Course Details

You've read it for yourself: From blogs to magazines to book projects, the voices of designers are in demand. As design continues to infiltrate the mainstream media, editors will be relying more on writers who can understand and explain the industry—and contribute valuable and informed design criticism.

While it's no secret that designers make exceptionally good design writers, many designers don't know how easy it can be to make the transition to a successful writing career. Adding writing to your roster of skills not only promotes your own practice, but positions you as an expert in your field—which can offer both a world of opportunities and a hefty chunk of cash. There's no better design writer than someone who's out there designing, too.

In this three-hour seminar, you can expect to learn:

• What makes a good design story
• How to put together a basic pitch letter and make it look like you have clips (even if you don't)
• An overview of publications, both design and mainstream, that are looking for pitches
• How to position yourself as an expert
• Alternate markets for your writing

You'll also end the seminar with one great story idea and where you can pitch it.

Instructor Bio

Alissa Walker's Courses

Alissa Walker has written about either design or Star Wars for Wired, Dwell, Metropolis, I.D. ReadyMade, Design Observer, the Los Angeles Times, HOW, Dynamic Graphics and STEP Inside Design. She is also an editor of the mediabistro.com design blog UnBeige (www.unbeige.com) where she writes three or more posts a day. She can be found on your iPod as a production assistant for the public radio show DnA: Design and Architecture, and on your TiVo as a design expert on the HGTV show Small Space, Big Style. Alissa lives and works in Hollywood, where she tends to a garden, feeds her personal website (Gelatobaby), and does not have a car. Seriously.