Cory M. • I’m of the opinion that writing (the content) comes first and that design (the wrapper) comes second. Of course it’s not as simple as that — they both should work together to accomplish an objective, but I am a firm believer that form should follow function.
It might sound slightly contradictory, but I’m also inclined to view the writing as part of the design in the sense that everything from the writing to the imagery to the colors, typefaces and weight of the paper stock is part of the design.
Lots of younger designers that I work with, for some reason, see their responsibility as simply making their work look appealing — the rest is someone else’s job. To me, it’s a major failure when a great-looking website or booklet catches my eye but subsequently disappoints me with miserable, sloppy and uninteresting writing.
I don’t expect graphic designers to be great writers anymore than I expect writers to be great graphic designers. I do expect, however, for both to fully appreciate the importance of the other in the success of their projects.
Stu Leventhal—Few people spell or use grammar properly these days.
I’m a printer and the number of edits, author’s alterations (AA’s ) and corrections to previously approved projects is astounding.
First of all, spell check is not proofreading.
And with the increased use of Twitter and texting, millions of people have abandoned
the daily use of proper spelling and grammar.
Just look at many posting titles on LinkedIn. Here’s one in the Marketing Communications
Group.
“What do you see as the keys to developing an effective marketing stragey?”
Graphic Design Thoughts 