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Writing & research for graphic designers
(Text)
94
What is the role of an editor?
An editor identifies a content need and works with an author to deliver
writing that fulfills that expectation, ensuring that it communicates effec-
tively with equal consideration for the author, publisher, and audience.
An editor helps make an author read better. Doesn’t that make the
editor an author?
No. In the same way that a coach can help an athlete to excel or a director can
elicit a moving performance from an actor, an editor works to bring out the best
in a writer so that the article or book, or whatever form the content might take,
is as clear and engaging as can be. Editors can also be strong writers, but they
aren’t necessarily the subject experts that their writers are. Editors need writers,
and writers need editors. Neither is as good without the other.
How far should an editor go in changing text?
There’s no hard-and-fast rule here, but editors should absolutely make
sure that their authors are aware (and consenting) of any radical revisions
from the original draft. In the case of copywriting, an editor can take more
liberties, but if a published work carries an author’s byline, an editor should
make sure the text is still true to the author’s intent.
Should an editor always have an ear for the authorial voice?
For journalists it’s more important to deliver a factual and balanced story
than to interject a personal voice; a news editor would be justified in mak-
ing the voice more neutral. In criticism and other types of editorial writing,
the author’s voice is imperative and should be considered a valuable at-
tribute of the writing. A good editor recognizes what the author is trying to
say and helps her to say it in a way that benefits both author and reader.
What is the most common problem faced by a writer who is writing
about design?
Perhaps one obstacle to design writing is public awareness of what design
actually is. The writer might need to help the reader to see things that
might have gone unnoticed before. But the challenge of writing about
design is the challenge of writing about anything.
Many designers are visual thinkers who struggle when it comes to articulat-
ing their ideas in writing. Maybe writing hasn’t come to them as naturally
as drawing or other forms of expression. Like anything worth doing, writing
requires practice and discipline. No one gets it right the first time, not
even writers. Just as designers revise and redo their work, writers draft and
redraft. So, perhaps for designers, the first challenge is to get over any pre-
conceptions that “I’m just not good at writing.” Designers do user testing
to improve their work and ensure its effectiveness. And writers need to
have others read what they’ve written to know if they’re making any sense.
Is there a trick to writing about design that is unique to this form?
The only trick to writing well is to resolve the question of, Am I making
sense? Will anyone else understand what I want them to take away from
my words? The only way to know is to let people read it and give you their
feedback.
To write anything that’s worth reading is a challenge, whether your subject
is design or a piece of music or what you had for dinner last night. In
each instance, you might start out thinking, “I don’t know enough about
<blank> to be writing about this.” But of course you do. You don’t have to
position yourself as the world’s foremost authority on the subject; you just
have to be able to say something that’s unique to your experience with it.
Perhaps start by thinking about who created it, what they created and
who it was created for, and if you consider it successful (if not, then why).
Compare it to other design work (or music or meals) you’ve experienced. It
can be hard to find the right words. But just as you learn more about design
through exposure to it, you can improve as a writer simply
by reading more writing.
What is your definition of a good piece of writing?
Good writing doesn’t make me feel stupid. It doesn’t make me have to stop
and reread it to see if I missed something along the way, or have to look up
words or lingo that I haven’t heard before. Good writing, in the end, makes
me feel smarter, like I’ve learned something. It might inspire me to have a
conversation with someone about it or make me curious enough to want to
read more on that subject or by that author. For me it feels as though a door
has been opened and now I’m free to explore what lies ahead.
Former managing editor of AIGA Journal
Sue Apfelbaum Talks about What an Editor Does
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
09-C67944 #175 Dtp:225 Page:94
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section 3
the editorial role how to edit and be edited
(Text)
95
A good editor recognizes what the author is trying to say
and helps her to say it in a way that benefits both author
and reader.
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
09-C67944 #175 Dtp:225 Page:95
092-109_C67944.indd 95 9/22/12 11:26 AM
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
#175 Dtp:225 Page:94
092-109_28858.indd 94 8/30/12 4:45 PM
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
#175 Dtp:225 Page:95
092-109_28858.indd 95 8/30/12 4:45 PM
Writing & research for graphic designers
(Text)
94
What is the role of an editor?
