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A Guide to Writing Effectively about Design

As of recent weeks, several quarters of the design community have pledged their dedication towards producing more content based articles (as opposed to solely concentrating on roundups and showcases), in an effort to build an intellectually oriented and discursive community of design enthusiasts. This is indeed a heartening occurrence, especially for those who enjoy intense deliberation and discourse. The subject of design and aesthetics in general is a fairly tricky subject to write on. In this instalment, I share a few pointers which I believe are crucial ingredients for writing poignant and compelling articles, guidelines which I have followed religiously in my own academic career as a new media and political researcher.

Why Writing Well is Important in the Design Community

The field of design is almost instinctively associated with visually intricate works of art. Based on the above premise, design blog owners/practitioners are often swayed into thinking that good design content equates to pretty pictures and endless summaries of resources that aid in the technical dimension of the design process. While such a conception is not entirely wrong, well-written articles are crucial in supporting and accentuating the overall appeal and value of visual aesthetics. 

Good content informs design; it solidifies and justifies the rationale behind specific aesthetic choices and it creates an environment that is conducive to learning and experimentation. Well structured and theoretically sound arguments instil a sense of authentic validity to specific design trends. If, for example, you are a proponent of the 960-Grid framework, then in addition to providing an extensive showcase of websites utilising the grid formulae, have an accompanying write-up of your views on its implementation. Does the 960-Grid system fully realise the potentialities of the Grid design philosophy in the domain of web design? Only by acknowledging the importance of writing well can you initiate the first steps in producing quality content.

A Writer who Keeps it Simple, Keeps it Effective

Great writers have honed their literary skills over time through rigorous practice and perseverance. Some of the most revered essayists and literary composers have perfected the skill of writing simply and effectively, without grandiose verbosity. Ernest Hemingway and Edgar Allen Poe are famous for the economical use of words, most notably through their witty and insightful epigrams. If English (I’m assuming here that you write for an English language website) isn’t your first language, than aim to write with simplicity and clarity to reduce chances of grammatical or spelling mistakes.

The field of design naturally favours writers who are intelligently economical with their words. Unnecessary long-windedness is frowned upon in web writing. Online readers have a shorter attention span due to the multitude of distractions on the web (blame Twitter!).

Think in Ideas, Not In Words

Putting your thoughts down in simple phrases whilst retaining the keywords of the idea in question, will produce a polished piece of writing. The million dollar tip here is to think in ideas and not in words. Ideas/ideologies form the bedrock of writing; if you are unsure of what you want to express, then your choice of words and phrases may be laden with contextual and linguistic errors. Be dead sure of what you want to say first before launching into the writing process proper.

Drawing conceptual mind-maps is a truly powerful way to jot down ideas for a particular topic. This method works especially well in the field of design, where traditions of pencil-paper sketches are not uncommon. Many of us draw preparatory storyboards and wireframes for online projects and the same should be done with writing. These mind-maps not only serve as a platform to construct well-connected holistic arguments but they are also handy references when you are dry on topics to write about. If you are averse to paper and pencil scribbles than, there are several online mind-mapping programmes that are available for free use. 

Reduce Colloquialisms, but do it Smartly

Colloquialisms in writing are unavoidable as they are programmed within our cultural fabric. Certain word choices may not make sense to readers who are not familiar with particular expressions (e.g. A “close” friend may not necessarily mean a “best” friend or a “good” friend in certain cultural environments) However at the same time you have to ensure that your piece does not come across as being too prudishly formal or academic to the extent that it puts off readers who want an easy reading experience.

Sub-Headings are Crucial

Sub-Headings help orchestrate the flow of your ideas in a fluent manner. The painful truth is most readers will not read every word you have written, so providing them with a ‘marker’ on the respective topics you have covered will allow readers to extract the information that matters. I rarely read an article that ignores the typical conventions of content-organization. In the world of design, words and phrases have to be compact and succinct and most importantly, they must directly relate to a particular concept or philosophy. Nobody likes a mindless corpus of text containing your random musings or ramblings.

Design-Speak is Dangerous

This is a rather debatable viewpoint, but one that I will make anyway. There is a general tendency for designers to launch in to technical abbreviations and phrases when writing about a particular aspect of design (particularly an area within their expertise). While it is alright to assume that your readers will be familiar with such “design-speak”, it is a risky presumption to make. Some people may feel daunted upon reading overtly technical phrases even when they fully understand the technicalities behind those mentioned subjects in design. If you think a particular abbreviation or term might invoke ambiguity, provide an explanatory section to clarify. Words like “PHP Variables”, “a Semantic web” can make the reader feel less secure about his/her area of proficiency in design. Stroke the ego of your visitors by using simple terms and explaining them fully. 

In Conclusion: Write in Prose and not in Pictures/Lists

As I’ve re-iterated in previous articles, writing is part of the design process; it is the art of fashioning content. It is high time that designers made a conscious effort to express their own ideas on design in understandable prose and not only in pictures and lists. What do you think?