Copy vs design: Copy and visuals must complement each other.
Writing is designing with words. Designing is writing without them. – Robert Hoekman Jr.
Design and copywriting should be simultaneous processes.
In practice, most often you can witness two scenarios:
Designers are asked to design a “branded” template for an upcoming project and use Lorem Ipsum as placeholders for text
Designers are tasked to quickly illustrate the text after the copy has been written
In one of my previous posts, I briefly covered why I believe design based on generic messages or Lorem Ipsum is a wrong approach. However, there are organizational and other reasons why we see these scenarios in practice.
If the goal of the content creation process is to create meaningful content that converts, then close collaboration between writers and designers is mandatory. If there is an established trust between designers and writers, they can provide each other with valuable feedback during the process of content creation. While each may have knowledge gaps and blind spots as a result of their different educational backgrounds, by learning from each other they can significantly improve their own crafts. When the copy is clear, concise, and compelling - it is easily understandable and digestible. Well written copy lays a foundation for a designer to produce engaging visuals that are in symbiosis with the copy.
Great copywriters know that copy impacts design, as well as that good design complements and elevates copy, and vice versa. Conclusion is that the best results are achieved when writers and designers communicate and collaborate effectively throughout the entire process of content creation. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a copywriter and designer have to work in sync, page by page. It means that brainstorming, concept development, idea testing (writing and design drafts) and feedback will be overlapping. However, the final design must be based on the final version of the copy.
Is the message to your audience, textual, visual or both?
Should you choose copy, visuals or both to communicate a message to your audience depends on many factors. Whichever option you go with is probably backed up by logical reasoning and in accordance with your project objectives.
Creation of purposeful content starts with understanding of the target audience and their key motivators, and continues with crafting a tailored message and its delivery through selected communication channels. Copy and visuals must complement each other, as this is the only way to convey a cohesive and coherent message. In cases when emphasis is placed on just copy, the visuals end up serving as mere text decoration, and copy becomes an information overkill.
It all starts with defining the purpose of a project.
Let’s use a fictional example to illustrate what has been mentioned so far in this post.
A marketing team of an architectural firm needs to create portfolio sheets that will be included in an upcoming proposal.
A side note: In architecture, the purpose of photography is not only to showcase a building structure, size, its context, but also to evoke an emotional response by showing how people use the building and interact with and within in it. As you may know, good architectural design is a product of science and art, and great architectural photography requires much more than just “a good eye.”
A selection of the representative project images is the most challenging part and the most important task. In most cases, architects are the ones who make the final selection. When this is taken into consideration while brainstorming, the team (copywriter and designer) should agree that some 250 words is sufficient to explain the purpose of the project, its relevance and why it’s considered a success. In this particular case, the accent should be on the selection of the best image(s) that will be complemented with well written, informative and concise copy.
The opposite scenario would consist of placing more accent on copy and less on imagery and design. In Exhibit 2 below, you’ll notice that the copy exceeds 600 words, while the main project image is cropped to fit the text. You can see what happens when the purpose of a project hadn’t been defined, when the target audience was not taken into consideration, and when copy was treated as main content, while design was demoted to a decoration. Exhibit 2 clearly demonstrates how excessive copy can negatively impact the design and hinder the message delivery.
Exhibit 1: Copy consists of 250 words; There is a great balance between copy and imagery; All the relevant project information is listed on the portfolio sheet; Full size image was used. The copy and imagery send a cohesive, coherent, clear and concise message.
Exhibit 2: Copy consists of 600 words; Project related info is crammed between the image and text; The project image is cropped to fit the text; Additional info (project name & photo credits) is placed over the project image.
Food for thought
If your job is to skim through fifty proposals (each consisting of about 50 pages) and narrow down your selection to five firms, what would be your expectations in terms of information included in portfolio sheets?
Would you be motivated to read a 600 word copy in which a creative writer describes the building (“beautiful arches”, “gorgeous scenery”)?
In your opinion, what criteria committees use to narrow the selection among dozens of proposals?
