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40
usage. No school, however, exists to teach this stuff—yet
take virtually any promotional brochure for a design firm,
scratch the surface, and you will find variations of the
following platitudes:
• Design is a tool for achieving specific results. Being
responsive, we begin each project by learning exactly
what results our client expects. This then becomes our
communications goal.
• Establishing an appropriate, positive emphasis is the
key. This, in conjunction with good graphic design,
is our special skill.
• Our work exhibits a great diversity of styles and
imagery. In an era of design specialists, we invariably
believe that as varied as the messages are, so should
the means of conveying them.
These statements by three very different design firms are not
inherently disingenuous, but when viewed as representative
of most promo copy, they are formulaic. Should all selling
copy sound alike? Imagine what the prospective client who
gets pitched by many designers must think after reading the
same phrases and sentiments over and over. The client probably
thinks they’ve all read the same copy of How to Succeed in Business
without Really Trying, or at least have hired the same PR firm.
To further the point that, despite the remarkable diversity
among design firms today—their hype comes from the same
copy of Bartlett’s Familiar Design Firm Promotions—the
following phrases have been culled from a variety of sources.
In fact, virtually no two of the design firms represented by
these unattributed statements do the same kind of work.
For purposes of clarity they are organized according to the
six major thematic categories.
One has to wonder whether these designers and firms read
one another’s promotional material or whether these pearls
just develop over time in their own hermetically sealed environ-
ments. Design firms tend to stink of their own perfume. In fact,
virtually all of the designers represented by the statements on
the previous pages are fluid and literate when talking about their
work. But put them in front of a keyboard and they choke up.
Of course, there are those who eschew the conventions of
promo writing. Some designers have gone overboard in the
other direction, emphasizing human, rather than business,
values, such as this one: “During our day, we encourage pride
but not possessiveness.” Rarely, in an open-office environment
can an idea emerge and evolve without being “touched” by
more than one person. This interaction is what tests the idea
to ensure its rightfulness. Others prefer wit and humor, such as
this send-up of a famous quote: “When I hear the words design
philosophy I reach for my X-Acto.” (The reference being to
Hermann Göring, who said, “When I hear the word culture,
I reach for my Browning!”)
But the most understated and curiously poetic piece that
this writer ever read can be attributed to Henry Wolf in the
book New York Design: “My firm is not unique but it com-
bines the facilities of photography and design under one roof.
I photograph for my own concepts.” Though this quote is a
masterpiece of clarity and concision, one might nevertheless
wonder, does he get much work?
The Music of Words
When I was a graphic designer, I orchestrated words into a
symphony of typefaces. They were not my words, so I typo-
graphically interpreted other people’s thoughts and mean-
ings. They weren’t my typefaces either; I simply selected and
composed them to make a demonstrative expression of content.
When writing, however, the orchestration of the manuscript
goes hand in glove with the composition of the prose. Writing
is as much about achieving harmony or tension between words
in a sentence as it is about conveying the facts.
Experienced writers have a rather deep reservoir of words.
Less experienced ones may rely on tried-and-true words and
phrases. They may also jump headfirst into the thesaurus or
synonym finder to seek good alternatives. Using these tools is
not cheating, although it is often not as effective as you would
think. While some synonyms fit nicely into the sentence,
many are not custom made for what is written. The wrong-
sounding word, even if it has the correct meaning, stands
out as strained.
Writing about design is not poetry, per se. But there is no
reason not to be poetic when appropriate—or at least inter-
esting. The ultimate bugaboo of any writing is the b-word:
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boring. Just as meandering, idle patter at a cocktail party is
uninspiring, the stringing together of words, no matter how
clear the meaning is, will induce a yawn. Words have rhythm,
bravado, and drama when used in the right combinations
and proper syntax. Why must a business report be dry? Why
should an academic paper lack character? Often, just a
well-placed word or simple phrase can turn the commonplace
into a vibrant crescendo.
Telling Stories
I tell my design students: “All good design is storytelling.”
I tell my writing students: “All good storytelling is design.”
Storytelling is the new buzz-mantra, and the s-word has been
overused lately. Perhaps reality TV and real-time online videos
bring out the storyteller in all of us. It appears that everyone
wants to tell stories. So, all art, design, science, and technology
are rooted in storytelling more than ever before. What are
the renowned TED conferences but storytelling mash-ups?
Erstwhile amateurs use the term narrative arc in as common-
place a manner as font (once only used by professionals).
Nonetheless, storytelling and narrative are essential to the
design writing process. Without story—or plot, if you will—
what have you got? Even a factual business report can tell a
tale, albeit often in a neutral manner. Not all stories have to be
dramatic or melodramatic. Storytelling is simply the expres-
sion of something you, as the writer, believe is of interest to
you, as the reader. Indeed, you may well be representative of
your average reader.
