(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
#175 Dtp:225 Page:8
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(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
#175 Dtp:225 Page:9
001-017_28858.indd 9 8/30/12 4:34 PM
(Text)
DESIGNERS,
MAKE YOUR
MARK
VERBAL
VISUAL
BREVITY FUNCTION
SIMPLICITY
CLARITY
STRUCTURE
PURPOSE
MANIFESTOS
DESIGN
CRITICISM
TWEETING
TEXTING
BLOGGING
DESIGN
MANUALS
MONOGRAPHS
WRITING
READINGRESEARCH
t
e
c
h
n
i
c
a
l
a
n
a
l
y
t
i
c
j
o
u
n
a
l
i
s
t
i
c
n
a
r
r
a
t
i
v
e
d
i
s
c
u
r
v
i
e
p
o
e
t
i
c
c
r
e
a
i
t
v
e
a
c
a
d
e
m
i
c
b
u
s
i
n
e
s
s
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
#175 Dtp:225 Page:8
001-017_28858.indd 8 8/30/12 4:33 PM
(Text)
Toothless cowboys and whiskered prospectors—staples
of classic Hollywood Westerns—could barely read or
write, so they made crude marks in lieu of signatures.
Graphic designers are not illiterate (or toothless) as a
rule, yet according to a certain slander, they have been
accused of not writing or reading. They only make
marks—logos. Logic and a modicum of science hold
that verbal, textual, and other cognitive deficiencies are
precisely the reasons for becoming a graphic designer.
If true, then to find a designer who can actually write
and make marks is nothing short of miraculous.
In a word, nonsense!
So, let’s bury this ridiculous fallacy on boot hill once and for all. Even if the stereotype held for a small
minority who chose art school over a liberal arts college because they weren’t adept “wordsmiths,” any
assertion that this is the norm is untrue. Right-brain/left-brain theories regarding visual versus verbal
fluency are hardly definitive explanations as to why people do or do not become designers. Many visual
people start careers as “artists,” but an equally large number of writers join the designer ranks too. Writing
is design.
Indeed, design “problem solving” requires many word and visual skills; how else can designers make
those proverbial pictures that speak a thousand words? Often an image, glyph, or mark sparks as much
understanding as any combination of words, sentences, or paragraphs—even more so. This accounts for
why designing logos and trademarks is so valuable to business and so lucrative for some designers. Yet
just as often, design is the frame that showcases words, and illustration illuminates them. Today, designers
must master the visual and verbal. With increasing multimedia communication platforms opening all
the time, reading and writing and, more than ever, research (a third imperative skill), are the designer’s
essential three R’s.
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
#175 Dtp:225 Page:9
001-017_28858.indd 9 8/30/12 4:33 PM
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
#175 Dtp:225 Page:8
001-017_28858.indd 8 8/30/12 4:34 PM
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
#175 Dtp:225 Page:9
001-017_28858.indd 9 8/30/12 4:34 PM
(Text)
DESIGNERS,
MAKE YOUR
MARK
VERBAL
VISUAL
BREVITY FUNCTION
SIMPLICITY
CLARITY
STRUCTURE
PURPOSE
MANIFESTOS
DESIGN
CRITICISM
TWEETING
TEXTING
BLOGGING
DESIGN
MANUALS
MONOGRAPHS
WRITING
READINGRESEARCH
t
e
c
h
n
i
c
a
l
a
n
a
l
y
t
i
c
j
o
u
n
a
l
i
s
t
i
c
n
a
r
r
a
t
i
v
e
d
i
s
c
u
r
v
i
e
p
o
e
t
i
c
c
r
e
a
i
t
v
e
a
c
a
d
e
m
i
c
b
u
s
i
n
e
s
s
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
#175 Dtp:225 Page:8
001-017_28858.indd 8 8/30/12 4:33 PM
(Text)
Toothless cowboys and whiskered prospectors—staples
of classic Hollywood Westerns—could barely read or
write, so they made crude marks in lieu of signatures.
