Course Details

From the growing stacks of shelter mags to the extensive coverage of innovation's effect on business, design writing has become one of the publishing industry's most sought-after skills. Once relegated to trade publications, design has infiltrated mainstream media at a dizzying pace, and as this niche grows, editors will be relying on pitches from writers who understand the industry and can offer fresh perspectives on stories.

If you're not already, getting comfortable with design genres and terminology will make you a more informed researcher and interviewer. And by recognizing the major players and how to find out what they're up to, you'll be able to uncover design stories that editors are clamoring for—and how to deliver the goods.

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

• The different types of design and why some are more sellable than others
• The stories design editors want
• An overview of publications, both design and mainstream, that are looking for design pitches
• Where to find leads and sources
• How to sound like you know what you're talking about (even if you're not absolutely sure)
• And you'll walk away with one great story idea and where to 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.