Writing for Design Professionals

How well do you write? Written and oral communication play a vital role in advancing the careers of design professionals (and students), yet few design schools offer training, and few resources exist to help designers improve their writing skills.

Now in its second edition―updated and expanded to address such issues as email etiquette and Web-based marketing, communication, and job searches―the best-selling Writing for Design Professionals is the standard guide for mastering the complexities of effective writing in professional practice.

Stephen A. Kliment explains the principles of clear writing, from the formal “Dear Ms. Jones: I recently visited Polk Street Elementary School, and I agree the facility urgently needs to be modernized to make way for the progressive teaching techniques you have planned for your school district.... I believe that my firm, Izumi Associates, can make this happen” to the punchy remarks of the late William Caudill, “Say ‘frog,’ we’ll jump.” Dozens of sample letters, proposals, brochures, reports, book reviews, oral presentations, staff communications, and more―all drawn from the world of practice, and in both print and electronic formats―guide readers through the ins and outs of composing the end-products of writing. Writing for Design Professionals is organized for easy reference, and includes the following topics:• marketing: Web sites, correspondence, brochures and portfolios, proposals, newsletters, and other promotional tools• project writing• writing in school• job applications and Web-based job boards• writing in academe• writing for the media• writing as a career• public speaking plus: how to avoid jargon and gender-specific language, tailor your writing to your audience, enhance your writing with appropriate graphics, write to international clients, write as a product manufacturer, and measure the impact of what you write. Resources include lists of design media.Like a trustworthy desk-side consultant, Writing for Design Professionals, Second Edition, should be next to the computer of every architect, planner, interior designer, engineer, and student who wishes to present a polished, professional image through effective written communication. 27 color; 10 b&w

Stephen A. Kliment, FAIA, former editor in chief of Architectural Record, writes, lectures, teaches, and serves as a consultant on communications. He is a registered architect and a former member of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Caudill Rowlett Scott, where he directed the firm’s marketing communications. His articles have appeared in Architecture, Residential Architect, Architectural Digest, and the New York Times. He has taught communications at Washington University in St. Louis, at Harvard University, and at City College of the City University of New York, where he is an adjunct professor of architecture.