Posted by: Catherine Morley
Category: Designers Working With
Bookmark on: del.icio.us

In the first part of the Designers Working With Series, to set the stage I asked designers, “As a professional designer, what are the main points you want clients (potential and present) to know before contacting you about a project?”

For the writers section of DWW, I asked the same question, but with a twist.

As a professional writer, what are the main points that you’d expect / want designers to know before contacting you about a project?

If you’ve read the designers section of the series you’ll notice that some answers below are similar. Some are markedly different. All are information rich.

---

Cheryl

I would like them to surf the net in the topic area of the piece.
I would like them to know about designing information pieces for the public.

Cheryl Stephens | Mentor/Muse
plainlanguage.com | Building Rapport | Building Rapport : CafePress.com

---

Gerald

I am both a designer and a writer, so I have high expectations of designers. Just last month, I worked with a young designer, Brandon Swann, on the cover design for my new novel, “The Aremac Project” (you can see his design on my website home page now). I expected him to know how to listen to my requirements and ideas, then take his own initiative to present me with at least three sketches of possible solutions to the design problem. I expected him to know something about the purposes of book covers in general–what they were supposed to accomplish–and to balance his creative urges with my needs as a client. I expected him to be prepared to go back and forth with me and my publisher as we refined the design, and to complete his assignments as agreed.

Brandon, by the way, did all of these things and produced a striking and effective cover.

Gerald M. Weinberg | Writer, consultant
Weinberg on Writing | The Secrets of Consulting | gerald weinberg books and leadership courses

---

Judy

• I’d need to know the target market demographics.
• I’d need to know the product/service well. As many documents, brochures, data as possible. I can only write about what I know.
• I’d need to know the needs the target market has for the product/service.
• I’d need to know the competition.
• I’d need to why the products/service is superior to the competition.
• I’d need to know how they want my text presented, e.g., Word documents.
• I’d need to know if they’ll allow me to write so it’s targeting both the intended market and search engines.
• I’d need to know how strong the calls to action should be.
• I’d need to know if there’s a particular style guide (Chicago, Gregg, Hacker, APA, AP etc.) they want followed.

Judy Vorfeld | Webmaster Services; Editing and Writing Services
www.EditingAndWritingServices.com | Judy’s Blog

---

Liz

When I work with a designer, I’d hope that he or she would be interested enough to know my writing — the flavors, the colors, the people who read it — about what similar works in that genre look like, maybe have some idea of the difference between my three blogs and the information I post at each, and some sense of what blogs of similar nature look like already.

I would hope that he or she came with questions about my thoughts or ideas and ready to steer me toward those that could be accomplished easily. I’m not one who likes to make work. So an idea designer would be open enough to say, “How important is that to you? If we go that way it will take 5 hours, but I could suggest this, which is close, and it would take about 20 minutes.”

I want to be flexible and participate with ideas without getting in the way. I can only do that when my designer comes prepared to crawl into my head so that she or he understand the vision I’m going for and then channel my questions and suggestions to keep us headed toward that big picture idea.

ME (Liz) Strauss | Writer | Career coach | Strategic planner
Successful Blog | Letting Liz Be | Liz Strauss.com | The Blog Herald | Performancing.com | Write With ME

---

Louise

I’d like to think that the designer has been properly briefed by the client and in turn that the designer has advised the client on what is actually possible. I’d expect the budget to be clear as well.

I want to be clear about the expected total number of pages, whether web or print, approximate word count per page, and final deadlines, so that I have time to schedule the work properly and price accordingly. Being told the client’s budget is vital. I expect designers to build in time for drafts and final versions for the deadlines. I also like to see a draft template of the design, as that helps with pitching the tone of the copy. And I expect designers to allow me to be able to contact the client directly if I have any questions about the copy.

Louise Bolotin | Writer, consultant
PlainText Editorial Consultancy

---

Lynn

Regarding the design of business documents, I expect designers to understand the basic rules of document design, of course. These are things like having no text widows or rivers and following the rules of proximity—for example, that headings are closer to what they introduce than to what comes above them. This is important on the page and on the screen. I also expect them to accept that the text must be readable. When designers place screened images over the words or render the words in faint type, they may have a wonderful visual concept, but if it cheats the words, it won’t work for what I write.

