Writing Tips for Designers
Design is one of the most important parts of a website, it is the first thing that someone notices, and often what will get them to stay and read more. But, once you get them to start reading, can you keep their attention? You don't have to be a brilliant copywriter to get people to stick around on your site. Although if you can afford to hire a brilliant copywriter, I definitely recommend it, so you can save yout time for design. But, if that doesn't work, try some of these simple writing tips to improve your skills (all designed for designers who like to write vs writers who like to design).
- Use smaller words. Verbosity is not your friend. People are not coming to your site to find stellar writing and impressive use of multi-syllabic words. What they want is clear and concise explanations of what you do and how you do it. Trying to impress them with vocabulary is not the way to go about proving your design talents.
- Bullet points, bold, italics and paragraphs. Separate out your thoughts and highlight important words or sections with either bold or italics. You want people to be able to read what your write quickly and make sure that they capture the important points. Make it easy to read and your audience will stick around.
- Write with excitement. Designers are creative people, your writing should use colorful words. You don't just 'do graphic design' you 'bring an idea to life through graphic design'. Tell them what you do as passionately as you do it and people will want to work with you.
- Pictures are worth 1000 words. Your talent is with images and design, show it off! Let the designs speak for themselves, and let your audience read you through your work. Don't tell them how incredible you are, prove it with a stellar portfolio
Kirsten Wright is a freelance blogger and graphic designer from Orange County. Her experience spans social media, traditional marketing and many years in writing/editing. She is active in twitter and can be found @kirstenwright. Her personal and business blog, http://www.wrightcreativity.com focuses on the ways that you can use creativity in business and in life. She writes for numerous other bloggers and offers her services by the hour or by the project.