I was writing an article recently about a graphic designer
who accomplished something I thought would be a terrific
story to share with my audience (including you). The entire
piece is reproduced here. But I will also highlight certain parts
that make this a story worth telling, rather than a mere report.
Here’s my story:
Paula Scher, a respected designer and good friend, insisted
that I meet Johnny Selman, who recently received his graduate
degree in design and was a newcomer to New York. Not
knowing what to expect, other than Scher having given him
a two-thumbs-up recommendation, he pulled out a thick
volume filled with reproductions of posters he had made. At
first glance, they were handsome though reminiscent of other
designers I knew. Then he told me there were 365 posters
designed over the course of a year—one a day—based on
news reports from the BBC. He religiously produced a highly
sophisticated, conceptually astute visual diary, which was
posted daily on a website and then collected in the volume
before me. I knew immediately that I wanted to tell his story.
Like the posters, I wanted to make it a story that could
be easily digested and appreciated—no more, no less. I also
wanted to make it less ephemeral than it was. Since he com-
pleted his project in 2011, it was already many months old.
I wanted the reader to feel his excitement and understand his
process, while not having to consider whether or not it was
“breaking news.” My method was to give it a timeless, rather
than timely, lead:
Ever wonder what a graphic designer does to wile away the idle
hours? Johnny Selman spends every morning ritually checking
headlines on the BBC. But that’s not all. In 2010, “I decided to
create a poster a day for twenty days in reaction to a headline for
each day,” he recently told me.
The first sentence establishes the idea that this is not just a
story about a former student’s thesis, but rather a self-initiated
challenge. Selman’s work is the protagonist, so the authorial
voice was there to move things along, connect the dots, and
provide context. An edited interview with Selman provided
the true voice and the firsthand details. I was particularly
glad he provided his checklist. While not exciting prose,
in an instant it gives the reader a sense of Selman’s criteria
(see page 42). But first, our case study:
“All good design is storytelling. All good storytelling is design.”
part tWo : WrItIng
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CaSe STudy:
poster-a-day: a visual vitamin
steven heller
Originally published February 24, 2012 on The Daily Heller, http://imprint.printmag.com/daily-heller
Ever wonder what a graphic designer does to wile away the idle
hours[?] Johnny Selman spends every morning ritually checking
headlines on the BBC. But that’s not all. In 2010, “I decided to
create a poster a day for 20 days in reaction to a headline for each
day,” he recently told me. This exercise triggered the idea for his
Academy of Art University in San Francisco graduate school thesis,
which he expanded into 365 days of posters and world news he calls
BBCx365. It is a tour de force.
“The purpose of this project is to promote the awareness of
global current events with the American public,” he wrote in
an introduction to his website. “‘American citizens know little
about current events in general and even less about overseas
events,’ according to the Washington Post in 2006.”
The changing pool of content kept the project exciting,
he says. “I created a tight set of design parameters to ensure
that the project would hang together as a set at the end of
the day. I reduced the composition to its simplest visual form
and removed all unnecessary elements from the designs. The
most challenging aspect to the project, outside the Groundhog
Day–like repetition, was the importance of creating designs
based on rich ideas.”
Slow news days are inevitable, but Selman tried to instill a
sense of urgency and importance to every story he represented
in the hopes that someone would be inspired by even the
more monotonous of news days. Still, keeping up the pace day
after day, approaching every story as new and maintaining a
semblance [of] originality, had to be a chore. “I had elements
of gestural drawing in my posters,” he explains, “and many
times I would reuse bits and pieces of an already used image
to provoke a different thought. There were times when using a
repetitive image added to the poster’s meaning, such as the two
posters about the Dutch family that was held captive by pirates
in Somalia. The reuse of the imagery helped bring closure to an
already told story.”
Rigor is imperative when creating a daily poster. So Selman’s
list of dos and don’ts included [the following]: “Use as few
elements as possible. Reduce the story to its simplest visual
form. Don’t overthink it. Don’t overwork it. Use as few colors as
possible. Use flat color. Use color as a representative element.
Don’t use gradients. Use typography as the central visual
element whenever possible. Use Gotham Bold or your hand.
When needed use Tungsten Bold as a condensed face. Other
typefaces can be used sparingly for parody. Use bitmap and
vector graphics. Rip the levels out of photographs. Keep it
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Quite a year for news.
Here Selman covers
Allahu Akbar, a suicide
bomber, and the female
victim of Islamic
fundamentalist law
in Afghanistan who
was mutilated based
on a religious decree.
interesting. Use humor. Use parody. Use satire. Use visual
puns. Stay neutral. Be bold. Don’t be afraid.”
