Why don't branding agencies hire writers?
In branding, words matter. They’re memorable, they build connections, they make sense of complexity and they inspire action.
But somehow, our industry still doesn’t place a high enough value on good copy. While most branding agencies invest in their designers, very few have a solid in-house team of copywriters.
Most brand writers are freelancers, brought in if and when the project is deemed to require ‘specialist’ writing. Even the biggest branding agencies outsource their writing – often to completely separate agencies. They treat it as an afterthought. A way to replace the ‘lorem ipsum’ in their designers’ layouts.
And yet helping brands find their voice has never been so important. If your brand is seeking to make a difference in the world and initiate change on any scale, words and design need to work together to tell this story.
THAT MEANS DESIGNERS AND WRITERS WORKING TOGETHER
The partnership between writers and designers is perhaps best described as a game of doubles tennis. Both play for the same team, supporting one another, but as one moves forward to take action so the other takes a step back. The two are rooted together in one act of communication.
It’s never one side versus the other or a competition between the two. It’s a mutual partnership and one that should be encouraged from the top-down. This collaboration pushes designers to explain their ideas in greater detail and encourages writers to consider their words from a visual perspective. In essence, it makes us all better creatively and this can only lead to more powerful brand identities.
And it doesn’t matter where a writer jumps into the creative process because words are useful across the board. From writing a great proposal, articulating strategic ideas, developing a brand’s visual and verbal identity, presenting it to a client, and bringing a brand to life in the real world. It all needs good words.
NONE OF THIS IS POSSIBLE IF YOUR WRITERS AREN'T PART OF YOUR TEAM
Writers are an integral part of everything we do at Ragged Edge. There’s a writer – David (pictured below showing what Nike might be without writers) – on our leadership team, and we have at least one writer working on every single project we take on.
They’re the reason our naming and verbal identity work is just as important as the visual stuff. Along with our strategists, designers and client managers, they help us build brands that are ideas, not logos.
Are you a writer? Join us.
