Wk. 4: Draft
Put It Together
Published: 1/31/2023
Compiled by: Andrew Neyer
Combine Your Ingredients
The Content you write is the cooking process rather than the ingredients (Title, Subtitle, and Context). When cooking up an Article, make sure to use your time wisely. Make sure you don't overcook it, and never serve something undercooked that you haven't tasted first (AKA Grammarly).
Start Making Sense
Here are some helpful tips when drafting an Article:
Zoom out
Zoom in
Clarify your message
Write more about your taste or anti-taste (pluck out any gold you uncover)
Type first. Edit later
Look for threads between your writing
Duplicate & then edit a shorter alternate (less than 2,000 characters)
Try pitching your case study in public or via a phone call
Create visuals and illustrations to strengthen your text
Have Siri read your writing back to you
Use common language
When you hit a wall, stand up and do something else you love, or wash the dishes, fold laundry, or a different chore. Do not wait to get back in the zone. Distract yourself with something else productive so your brain can feel comfortable returning to a creative mindset.
What’s Love Got To Do With It?
In 1992, Gary Chapman wrote a book, The Five Love Languages, that went on to become a New York Times Best Seller. Chapman suggests that to discover another person's love language, one must observe the way they express love to others, and analyze what they complain about most often and what they request from their significant other most often.
According to Chapman, the five "love languages" are:
words of affirmation (compliments)
quality time
receiving gifts
acts of service
physical touch
This is obviously intended for relationships and better understanding ourselves, but I think this list is an excellent checklist for product design.
Is this design remarkable? (does it receive compliments?)
Is your time well spent using this product?
Did someone go above and beyond to make this product feel like a gift?
Is it easy to understand and productive to use?
Does it feel good to handle the product?
The tool that checks all these marks is applying love to your taste and skills.
We all know this at heart, but it's easy to forget. Love makes things better. It’s why your coffee tastes better when you spend more time making it or why you keep those silly handmade cards until you die. When we take the ordinary and pair it with our tastes and skills, we arrive at the extraordinary.
Love makes everything better.
Context
Here are links to the media we covered in class. Please call me if there is anything you cannot find ッ
“Don’t try to create and analyze at the same time. They’re different processes.”
– Sister Corita Kent
Find A Template
What type of writing do you enjoy reading? Dissect the structure and take notes on how the information is presented. These notes should reveal the essence of the writing you enjoy and can serve as a template to use for your Article.
Method
Copy
Master
Remix
Story Structure
What is the problem?
When we start with identifying the problem first, it allows the reader to make the story about them and how they relate to the issue you propose.
How does your case study product solve this problem?
This section should reference all the Context you have gathered as evidence for the solution. Again, be direct and to the point.
Why do we need this solution? What are the benefits? What are some negative consequences of the problem not being solved?
Now, you can overlay a more profound concept if you desire. Show how this applies to the chosen tastes you have uncovered.
Footnotes
You know what they say about big footnotes?
Make the Article brief and overwhelm the reader with your stylized presentation of Context and research. Remember, quotes carry the weight of the lives lived behind them. In the same way, your Article relies on your unique compilation of research filtered through your tastes.
Dig deep, weird tunnels, but make the journey safe and fun for others.
Stop Making Sense
Here is a template for how to perform a good concert:
Workshop No. 1
We will be having individual critiques and discussing your Case Studies. Use the time in class wisely to help clarify your writing through editing.
Assignment No. 4
Gather missing Context
Format your case study into an Article
1. Compile everything into a concise Article
2. Edit into an even shorter Article
3. Explore mediums to publish Article
Questions You Should Answer:
– What else in your life would benefit from a template?
– How can you improve your Article?
– Is this really design?
Next Week
In Class Workshop
We will be doing another round of individual critiques and discussing how to publish your Case Studies. Use the time in class wisely to explore mediums that improve the concept(s).
