#Why Writing and Editing Are Essential to Graphic Design

Table of Contents

Why Writing and Editing Are Essential to Graphic Design

Contrary to popular belief, becoming a successful graphic designer is not just about being good at graphic design. While it’s true that the skills directly pertaining to your job are essential, there are some additional things you should learn how to do.

For instance, writing and editing. It’s true that these two are mostly used by writers, marketers, advertisers, and content creators, you can benefit a lot as a graphic designer from being good at writing and editing. Hence, here are eight reasons why you need to develop these skills for your job in graphic design.

#1 Better Communication

By far the most important reason why you would want to start developing your quality writing and editing skills is that they will help you become better at communication. Many graphic designers work as freelancers which means you are constantly forced to communicate with all kinds of clients. But even if you work for a single company in-house, you still need to be good at communication to be able to succeed in a team, avoid misunderstandings, and explain your ideas to your clients and colleagues.

As a graphic designer, you will be working with a number of other professionals. That’s exactly why you need to be able to explain your thoughts and ideas clearly to all of these people. For example, when you are working on a specific design, you will need to describe it in detail before it’s actually ready. If you describe it in a way that is confusing, this miscommunication could get you into a challenging situation. You might end up spending a lot of time working on something that your clients won’t like.

#2 Improved SEO

Another reason why you would want to improve your writing and editing skills is that they will allow you to improve the SEO aspect of your designs. As a graphic designer, you might be asked to also work on the metadata for your designs such as meta tags, meta titles, and meta descriptions. Obviously, you will need to know what you are doing if you attempt to write any of these. The textual elements in your designs should also be optimized for search engines by you before you get the final product to your client.

That being said, it’s not just the textual elements that need to take into account SEO. For example, website navigation can make a huge difference. Consequently, you need to understand how to make your website easy to browse while also making this navigation work in favor of search engine optimization. Remember that it’s often the small details that count, so don’t be afraid to tweak things here and there to get slightly better results. These small changes add up and will ultimately make your final product better.

#3 Alternative Creative Outlet

While writing likely won’t be your main focus, it’s still a way for you to have an alternative creative outlet if you ever get tired of graphic design for some reason. Besides, you can still have this outlet while being a graphic designer. If you have a blog about graphic design or you want to write a book on this topic, you will definitely need to know how to write well and then how to edit your own writing. It can be a way for you to explore your niche and maybe even find out about new things along the way.

Sienna Blake, an expert from the writing services reviews site Best Writers Online, says, “Writing while being a graphic designer is not just ‘a waste of time’ as some graphic designers might consider it to be. On the contrary, writing can help you get inspiration from unexpected sources. Because when you write, you let your ideas run wild and your imagination starts working more intensely. That’s when you can get new graphic design ideas that you never thought of before.”

#4 Provide Additional Services

Speaking of doing writing and editing as a side gig, you could actually start providing additional services in tandem with your graphic design options. This is particularly great for freelance graphic designers who want to diversify the range of services they offer. Likewise, it’s also a valid reason for those graphic designers who consider writing and editing a waste of time. Because in this case, you can actually start making a profit directly from your writing and editing skills.

For example, if you already have a website where you offer graphic design services, you can update it with information on your writing, editing, and proofreading services among others. You can also ask your current and past clients whether they are looking for someone to write content for them. On the other hand, you might want to delve deeper into other forms of writing and unexpectedly realize that you are actually into fiction writing and would like to develop your own fantasy or sci-fi book series.

#5 Grow Professionally

As mentioned earlier, becoming a successful graphic designer is not just about being good at graphic design. By developing additional skills, you can learn new things and expand your knowledge base and experience. Writing is already a great alternative source of inspiration and a creative outlet, but it can also help you grow professionally in many different ways. Graphic design is already a very creative activity, but it heavily relies on its technical aspects. Writing, on the other hand, can be purely creative.

Jonathan Pearce, an expert from the custom writing reviews site Writing Judge, explains, “Growing professionally or advancing your career doesn’t always mean that you are developing skills only in your particular niche. On the contrary, it could mean that you are learning new things from other industries and branching out into other spheres. Many professionals think that they will become the best at their jobs once they learn everything there is to learn in their niche, but the truth is that the best professionals are the ones who look beyond the limits and conventions of their industry.”

#6 More Exposure

Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, writing can actually help you get more exposure. If you are a freelance graphic designer, this will probably mean the world to you. Because the more exposure you get, the more potential customers you can reach, and the more clients you will ultimately have. Through the content you write and publish online, you will be able to find all kinds of clients on social media and beyond it.

You need to realize that pretty much every channel of communication will be important for you to grow your customer base. That is why you need to fill your website with great content, then set up social media profiles and post there consistently, and also grow your mailing list and send out emails to your subscribers regularly. These three are just some channels you could be using, but you can also expand into video marketing, webinars, and so much more. But to do so, you will need to be a good writer.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, there are many ways for you to become a successful graphic designer, but one of the most important things to keep in mind is that you should keep on growing as a professional. That’s why it’s a good idea to start developing your writing and editing skills to become a better graphic designer and to market your services more effectively.

by Frank Hamilton

If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on Google News too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.