Writing and Research for Graphic Designers

(Ray)

(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers

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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

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(Ray)

(Fogra 29_WF)Job:08-28858 Title:RP-Writing & Research for Graphic Designers

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(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

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a

c

a

d

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m

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(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