WRITING in the Design Field: My Initial Thoughts
I thought I'd totally surpassed the need for writing when I declared my major as a design student in college, but turns out I'll never really escape writing.
I chose to pursue design because I liked the idea of doing something strictly visual and creative. I didn’t want any math or science or even writing to get in the way, but after doing some reading into the importance of competence in writing as a designer my perspective has shifted.
Below are two informative articles that are reliable sources of that importance.
The forms of writing mentioned in these articles don't seem at all intimidating or impossible for me to tackle. In fact, most of the things on the list I already do.
I already brainstorm for designs by writing out concepts, I already take time to write out my schedule to organize myself and quiet my brain, and I already journal stream of consciousness style to keep my mental space happy. Each of these tactics have proven to keep me much more prepared for creating my work and keep me mentally neat too.
However, I had never thought so much about how writing can help you tell a client’s story, or how writing can help you build a design community.
I'm starting to understand that honing in on my writing skills will help me be confident whenever I am expected to present my work verbally or in a written format. Competence in writing will make me a better marketer when working with clients because I'll be able to use words to portray the client’s ideas to other people.
As for building a design community through writing a blog, that's an inspiring idea to me too. It goes along with building my personal brand. To have a blog and social media presence to connect myself with like-minded designers could do nothing but good things for me in climbing the job market.
I hadn’t thought so much about how I could do that by sharing my original ideas with the world and connecting with people who want to join in on the conversation I start. Reading about this definitely inspires me to market myself a bit differently on the internet and take more of a written approach.
I think it’s hard to gain a following or build a community from scratch, but like the article said you’ve just got to start somewhere.
Some ways I want to change my approach would be to find a home for my blog and start using it as a base for all my personal writing. I have started various blogs for past classes, but none of my work sits together in a single composite location. So, I've decided to start using my portfolio as that home base.
If I start writing here and promoting my posts on social media, maybe I’ll start to gain a following and build that design community the article mentions.
I also want to continue the healthy design writing habits, mentioned in the first article, that I have already adopted. I want to continue using a journal to plan out my designs, my process in creating them, and the design’s overall purpose.
In continuation, I’ve found that journaling for a positive mental space is super helpful, but can be hard to keep up with. So, I want to better establish journaling into my routine to become more consistent and seek out the benefits journaling will offer me as a designer and a person.
In sum, it’s time to get this writing show on the road!