An editor identifies a content need and works with an author to deliver
writing that fulfills that expectation, ensuring that it communicates effec-
tively with equal consideration for the author, publisher, and audience.
An editor helps make an author read better. Doesn’t that make the
editor an author?
No. In the same way that a coach can help an athlete to excel or a director can
elicit a moving performance from an actor, an editor works to bring out the best
in a writer so that the article or book, or whatever form the content might take,
is as clear and engaging as can be. Editors can also be strong writers, but they
aren’t necessarily the subject experts that their writers are. Editors need writers,
and writers need editors. Neither is as good without the other.
How far should an editor go in changing text?
There’s no hard-and-fast rule here, but editors should absolutely make
sure that their authors are aware (and consenting) of any radical revisions
from the original draft. In the case of copywriting, an editor can take more
liberties, but if a published work carries an author’s byline, an editor should
make sure the text is still true to the author’s intent.
Should an editor always have an ear for the authorial voice?
For journalists it’s more important to deliver a factual and balanced story
than to interject a personal voice; a news editor would be justified in mak-
ing the voice more neutral. In criticism and other types of editorial writing,
the author’s voice is imperative and should be considered a valuable at-
tribute of the writing. A good editor recognizes what the author is trying to
say and helps her to say it in a way that benefits both author and reader.
What is the most common problem faced by a writer who is writing
about design?
Perhaps one obstacle to design writing is public awareness of what design
actually is. The writer might need to help the reader to see things that
might have gone unnoticed before. But the challenge of writing about
design is the challenge of writing about anything.
Many designers are visual thinkers who struggle when it comes to articulat-
ing their ideas in writing. Maybe writing hasn’t come to them as naturally
as drawing or other forms of expression. Like anything worth doing, writing
requires practice and discipline. No one gets it right the first time, not
even writers. Just as designers revise and redo their work, writers draft and
redraft. So, perhaps for designers, the first challenge is to get over any pre-
conceptions that “I’m just not good at writing.” Designers do user testing
to improve their work and ensure its effectiveness. And writers need to
have others read what they’ve written to know if they’re making any sense.
Is there a trick to writing about design that is unique to this form?
The only trick to writing well is to resolve the question of, Am I making
sense? Will anyone else understand what I want them to take away from
my words? The only way to know is to let people read it and give you their
feedback.
To write anything that’s worth reading is a challenge, whether your subject
is design or a piece of music or what you had for dinner last night. In
each instance, you might start out thinking, “I don’t know enough about
<blank> to be writing about this.” But of course you do. You don’t have to
position yourself as the world’s foremost authority on the subject; you just
have to be able to say something that’s unique to your experience with it.
Perhaps start by thinking about who created it, what they created and
who it was created for, and if you consider it successful (if not, then why).
Compare it to other design work (or music or meals) you’ve experienced. It
can be hard to find the right words. But just as you learn more about design
through exposure to it, you can improve as a writer simply
by reading more writing.
What is your definition of a good piece of writing?
Good writing doesn’t make me feel stupid. It doesn’t make me have to stop
and reread it to see if I missed something along the way, or have to look up
words or lingo that I haven’t heard before. Good writing, in the end, makes
me feel smarter, like I’ve learned something. It might inspire me to have a
conversation with someone about it or make me curious enough to want to
read more on that subject or by that author. For me it feels as though a door
has been opened and now I’m free to explore what lies ahead.
Former managing editor of AIGA Journal
Sue Apfelbaum Talks about What an Editor Does
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
09-C67944 #175 Dtp:225 Page:94
092-109_C67944.indd 94 9/22/12 11:26 AM
section 3
the editorial role how to edit and be edited
(Text)
95
A good editor recognizes what the author is trying to say
and helps her to say it in a way that benefits both author
and reader.
(Ray)
(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers
09-C67944 #175 Dtp:225 Page:95
092-109_C67944.indd 95 9/22/12 11:26 AM
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