The task he set for himself was challenging at best, and
exhausting too. Some days he just wanted to sleep in. “In
order to maintain sanity within a task like this you have to
allow yourself room to breathe and give yourself a break once
in a while,” he notes. “It was best to start my posters when I
was feeling inspired or up to the task. It made the process go
quicker than if I forced myself to sit and stare at my computer
or endlessly sketch in my notebook.”
But [Selman says] the project became “the constant in my
life.” Through sickness, vacation, injury, work, and even a
houseboat bachelor party, the daily design ritual was there
like a backbone. “A deadline that was as predictable as the
temperature in San Francisco.”
The posters vary in conceptual acuity, but on the whole
Selman’s visual shorthand is up to the task. There are also
traces of various other poster designers, including [Josef Müller-]
Brockmann, Armin Hofmann, James Victore, and others who
view economy as a virtue.
Selman insists the marathon had an ultimate purpose: to
take complex information and to distill it down into digestible
bites. “I certainly learned about time management,” he adds.
“I learned how to deal with the barrage of anonymous online
criticism [the series had an online component that drew many
yeas and nays].”
In the final analysis, Selman, who graduated in December
2011, admits “the skill set I gained during the course of
the project can be directly applied to many aspects of visual
communication. I’m working in New York now and am involved
in some really exciting projects. Most of all, I’m making up
for lost time with my wife. We are quickly referring to events
in our lives as pre- or post-posters.”
part tWo : WrItIng
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Writing & research for graphic designers
(Text)
42
CaSe STudy:
poster-a-day: a visual vitamin
steven heller
Originally published February 24, 2012 on The Daily Heller, http://imprint.printmag.com/daily-heller
Ever wonder what a graphic designer does to wile away the idle
hours[?] Johnny Selman spends every morning ritually checking
headlines on the BBC. But that’s not all. In 2010, “I decided to
create a poster a day for 20 days in reaction to a headline for each
day,” he recently told me. This exercise triggered the idea for his
Academy of Art University in San Francisco graduate school thesis,
which he expanded into 365 days of posters and world news he calls
BBCx365. It is a tour de force.
“The purpose of this project is to promote the awareness of
global current events with the American public,” he wrote in
an introduction to his website. “‘American citizens know little
about current events in general and even less about overseas
events,’ according to the Washington Post in 2006.”
The changing pool of content kept the project exciting,
he says. “I created a tight set of design parameters to ensure
that the project would hang together as a set at the end of
the day. I reduced the composition to its simplest visual form
and removed all unnecessary elements from the designs. The
most challenging aspect to the project, outside the Groundhog
Day–like repetition, was the importance of creating designs
based on rich ideas.”
Slow news days are inevitable, but Selman tried to instill a
sense of urgency and importance to every story he represented
in the hopes that someone would be inspired by even the
more monotonous of news days. Still, keeping up the pace day
after day, approaching every story as new and maintaining a
semblance [of] originality, had to be a chore. “I had elements
of gestural drawing in my posters,” he explains, “and many
times I would reuse bits and pieces of an already used image
to provoke a different thought. There were times when using a
repetitive image added to the poster’s meaning, such as the two
posters about the Dutch family that was held captive by pirates
in Somalia. The reuse of the imagery helped bring closure to an
already told story.”
Rigor is imperative when creating a daily poster. So Selman’s
list of dos and don’ts included [the following]: “Use as few
elements as possible. Reduce the story to its simplest visual
form. Don’t overthink it. Don’t overwork it. Use as few colors as
possible. Use flat color. Use color as a representative element.
Don’t use gradients. Use typography as the central visual
element whenever possible. Use Gotham Bold or your hand.
When needed use Tungsten Bold as a condensed face. Other
typefaces can be used sparingly for parody. Use bitmap and
vector graphics. Rip the levels out of photographs. Keep it
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43
Quite a year for news.
Here Selman covers
Allahu Akbar, a suicide
bomber, and the female
victim of Islamic
fundamentalist law
in Afghanistan who
was mutilated based
on a religious decree.
interesting. Use humor. Use parody. Use satire. Use visual
puns. Stay neutral. Be bold. Don’t be afraid.”
The task he set for himself was challenging at best, and
exhausting too. Some days he just wanted to sleep in. “In
order to maintain sanity within a task like this you have to
allow yourself room to breathe and give yourself a break once
in a while,” he notes. “It was best to start my posters when I
was feeling inspired or up to the task. It made the process go
quicker than if I forced myself to sit and stare at my computer
or endlessly sketch in my notebook.”
