Writing=Design

We bridge the borders between creative and applied writing -- and combine them.
We share methods, tools and techniques. We practice freewriting and professional writing. Participants learn how to condense and transmit their thoughts via words.

Learn about writing as a tool. Make words work for you! Creative use of language provides you with manifold possibilities in your private and professional communication.

Writing is design if you know the how-to. Get to know your potential in dealing with words (this seems to be a field of insecurity for many visual designers). We’ll share techniques that will make it easy for you to get started. Fun little exercises, both orally and in writing, are our preferred method. Learn how to condense your thoughts via words. Learn to grasp your ideas and observations by describing them to an audience. Learn how to speak about yourself and the offer you make for professional markets.

The best thing: get instant feedback from the group, plus professional assessment. We will support you in finding your way with words. Let’s discover your verbal personality, try and bring it to full effect — thus adding to your visual identity, and making it even more convincing.

Elements of professional writing we will address: the functions of a headline, how to develop a title or name; text hierarchy, guiding your reader; the right tone for your target groups; the effect of short vs. longer texts; different formats, media, and verbal style, the tonality. Please feel free to bring your topics – we will try to include them in our schedule.

Schedule

Day 1 / Monday
Exploration

• Get to know each other: background, expectations, topics
• Get started: exercise 1 (description, self-presentation)

Day 2 / Tuesday
Essence

• Lecture by Sonja: what is text, why is it needed/useful
• Learn: exercise 2 (headline, text hierarchy, structure)

Day 3 / Wednesday
Experience

• Lecture by Christoph: why and how do I write as a designer
• Learn: exercise 3 (style/tonality, short vs. longer texts)
• Impulse: sketch-writing with guest lecturer Svetla

Day 4 / Thursday
Expression

• Reflect on your style: what suits me best? (verbal identity)
• Send half a day practising, reworking your texts from the 3 exercises
• Practice: sketch-writing with guest lecturer Svetla

Day 5 / Friday
Effects

• Present your work: who I am / what I want to say (authorship)
• Get group response and discuss: do I reach my target audience

Equipment requirements

paper, pen, notebook/sketchbook – NO LAPTOPS

Sonja Knecht was born in Indonesia, grew up in Venezuela, and is deep-rooted in Deutsch. She studied languages and humanities; explorations as a graphic artist led her to what she loves most: typography and text – text as language, designed. She was Edenspiekermann’s text director and established their blog; for TYPO International Design Talks she built up a 30-strong editorial team and served as their moderator; she supports corporate/cultural institutions in their language, branding and storytelling. Since 2016, Sonja is an associated lecturer to Berlin University of the Arts’ Institute of Transmedia Design in their Visual Communication program, plus a guest lecturer to design schools abroad. In 2021, Sonja started to share her word art in exhibitions and poetry performances.

txet.de

Christoph Rauscher is a designer who writes. After studying Interface Design (B.A.) and Design and Media Theory (M.A.) in Berlin and Potsdam, he worked as a designer and design director at Edenspiekermann. There, he developed new ideas for digital journalism with publishing houses from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Until 2020, Christoph served as the art director of ZEIT ONLINE, one of Germany’s most prestigious news sites. He collaborates with companies, agencies, and publishing houses, using design and text as tools to make ideas more tangible. Also, he writes a monthly newsletter on personal observations and a quarterly column on technology in Germany’s renowned Form design magazine. In 2022, Christoph co-founded the design and tech cooperative Village One. 

christophrauscher.de

Svetla Todorova was born in Bulgaria and studied Germanistik at Sofia University. After working for several years as an interpreter during workshops in the field of psychology and social work, led by German and Austrian professionals, she became a training professional herself. Nowadays, Svetla Todorova is a dedicated facilitator with 15 years of experience in visual communication training for companies, educational institutions and NGOs in Bulgaria and across Europe. Her work empowers people of various professional backgrounds to use simple hand-drawn images as a thinking, learning and communication tool.

Svetla Todorova auf Linked In