Writing = Design

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

Writing is design if you know the how-to. Get to know your creative potential in dealing with words (that often seem to be a field of insecurity for visual designers). No need to be afraid! We’ll show you 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, your verbal personality, thus adding to your visual identity and making it even more convincing.

Elements of professional copywriting we will address: functions of a headline, how to develop a name, a claim, text hierarchy, guiding your reader, target groups, short vs. longer texts, different verbal styles, 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)

Day 4 / Thursday

Expression

• Reflect on your style: what suits me best? (verbal identity)
• Spend half a day practising, reworking your texts from the 3 exercises

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?

What participants of last year’s workshop said

“It was a super valuable and intense experience.”

“As I am not a native English speaker, I often feel anxious about my written language. However, from this course, I gained the confidence to be more fearless. (…) Not only did I improve my writing skills, but also speaking, presenting, discussing, and listening.”

“I especially appreciated the time, precision, and patience from Sonja and Christoph, with which they helped us analyzing and finalizing our writing.”

“Their attention to detail and passion for language, text, and design was of great value for our work during the course.”

“The workshop made me realize that writing is a serious craft, and I felt more encouraged to take my writings seriously.”

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

• Your CV and a short motivational statement
• Your expectations from the course (summary)

KNOWLEDGE REQUIREMENTS

Everybody is welcome.
Fluent English or German is required.

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 Director Text and established their corporate blog. Today, she supports companies and cultural institutions as a brand and communication strategist. Since 2016, Sonja is a lecturer at Berlin University of the Arts’ Institute of Transmedia Design in their Visual Communication program, plus a guest lecturer at other art and design schools and conferences. For TYPO International Design Talks she built up a 30-people editorial team and served as their moderator.

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.

christophrauscher.de