Graphic designers are not illiterate (or toothless) as a
rule, yet according to a certain slander, they have been
accused of not writing or reading. They only make
marks—logos. Logic and a modicum of science hold
that verbal, textual, and other cognitive deficiencies are
precisely the reasons for becoming a graphic designer.
If true, then to find a designer who can actually write
and make marks is nothing short of miraculous.
In a word, nonsense!
So, let’s bury this ridiculous fallacy on boot hill once and for all. Even if the stereotype held for a small
minority who chose art school over a liberal arts college because they weren’t adept “wordsmiths,” any
assertion that this is the norm is untrue. Right-brain/left-brain theories regarding visual versus verbal
fluency are hardly definitive explanations as to why people do or do not become designers. Many visual
people start careers as “artists,” but an equally large number of writers join the designer ranks too. Writing
is design.
Indeed, design “problem solving” requires many word and visual skills; how else can designers make
those proverbial pictures that speak a thousand words? Often an image, glyph, or mark sparks as much
understanding as any combination of words, sentences, or paragraphs—even more so. This accounts for
why designing logos and trademarks is so valuable to business and so lucrative for some designers. Yet
just as often, design is the frame that showcases words, and illustration illuminates them. Today, designers
must master the visual and verbal. With increasing multimedia communication platforms opening all
the time, reading and writing and, more than ever, research (a third imperative skill), are the designer’s
essential three R’s.
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
#175 Dtp:225 Page:9
001-017_28858.indd 9 8/30/12 4:33 PM
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
#175 Dtp:225 Page:10
001-017_28858.indd 10 8/30/12 4:34 PM
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
#175 Dtp:225 Page:11
001-017_28858.indd 11 8/30/12 4:34 PM
Writing & research for graphic designers
(Text)
10
It is not clear how the myth originated that designers
(and illustrators) are as averse to reading and writing as old
cowpokes and prospectors were to brushing their teeth. In fact,
over the past two centuries designers have done a considerable
amount of credible writing: everything from design manuals
and manifestos to monographs and histories—and a few have
published novels and screenplays too. Just because a graphic
designer is expert at nonverbal expression does not mean she
is verbally challenged.
On average, a graphic designer is, perhaps, not as skilled a
wordsmith as the professional writer, but writing standards
are relative—and quality can be improved through practice
(as the old joke reminds us: A man meets another on the street
and asks for directions. Q. How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
A. Practice!). Designers do not write with the same frequency as
they design, so they may lack a necessary level of confidence.
But confidence is always fortified through experience. Akin
to physical exercise, everyday writing tones up the intellectual
muscles. One-two-three, one-two-three.
There are many ways to get exercise too. The rise of writing
today can be ascribed to something even more fundamental:
All designers work on computers, which are replete with
keyboards. Like eating potato chips (it is impossible to eat
just one), few people are immune to the allure of the keyboard
pecking away and watching words emerge; the word faucet is
hard to turn off once it starts flowing. What’s more, design-
ing in time and space with the employ of motion is now a
significant and essential part of the graphic design skill set.
Likewise, writing (and applying various methods of research)
is integral to communicating on a multitude of old and new
design platforms.
What is writing? Just pecking away is comparable to
doodling. Serious writing demands structure, purpose, and
function. There are many kinds of writing, from pro forma
to expressive, from technical to narrative, from discursive to
poetic. Whatever the form, writing is as essential to design
as math is to science and science is to knowledge in general.
Writing about design is a tool for collecting and disseminat-
ing knowledge. For now, however, we will focus on the basic
essence of design writing.
Writing a simple coherent letter is an important business
requisite; composing a cogent proposal for a job is essential.
Clients want to be assured of fundamental intelligence and
attention to detail (and with spell-check, there is no excuse
for errors either). Fundamental writing expertise is valued
as much as aesthetic and strategic design assets today. But
writing today is also more challenging owing to the new
standards and vernaculars. As early as grade school, abbreviation
is an accepted means of formal communication. Facebook,
Twitter, and messaging protocols have altered writing habits
through shorthand and the introduction of new nouns and
verbs into the language. While blogs encourage more writing
and enable designers to share their thoughts and ideas with
audiences, the inevitable informality, which can eschew rules
of good writing and editing, results in poor language skills.
