Writing as Design

While Graphic design concerns itself predominantly with visualization, at its heart lays a concept or idea that can(and should) be expressed with words.

As we can all appreciate, writing is a form of design because both methods of expression aim to communicate a message to the viewer. On one hand you can say that writing is design because of the way we edit and revise ourselves until we have expressed ourselves clearly. On the other hand, design is writing because both are visual representations of the thoughts of the designer.

I often find that my best designs come from concepts that I can express to myself in less than 50 words. Abbreviating my concepts in such a way keeps me in check so that my concepts will make sense to other people and not just myself. I keep a small journal in my pocket or knapsack at all times. When I travel by public transit, I find that I am too self-conscious to sit and draw, so my notebook is where I do the majority of my brainstorming.