Your relationship with your design partner is crucial. But like any other relationship, it can suffer from poor communication. Here we shed a little light on five crucial things your design partner wishes you knew.
As with any other working relationship, it will take time to get to know your design partners and make sure the two of your work styles gel. But there are still a few things you can keep in mind that will make the “gelling” process go faster.
So, without further ado, here are five things your designer wish you knew.
1. They want your feedback.
Many newer copywriters are hesitant to comment on the design of a project because they don’t feel like they know enough about design. And, yes, they probably don’t.
But that doesn’t mean that they don’t have thoughts and ideas. As long as feedback is given respectfully and humbly, your designer wants to hear it. They need you to bounce ideas off of, so give them that chance.
2. They don’t want you to tell them how to design.
Pursuant to that last tip, your designer wants feedback—but they don’t need you to tell them how to design. When you send through your copy doc, don’t include design direction. If you have ideas, great! Talk about them. But don’t think that your design ideas are necessarily the best ones.
Just as you wouldn’t want your designer to tell you what copy to write, you shouldn’t try to tell your design partner how to design.
3. They understand copy, too.
Just because your design partner is primarily versed in design, it doesn’t mean that he or she can’t offer valuable feedback on your copy. Especially if he or she has a decent amount of experience, they’ve picked up a few things about copy and can offer some suggestions.
Let your design partner be someone you bounce copy ideas off of, and listen to their ideas and feedback. It’s likely that these conversations will help you to write even better versions of your copy.
4. Sometimes your copy just will not fit.
I know: You worked hard to make your copy perfect before you even sent it to your design partner. And design can be flexible. But remember that copy needs to be flexible, too. Sometimes the copy you’ve written just won’t fit within a design no matter how hard the designer tries, and you need to be willing to change it.
Now, there should be some give and take, too, of course; it can’t just be you making all the changes. But you’ll find that there are some scenarios when you have to adjust your copy. It’s not a matter of your designer not working with you—it’s just a matter of your copy not fitting in the design.
5. They want to work with you, not just get your copy doc.
The best work comes from a solid collaboration between copywriters and designers—and, chances are, your designer knows that.
There are some copywriters who prefer just to write a copy doc, send it to the designer, and never talk about it again. But that leads to shoddy work and a disjointed piece of creative. It’s also a pain for the designer. How are they supposed to incorporate your copy if they can’t talk with you about it? You designer wants to collaborate with you. Don’t make them beg.
Read More
To learn more about the collaboration between designers and writers, check out these posts.
“How Copywriters Work With Designers” >>
“Problems Between Copywriters and Design Partners” >>
Listen for More
Nicki and Kate talk with their long-time friend and designer colleague Yoav Broum about all things design. He gives insight on what it’s like to collaborate with copywriters, likes and dislikes about the process, and how being virtual has changed the way he works.
As we said, if you want to produce stellar products for your clients, healthy collaboration with a designer is critical. Listen to this episode for an inside scoop on the world of copy-design teamwork!
Your Turn!
Have you had a great relationship with a design partner? What’s been part of the magic? Let us know in the comments below!
Last Updated on September 12, 2023
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