Blogging, texting, and tweeting have produced new vernacu-
lars rooted in abbreviation, which is not implicitly bad, but
has impacted our forms of address. Nonetheless, language
has always changed as customs do. Thank heavens, I pray
thee, we doth speak any longer in Shakespearean English.
Dig it, y’all gentlefolk.
Business-oriented writing—which does not have to
be as strained as it often is—is but one type of writing.
Designers are now called upon for a slew of different kinds
of writing tasks, from academic to journalistic, critical to
promotional, and more.
Designers must tell stories—they must ascribe narrative
underpinnings to their designs or the work of others. Indeed,
their designs must have a narrative. Context is everything,
and writing helps establish the story that design wants to
tell. Where once it was enough simply (and it is never simple)
to make objects of design, now designers are encouraged to
wrap their respective works in blankets of words that add an
additional dimension to their output.
Writing about design (or writing about other things—
art, politics, science—through a design lens) serves various
functions. It is a means to explore and explain the intuitive
qualities that often confound the nondesigner—and even the
visually literate designer. Writing is a way to disseminate
ideas and philosophies within design communities; a method
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
09-C67944 #175 Dtp:225 Page:10
001-017_C67944.indd 10 9/22/12 11:24 AM
(Text)
11
of describing how work is conceived and fabricated; a vehicle
to shed critical and analytical light, and provide transparency;
and an ability to simply introduce all kinds of audiences to
design. How can a profession as ubiquitous and encompassing
as graphic design be taken seriously without a body of literature?
The difference between design writing and general writing
is ostensibly nil. Yet all professional writing is prone to
shorthand or jargon, and the job of the design writer is to use
as little of it as possible. Even those in the know would rather
read smartly constructed, flowing and entertaining prose than
insider-speak. Design writing should respect the reader by
not talking up or down—do not assume ignorance, but do
not take knowledge for granted either. Balance is key.
Following rules is essential too. But rules of writing are
often fungible. It is important to understand the end user’s
capacity for understanding. For example, avoid adding extra-
neous verbiage when writing for business outcomes, such as
press releases or proposals of any sort. All writing can benefit
from brevity, but business writing should stick to the point—
hit the nails hard—without indulging in personal quirks.
Creative writing, on the other hand, which involves devel-
oping narrative, should be as robust as possible, but never
confusing. Writing, like design, benefits greatly from good
editing (self-editing and that of professional copy editors).
Avoiding what is turgidly or overly written requires
the same judgment as knowing what’s overly designed.
Damn the adjectives! Damn the ornament!
Editing one’s own writing can be difficult, even for sea-
soned writers. Yet for designers, editing design is second
nature. For the untutored writer, editing words may demand
greater forethought (writing a few drafts does wonders).
While a good designer instinctually rejects unnecessary
design elements, a good writer will avoid, for instance, florid
prose. But here is the “takeaway”: The insecure writer will
throw in as many adjectives or adverbs or descriptors as possible
to compensate for a lack of experience. In an effort to make
text sound serious, the insecure writer is compelled to gild
the lily. Although it is no longer miraculous that a designer
can design and write—and read and research—that is not to
say that it comes naturally either. Nor should it.
Another important piece of advice is, Play to your strength!
This is one of life’s mantras that need repeating. So, if writing
is not your strength, exercise that part of your brain so that
it can become more muscular. Try this: The more you read,
the larger the pool of examples to build upon. The more you
write, the greater the opportunity to try those examples to
determine what works best. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
We all do. Copy editors—the writer’s best friend—will
usually fix the errors, and some will even teach the author
why it was a mistake. With writing there is always a safety
net as long as you don’t fall madly in love with any single
part of your prose. Words are free—and there are lots of
them, so use them freely. The worst thing a neophyte or
seasoned writer can do is to reject an editor’s suggestions.
So why should you read this book? What will be your
takeaway? This is both a guide to and a celebration of design
writing and research. It is aimed at inspiring and instructing.
