Why technical writers need graphic designers

We’ve all seen the sorry results when a non-artistic person tries to design a logo, website banner, or book cover. The results are often amateurish or ugly (or both).

For one product, I needed a mousepad as a marketing giveaway. Tapping into my deepest well of artistic creativity, I sketched an embarrassing orange circle with our company name, logo, and Technical Support phone number. Snore.

Then I sent the sketch to our talented, in-house graphic designer. She came up with an eye-catching mousepad design that not only impressed the customer but reinforced our brand and kept our Technical Support number handy. (By the way, that same graphic designer also created the banner for this website).

I have learned that it is prudent to stick to what I do best (research, organizing, writing, editing, layout, and navigation) and let the graphic designers do their thing.

Each person on a team is best suited to a particular role and no one person can do every task well. The synergy between a competent technical writer and a creative graphic designer is a beautiful thing.