a:visited

“The only way some people know you is through your writing.”

“Your reader does not have much time. If you want to hold the attention of busy people, your writing must cut through to the heart of the matter.”

“Good writing speeds things up.”

These 3 excerpts are from my 1981 copy of “Writing that Works” by Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson. I’ve just read it. It’s probably even more relevant now than in 1981.

Reading “How I Teach” by Jon Kolko was like going back to design school from another perspective. A great book for people into design education; but also those learning design, because it helps to understand the teaching practices’ intentions.

Designers must be good at writing. Interfaces are full of texts; User journeys work better as written narratives then “canvas-like personas”; Diagrams require clear and concise text; Design cases and reports are important artifacts for non-designers stakeholders; Handoffs work better with side notes; and I can keep filling this with arguments… I read “Writing for designers” by Scott Kubie some months ago and it’s a short book with practical advice on avoiding procrastination and starting writing better design artifacts.

Asking the right question makes all the difference. And designing successful bootstrapped products requires one to ask the right questions and avoid false-positive answers as soon as possible. I’ve recently read “The Mom Test” by Rob Fitzpatrick and that’s a book with useful and practical tips on talking to people about your ideas their real, and worth solving, problems.