As a guide, the book features various authors and editors
who have been asked to discuss writing and research in
general and the genesis and progress of specific writing
examples. The process differs from writer to writer and
editor to editor—and this will be discussed.
As a celebration, the book’s goal is to advocate for more
design writing that illuminates the methodologies behind
design “objects” that have distinct places in the cultural
fabric. Writing and researching is design!
Whether you become a writer after reading this book is
up to you. But you will doubtless appreciate that writing
and research is an integral part of the design experience. If
you become more adept at writing and research in part, then
you have, in fact, started to make your mark(s) in the best
way possible—as a visually and verbally literate designer.
designers,foreword
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
09-C67944 #175 Dtp:225 Page:11
001-017_C67944.indd 11 9/22/12 11:24 AM
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
#175 Dtp:225 Page:10
001-017_28858.indd 10 8/30/12 4:34 PM
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
#175 Dtp:225 Page:11
001-017_28858.indd 11 8/30/12 4:34 PM
Writing & research for graphic designers
(Text)
10
It is not clear how the myth originated that designers
(and illustrators) are as averse to reading and writing as old
cowpokes and prospectors were to brushing their teeth. In fact,
over the past two centuries designers have done a considerable
amount of credible writing: everything from design manuals
and manifestos to monographs and histories—and a few have
published novels and screenplays too. Just because a graphic
designer is expert at nonverbal expression does not mean she
is verbally challenged.
On average, a graphic designer is, perhaps, not as skilled a
wordsmith as the professional writer, but writing standards
are relative—and quality can be improved through practice
(as the old joke reminds us: A man meets another on the street
and asks for directions. Q. How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
A. Practice!). Designers do not write with the same frequency as
they design, so they may lack a necessary level of confidence.
But confidence is always fortified through experience. Akin
to physical exercise, everyday writing tones up the intellectual
muscles. One-two-three, one-two-three.
There are many ways to get exercise too. The rise of writing
today can be ascribed to something even more fundamental:
All designers work on computers, which are replete with
keyboards. Like eating potato chips (it is impossible to eat
just one), few people are immune to the allure of the keyboard
pecking away and watching words emerge; the word faucet is
hard to turn off once it starts flowing. What’s more, design-
ing in time and space with the employ of motion is now a
significant and essential part of the graphic design skill set.
Likewise, writing (and applying various methods of research)
is integral to communicating on a multitude of old and new
design platforms.
What is writing? Just pecking away is comparable to
doodling. Serious writing demands structure, purpose, and
function. There are many kinds of writing, from pro forma
to expressive, from technical to narrative, from discursive to
poetic. Whatever the form, writing is as essential to design
as math is to science and science is to knowledge in general.
Writing about design is a tool for collecting and disseminat-
ing knowledge. For now, however, we will focus on the basic
essence of design writing.
Writing a simple coherent letter is an important business
requisite; composing a cogent proposal for a job is essential.
Clients want to be assured of fundamental intelligence and
attention to detail (and with spell-check, there is no excuse
for errors either). Fundamental writing expertise is valued
as much as aesthetic and strategic design assets today. But
writing today is also more challenging owing to the new
standards and vernaculars. As early as grade school, abbreviation
is an accepted means of formal communication. Facebook,
Twitter, and messaging protocols have altered writing habits
through shorthand and the introduction of new nouns and
verbs into the language. While blogs encourage more writing
and enable designers to share their thoughts and ideas with
audiences, the inevitable informality, which can eschew rules
of good writing and editing, results in poor language skills.
Blogging, texting, and tweeting have produced new vernacu-
lars rooted in abbreviation, which is not implicitly bad, but
has impacted our forms of address. Nonetheless, language
has always changed as customs do. Thank heavens, I pray
thee, we doth speak any longer in Shakespearean English.
Dig it, y’all gentlefolk.
Business-oriented writing—which does not have to
be as strained as it often is—is but one type of writing.
Designers are now called upon for a slew of different kinds
of writing tasks, from academic to journalistic, critical to
promotional, and more.