But [Selman says] the project became “the constant in my
life.” Through sickness, vacation, injury, work, and even a
houseboat bachelor party, the daily design ritual was there
like a backbone. “A deadline that was as predictable as the
temperature in San Francisco.”
The posters vary in conceptual acuity, but on the whole
Selman’s visual shorthand is up to the task. There are also
traces of various other poster designers, including [Josef Müller-]
Brockmann, Armin Hofmann, James Victore, and others who
view economy as a virtue.
Selman insists the marathon had an ultimate purpose: to
take complex information and to distill it down into digestible
bites. “I certainly learned about time management,” he adds.
“I learned how to deal with the barrage of anonymous online
criticism [the series had an online component that drew many
yeas and nays].”
In the final analysis, Selman, who graduated in December
2011, admits “the skill set I gained during the course of
the project can be directly applied to many aspects of visual
communication. I’m working in New York now and am involved
in some really exciting projects. Most of all, I’m making up
for lost time with my wife. We are quickly referring to events
in our lives as pre- or post-posters.”
part tWo : WrItIng
(Ray)
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Johnny Selman, designed a poster a day for a year based
on headline stories on the BBC news report. Included
are the Egyptian revolt against President Hosni
Mubarak; Rocket attacks from Gaza into
Israel; the trial against hate crime defendants.
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Rigor is imperative when creating a daily poster. So Selman’s list
of dos and don’ts included: “Use as few elements as possible. Reduce
the story to its simplest visual form. Don’t overthink it. Don’t over-
work it. Use as few colors as possible. Use flat color. Use color as a
representative element. Don’t use gradients. Use typography as the
central visual element whenever possible. Use Gotham Bold or your
hand. When needed use Tungsten Bold as a condensed face. Other
typefaces can be used sparingly for parody. Use bitmap and vector
graphics. Rip the levels out of photographs. Keep it interesting. Use
humor. Use parody. Use satire. Use visual puns. Stay neutral. Be
bold. Don’t be afraid.”
This is not a dramatic story. There are no highs and lows,
twists and turns, or Earth-shaking surprises. It is about a
process that may be instructive, inspiring, or both. So to
make it a story worth reading, I bolstered Selman’s voice
through small narrative bridges. Here’s one:
The task he set for himself was challenging at best, and exhausting
too. Some days he just wanted to sleep in.
Everyone can relate to “wanting to sleep in.” Here is
another bridge that includes his candid description:
But the project became “the constant in my life.” Through sickness,
vacation, injury, work, and even a houseboat bachelor party, the
daily design ritual was there like a backbone. “A deadline that
was as predictable as the temperature in San Francisco.”
Storytelling is taking the commonplace and making it spe-
cial. Notice I did not say “transformative” or “transcendent”
(two of my favorite hyperboles). Stories do not have to rise to
the biblical level. A good story, like good design, must simply
provide the service it was created for. You write for a purpose,
if only to share ideas worth sharing. So when you are writing
an essay, [an] article, and even a report or proposal, you can
effectively convey the story you want to tell (of course, make
certain you have a story to tell); then the mechanics of good
writing can function as they are meant to.
Pitching a Story
There are many ways to pitch, suggest, or sell a story, essay, or
book idea to an editor. If you have authorial credibility already
it is easier than if you are a first-time writer. Yet for both, it is
useful to make clips and writing samples available so that an
editor can review your craft. Writing is a meritocracy. The fact
is that all editors, in whichever media you can name, want to
identify (and often discover) good writers. The more profes-
sionally trained the better. But even if you are untrained,
the high quality of your writing will often seal the deal.
Editors swoon over good ideas. While they frequently
assign an idea to writers, they are just as happy—maybe more
so—to have them served up fresh on a platter. Conversely, they
dislike stale or undercooked ideas. Make certain your idea is
original and you can fulfill your promise to make it scintillating.
In pitching an idea you do not need the entire concept written
out, but the fundamental content should be vividly sketched
and outlined. This will prove that you have confidence in your
own notion.
The best way to accomplish a successful pitch is to write a
short paragraph or précis that explains the idea in a couple
of sentences. This is known as an “elevator pitch.” Then add
the means or method you will probably use to achieve your
goal. Your pitch should be smartly written, but need not be
too formal. Confidence is your best ally. Just be concise and
interesting. Make the editor hungry for the final course—
the actual text—by feeding just a taste of the story’s most
salient parts.
A book idea should be pitched in much the same way. But
since a book is a larger investment for an editor and publisher,
much more content is required (everything from an outline
to a full-blown dummy). Even then it may go through a few
revisions before an offer to publish is made. Rockport editor,
Emily Potts, wrote the following essay as a guide to getting
published.
part tWo : WrItIng
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