I do not expect designers to be proofreaders or editors, but if they catch an error or make a subtle suggestion, I love it. I feel that I am receiving a special gift of their attention. I expect them not to introduce new errors into the text.

In their business dealings with me, I expect designers to be able to describe in writing their deliverables and any relevant steps in the process, and I need them to make realistic time commitments. I hope they will also be clear with me about what they expect from me. I need them to communicate like professionals—that is, in complete sentences that make sense. If they don’t, I will worry that they will not provide a professional design.

Lynn Gaertner-Johnston | Founder, Business Writing Specialist
Syntax Training: Tools for Better Business Writing | Business Writing Blog

---

Matthew

What I need from designers is a clear brief. Pretty much every problem with the writing can be traced back to a poor or non-existent brief.

Matthew Stibbe | Writer-in-chief
Articulate Marketing | Bad Language

---

Nancy

What kind of writing is required? Creating a branding message through taglines, headlines, and other “identity” copy is very different from writing web site FAQ. Please be sure that you’re hiring me for my skills and experience and not simply looking for “verbiage” (boy, do I hate the way that word is misused!).

Nancy Friedman | Chief Wordworker
Wordworking | Away With Words

---

Roberta

As a direct response marketing writer and consultant, I’ve worked with many print and web graphic artists. What I look for is:

• an understanding of each medium, and the experience to know when design needs to take the lead of a project and when it needs to support and showcase content instead
• experience in the industry my client serves, someone who takes the work seriously whether it’s a sexy project or a workhorse
• an understanding of what things cost vis a vis results (If you’re going to show me a square envelope knowing my client pays a postal surcharge to mail it, tell me how well the promotion did, even with the bigger expense.)
• ability to set and satisfy timelines and deadlines

But please don’t show me any awards you’ve won. Instead, give me a list of happy clients who will sing your praises.

Roberta Rosenberg | Pres/CEO
MGP DIRECT, INC. | The Copywriting Maven

---

Roy

Do you mean “the main points you’d expect / want designers to know” about working with writers, or about the project itself? (Hey, I’m an editor. I edit nearly everything, including interview questions.)

Well, I’ve been lucky enough to have never had a bad working relationship with a designer, so I’m going to generalize from some things I’ve learned about this business in general.

About working with writers:

1. You never err by bringing the writer in early.
2. Just as design is vastly more than color coordination and snappy graphics, good writing is vastly more than just correct spelling and grammar. (Some people don’t seem to get that.)
3. Closely related to #2, writers are not commodities. As much as possible, you need to match the writer’s expertise to the project. For example, what industries have they worked with? (For example, healthcare, financial, construction, biotechnology, food and dining.) What type of writing are they best at? (Direct mail copy, online, speech writing, journalism, and whitepapers are just a few writing specialties.)

About the project itself:

1. It’s nice to have a good idea about what kind of tone you want. Things like formal vs. informal, light vs. serious, consumer vs. business-to-business. At the same time, be willing to explore this with the writer.
2. As much of the demographics of the target audience as possible.
3. Depending on the scope and budget of the project, you may need more than just a writer. I don’t care how good a writer is; we can always benefit from a good editor looking over our shoulders.

Roy Jacobsen
Writing Plain and Simple

---

Roy

I love designers. How they think, how they imagine, how they see the world. I want to tap into that creative energy, but I want the process to be reciprocal. I want to listen – and be listened to. I want to be a partner, a collaborator – not a boss or a client. Most of all, I need conversation about the focus, the tone, the look, the voice of the project.

Roy Peter Clark | America’s writing coach
Poynter Online - Writing Tools | Book: Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer

---

Tom

I fill out a Creative Brief for every significant project. It doesn’t provide all the information I need to write a project, but it’s an excellent start.

At the very least, I need to know:

• What is this product?
• Who are we selling to?
• Why would anyone buy it?
• What is our key selling proposition?
• What is the tone?
• What is the offer/call to action?
• Visuals?
• When & Whatever?

In truth, the sooner I’m in on a project the better.

Tom Chandler | copywriting : online/blogging : marketing plans
Chandler Writes. You Profit. | The Copywriter Underground

---

tom

Budget, deadline-turnaround

tom mullen | writer & proprietor
EXIT3A.com | ANONYMOUS, JR

---

Following the set format for the DWW series, next up will be Writers Working With Designers: The Problem Areas

until the next
Designers WW,
cat