I believed — and still believe — that the best final presentation of information for the benefit and pleasure of the reader requires that the three not be conceptualized as separate tasks. All three must be worked on simultaneously or almost so.

For instance, if the writer is better informed about what the final presentation will look like, he or she will be able to gather the necessary facts. The editor needs to be part of the loop so that all the elements are pulled together consistently.  Then the designer, of course, completes the presentation with visual flair.

If each part is worked on in isolation of the others, the output will be less effective.

Awhile later, someone came up with a similar idea for newspapers called the “maestro” concept, and then more recently, we got W-E-D (thus, the title of this blog). Regardless of what it is called, the important thing is the concept.

Integrate the writing, editing and design into one process. That’s how you end up with the most effective design for your content.

Related posts:

1. Gimme rewrite! Rewriting vs. editing
2. Ask Dr. Design
3. Other old videos…