How Designers Can Become Better Storytellers

Sarah Kathleen Peck speaks with Amanda Walter and Holly Berkley about their new book, "Social Media in Action," the challenges different design professions have in communicating their work, and the ways in which new technologies are making it easier.

2 minute read

June 8, 2012, 12:00 PM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


Walter and Berkley are bullish on the ways in which social media can support the design professions. According to the authors, "Today, telling and sharing stories couldn't be easier and digital
formats are great for visually rich topics like design. Social media
loves visual content. Videos are shared more frequently and posts
(whether on a blog, on Facebook or LinkedIn) with striking images
attract more readers. Once you start telling your stories in social
media, your readers will let you know (like, share, comment on, etc.)
the content they like the best – pay attention to what content engages
your audience and you'll hone your story telling skills."

Developed exclusively for architecture, engineering, planning and environmental consulting firms,"Social Media in Action" is intended to help firms explore why and how they can use social media to support their practice, and provides examples of real firms that are using technology to their advantage. 

"Social media can help advance public acceptance and even drive demand
for high-quality design in our cities – and even the smallest firm can
affect these shifts. PlaceMakers is a 7-person urban planning and design firm that uses its PlaceShakers blog and Facebook
page to embrace the myriad of public stakeholder types through a dialog
about great communities. Theirs is an excellent example of how firms
can create a real following of clients and influencers by talking about
what the topics that they can relate to. These tools effectively promote
the firm even though PlaceMakers doesn't use them to promote themselves
directly."

 

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