to Columbus-based Nationwide gave us an opportunity to check it out. The net-net: Skybus is so no-frills that it actually ends up delivering a decent experience.

Food: By offering no free food on the flight (not even peanuts or pretzel stickettes), Skybus has at least focused on selling a decent sandwich — decent enough for the flight attendant to ask two passengers near me how they liked it. Both express satisfaction. Nice to hear the FA ask this question.

The logic is odd, but it works: By charging for every extra, you can actually add value to every extra. For example, you will pay $2 for a bottle of Aqua Fina — but then you can at least tell yourself that hey, this is a bottle of Aqua Fina I’ve purchased, and that’s a whole lot better than a cup of no-name water from who-knows-where. (Forget, as usual, that Aqua Fina is itself tapped from the public water supply.)

Other airlines that charge for various types of “snak pak” should take note: If you’re going to charge for them anyway, why not put more effort into making these offerings not only decent (most aren’t even that) but actually wonderful? Why not offer different levels of for-purchase food, from basic to deluxe?

Back-of-seat pocket space: Basically, there is none. Instead, there’s the thinnest little slot in the plastic seat back. After the obligatory safety guide, airsickness bag and in-flight shopping magazine-cum-menu (handed out and gathered back up in-flight), there’s barely room to stow an extra magazine of one’s own. At first, I hate not being able to stuff all the books, pens, laptop and snacks that normally accompany me on a medium-haul flight. But the unexpected upsides soon become apparent: First, no item left behind. Second, a cleaner plane. Passing the rows of empty wrappers, discarded newspapers and other detritus when exiting some Southwest commuter flights, I can’t help but be appalled at what pigs my fellow passengers are. Skybus has neatly solved this problem: Allow no room for garbage, and pass through the cabin with a big collection cart often.

The un-uniform: Flight attendants wear black t-shirts with the airline logo on one side and a promotional message [“Killer $10 fares”] on the other. Instead of looking shabby and slacker, combined with black slacks these actually look trimmer and smarter than many of the more conventional uniforms that other airlines’ FAs wear. I imagine these shirts to change out often — first, to keep from looking worn, and second, to carry new messages.

Idiocracy now: After he delivers the prepare-for-landing message, the FA announces that the message is available for sponsorship.

If Skybus represents the reductio ad rationem of discount air travel, it’s safe to assume more airlines will follow suit. From a brand standpoint, this raises interesting questions: Will there be any real way for airlines to differentiate aside from flight times and fares? I believe so. Look for differentiation through:

• the types of food they offer for purchase, and the celebrity chefs they enroll to create signature items and menus.

• the types of media they offer for purchase, including downloadables. This could eventually lead to exclusives and premieres with studios and labels. Airline as content creator? Why not.

• the quality of their loyalty programs. Look for these to get increasingly robust.

• enhanced pre- and post-flight environments and experiences. Look for at least some airlines to seek ways to carve out more of the “total trip” experience. Web sites will continue to play a major role, but so might actual lobbies. Why not different levels of membership club, including basic levels?