Design vs. Content

[dphillips]

I know design and content pretty much go hand-in-hand, but sometimes it feels more like a war. I am a print/web designer and receive content from our writer to use in our projects. Often times, I have to start on a project before I get all of the content (which always creates double work) and I usually write up my own mock content to fill up the spaces and give an idea to our writer about how much content is needed. However, almost every single time, I receive an entire essay when all I wanted was a short paragraph.

Does anyone else feel my frustration with this? I know content is important, but too much is overkill. I mean, who is going to read all that?? It just really bugs me that I have to set up a design BEFORE I even know how much content there will be, just to then have to squeeze and pull at my design for the sake of the content. As a designer, can I take the liberty to cut some of it? What do you think?

[ZiaG]

I have this issue too. I give the writer a word count, but he always goes over it. So I often go back to the writer and ask him to cut copy.

[rhiaparker]

That is indeed frustrating. What you should do is talk to the writer and tell him/her that this is just how much content can go with the design. Brainstorm with each other. Give the writer an idea of what you're planning with the design so he or she could work around the design and not the other way around.

[ker ning]

Sounds all too familiar. This was a nightmare at my last job, especially with the newsletter. The writer would ignore my word counts half the time. It's like she thought that her writing is what mattered the most. She worked for a newspaper for like 15 years so you can imagine how much "fluff" there was in the writing. I don't think she understood that there's a difference between a newsletter and a newspaper. You can be the best writer in the world, but if it doesn't communicate visually, it will NOT get read.

I feel your pain.

[Ampersand]

The writer would ignore my word counts half the time. It's like she thought that her writing is what mattered the most. She worked for a newspaper for like 15 years so you can imagine how much "fluff" there was in the writing. I don't think she understood that there's a difference between a newsletter and a newspaper.

Hmmmm, I too worked for a daily newspaper for 15 years — as an editorial designer and, eventually, the design director of the paper. Newspaper writers are used to writing in what's called an inverted pyramid style where they summarize the story in the first or second paragraph, then go into increasing levels of detail in subsequent paragraphs. The reason for this is (1) to allow readers to grasp the essentials of the story without reading the entire thing, and (2) to enable those laying out the paper to trim copy that won't fit.

Newspaper reporters are used to writing very tightly because space is very limited. The fewer words they can use to say something the better. This is less true with newspaper feature writers or columnists whose stories are typically longer. Newspaper reporters definitely do not put fluff into their stories or their editors soon find replacements for them.

I have no idea why you and the ones in this thread above you are having problems with writers, but something really sounds off because it should not be like that.

As for the bigger relationship between design and content, I don't draw a sharp distinction between the two — they're peas in the same pod. Today, I'm the communication director at a company, and I supervise and coordinate the work of writers, designers, videographers, web developers, editors, public relations people., etc. Even though, I'm a graphic designer, I would never allow a situation where the design of something was finalized before the writing or thought to be more important than the writing. That's a guaranteed formula for a failure. Design and content must work in tandem with each other.

Most communication and technical writing should be brief, to the point and immediately engaging. Every word in every sentence should be analyzed and tailored to say exactly the right thing in the right way to elicit the desired effect from the target audience. In this sense, writing is very similar to graphic design. Graphic design and writing should complement each other in a way where each builds upon the other to achieve a shared objective.

In my group, writers and designers work together as a team where each values the expertise of the other. The final work is always better because of the tight synergy between the two. If it's not working like that where all of you work, the person in charge needs his or her butt kicked several times around the block.

[ker ning]

The writer would ignore my word counts half the time. It's like she thought that her writing is what mattered the most. She worked for a newspaper for like 15 years so you can imagine how much "fluff" there was in the writing. I don't think she understood that there's a difference between a newsletter and a newspaper.

Hmmmm, I too worked for a daily newspaper for 15 years — as an editorial designer and, eventually, the design director of the paper. Newspaper writers are used to writing in what's called an inverted pyramid style where they summarize the story in the first or second paragraph, then go into increasing levels of detail in subsequent paragraphs. The reason for this is (1) to allow readers to grasp the essentials of the story without reading the entire thing, and (2) to enable those laying out the paper to trim copy that won't fit.

Newspaper reporters are used to writing very tightly because space is very limited. The fewer words they can use to say something the better. This is less true with newspaper feature writers or columnists whose stories are typically longer. Newspaper reporters definitely do not put fluff into their stories or their editors soon find replacements for them.

Yes, I know all about the pyramid, but writing for a newsletter is different. The stories are much shorter. They don't go on for two pages and have jumps.