I'm writing a book! This website is the project's home.
The book introduces a technique called drawing with words, which explores writing as a design tool and plastic medium in its own right.
The reader will learn how to write like a designer.
Recent Blog Posts
Updates on progress, musings, outtakes, excerpts and random thoughts about the book, its various topics and key ideas.
Further to this older post I have been thinking about the book again, and what it may offer to its readers. I had an interesting pathway into design, one that combined the formal and spatial composition typically associated with architectural design with the crafting of words, sentences and meaning in the service of the design effort. I think the book will offer students of architecture and design an alternative pathway to that typically pursued in the profession, transposing the desire for 'design' (the verb) into the world of 'writing' (also a verb). Not one or the other; not exclusively defining the overall effort in one medium or another - rather, a combinatory pathway into a career in design.
Will I manage to pull it off? I am uncertain. Nevertheless, here goes.
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Who is it for?
It is for students of architecture and design who want to write like a designer.
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Writing here in the third person: in this reflective piece, I emphasize the importance of pausing to consider the motivations and beneficiaries of my efforts. By taking a moment to intentionally reflect, I aim to ensure my actions are aligned with my goals and values. This underscores a commitment to thoughtful, step-by-step progress rather than rushing forward without purpose. Or something like that.
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In the summer of 1990, before starting architecture school, I watched the British documentary series "Architecture at the Crossroads," sparking a vocational and intense interest in this strange thing called architecture. This wasn't a burning emotional love, but rather an appreciation for a discipline I could bring into my world—a world of complex yet fascinating puzzles that influenced people's everyday lives.
The documentary portrayed architecture as a social endeavor, turning mundane built environments into compositions that spoke a physical language of form, repetition, pattern, materiality, and space. Particularly impactful was the episode on Japanese houses, with Hiroshi Hara's Awazu house standing out for its astonishingly literal and symmetrical design, vastly different from my suburban Australian upbringing, evoking a sense of open-ended possibility.
Stay tuned for more insights.
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In refining my Instagram marketing strategy, I had to define a clear target audience for the project. This focused effort ensures that the communication aligns with a clear strategy and effective segmenting. The project's aim is to create a non-fiction pamphlet that explores the relationship between writing and design, though the exact thesis is still evolving.
The book will touch on various interconnected ideas, as depicted in an initial diagram. Taking inspiration from Seth Godin's concept of 'genre' in his book *The Practice*, the work will fit within an established framework while responding to specific concerns. Recognizing that true originality is rare, our goal is to provide a clear and comprehensible context for our audience.
Architectural pamphlets, which are concise and centered on a single idea, serve as a model for this project. This format contrasts with comprehensive works, offering a brief yet impactful exploration of the topic at hand. More updates will follow as the project progresses.
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The blog post introduces a diagram outlining three domains of design, emphasizing the interconnectedness of these domains. It explains that the focus will be on writing as a subset of the overall design process, highlighting the importance of understanding how each part relates. The author expresses uncertainty about the diagram's finality but chooses to share it now for further contemplation.
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Author Profile
Marcus Baumgart is a writer who designs buildings. He has an Architecture Degree with Honours, a Bachelor of Applied Science in Environmental Design, a Certificate in Business Coaching, a Graduate Certificate in Digital Communication Strategy and a range of other minor vocational and technical qualifications.
Designing buildings is fun, but Marcus thinks of himself as a writer first and a designer a close second.
Marcus has been a freelance journalist for two decades, and has well over a hundred essays, profiles, reviews and articles in print. His interviewing and journalism have focused on design-led and creativity-first businesses. He has interviewed scores of entrepreneurs, CEOs, architects, designers of all kinds (from UX to graphic, industrial, urban, and interior), illustrators, landscape architects, visual merchandisers, artists, craftspeople and artisans of all kinds. Writing.design is the logical conclusion of two decades of interviewing, thinking, designing, and - of course - writing.
© 2024 Marcus Baumgart