Designers must tell stories—they must ascribe narrative
underpinnings to their designs or the work of others. Indeed,
their designs must have a narrative. Context is everything,
and writing helps establish the story that design wants to
tell. Where once it was enough simply (and it is never simple)
to make objects of design, now designers are encouraged to
wrap their respective works in blankets of words that add an
additional dimension to their output.
Writing about design (or writing about other things—
art, politics, science—through a design lens) serves various
functions. It is a means to explore and explain the intuitive
qualities that often confound the nondesigner—and even the
visually literate designer. Writing is a way to disseminate
ideas and philosophies within design communities; a method
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
09-C67944 #175 Dtp:225 Page:10
001-017_C67944.indd 10 9/22/12 11:24 AM
(Text)
11
of describing how work is conceived and fabricated; a vehicle
to shed critical and analytical light, and provide transparency;
and an ability to simply introduce all kinds of audiences to
design. How can a profession as ubiquitous and encompassing
as graphic design be taken seriously without a body of literature?
The difference between design writing and general writing
is ostensibly nil. Yet all professional writing is prone to
shorthand or jargon, and the job of the design writer is to use
as little of it as possible. Even those in the know would rather
read smartly constructed, flowing and entertaining prose than
insider-speak. Design writing should respect the reader by
not talking up or down—do not assume ignorance, but do
not take knowledge for granted either. Balance is key.
Following rules is essential too. But rules of writing are
often fungible. It is important to understand the end user’s
capacity for understanding. For example, avoid adding extra-
neous verbiage when writing for business outcomes, such as
press releases or proposals of any sort. All writing can benefit
from brevity, but business writing should stick to the point—
hit the nails hard—without indulging in personal quirks.
Creative writing, on the other hand, which involves devel-
oping narrative, should be as robust as possible, but never
confusing. Writing, like design, benefits greatly from good
editing (self-editing and that of professional copy editors).
Avoiding what is turgidly or overly written requires
the same judgment as knowing what’s overly designed.
Damn the adjectives! Damn the ornament!
Editing one’s own writing can be difficult, even for sea-
soned writers. Yet for designers, editing design is second
nature. For the untutored writer, editing words may demand
greater forethought (writing a few drafts does wonders).
While a good designer instinctually rejects unnecessary
design elements, a good writer will avoid, for instance, florid
prose. But here is the “takeaway”: The insecure writer will
throw in as many adjectives or adverbs or descriptors as possible
to compensate for a lack of experience. In an effort to make
text sound serious, the insecure writer is compelled to gild
the lily. Although it is no longer miraculous that a designer
can design and write—and read and research—that is not to
say that it comes naturally either. Nor should it.
Another important piece of advice is, Play to your strength!
This is one of life’s mantras that need repeating. So, if writing
is not your strength, exercise that part of your brain so that
it can become more muscular. Try this: The more you read,
the larger the pool of examples to build upon. The more you
write, the greater the opportunity to try those examples to
determine what works best. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
We all do. Copy editors—the writer’s best friend—will
usually fix the errors, and some will even teach the author
why it was a mistake. With writing there is always a safety
net as long as you don’t fall madly in love with any single
part of your prose. Words are free—and there are lots of
them, so use them freely. The worst thing a neophyte or
seasoned writer can do is to reject an editor’s suggestions.
So why should you read this book? What will be your
takeaway? This is both a guide to and a celebration of design
writing and research. It is aimed at inspiring and instructing.
As a guide, the book features various authors and editors
who have been asked to discuss writing and research in
general and the genesis and progress of specific writing
examples. The process differs from writer to writer and
editor to editor—and this will be discussed.
As a celebration, the book’s goal is to advocate for more
design writing that illuminates the methodologies behind
design “objects” that have distinct places in the cultural
fabric. Writing and researching is design!
Whether you become a writer after reading this book is
up to you. But you will doubtless appreciate that writing
and research is an integral part of the design experience. If
you become more adept at writing and research in part, then
you have, in fact, started to make your mark(s) in the best
way possible—as a visually and verbally literate designer.
designers,foreword
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
09-C67944 #175 Dtp:225 Page:11
001-017_C67944.indd 11 9/22/12 11:24 AM
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