(An article I wrote to help students write copy for their poster project.)
Okay, so you’re designers. Some of you write well, and some of you don’t. If you’re lucky - once you get into the real world, you might have good copy writer to work with — but that depends on what kind of place you go to work. If you go to work at an ad agency — you’ll get a copy writing partner eventually (once you get past the junior stage, most times). But if you go to a small shop or mid-size design firm - you’ll be writing your own copy or depending on the account manager (eek!).
So here’s a quick how-to for writing the body copy.
Firstly — for the poster — your body copy should be about 3-5 sentences. As engaging as your piece may be - you have to consider the audience. Assume the imagery/look of the poster and the headline captured the viewer’s attention - so much that they got closer and want to read more. Now you have to sell them to your cause, and for the average audience, you have about 10 seconds before they become distracted/stop reading. So your copy needs to be strong and succinct - as well as compelling.
Okay - so let’s say the poster I’ve designed is against Diamond Mining in Congo because of its contribution to death and civil war. My headline says, “Is a 2-Carat Diamond Worth 2 Million Deaths?”
The Lead-in
The first sentence should tie into the headline — this is called a lead-in sentence. So let’s say my audience is intrigued. They’re concerned that people are dying because of diamonds and want to read more. My lead-in could be - “No jewel is worth a human life.” It is effective to reference the headline or use a word contained in the headline. In the case of my example - I use the word “jewel” (equivalent to the reference to the diamond), reused the word “worth” and used “human life” to counter “deaths” in the headline. This connects the headline to the copy and helps pull the reader in to read more.
Supporting Sentences
The sentences following your lead-in (between 1-3 sentences is a good amount… but it takes a really good writer to be able to do it in one succinct sentence) would explicate on your position, discuss the situation you’re protesting and explain your key points. Take the most important - the most effectual facts/statistics - and compose the copy from there.
Closing Sentence/Call-to-Action
The last sentence is the closing sentence. this one should refer to the headline/lead-in as to tie the whole piece together, as well as bring in the call-to-action. How do you want to leave the audience? You want them to think - to research - to be motivated so much as to want to act. In this case, for example, my supporting sentences have explained the death and civil war in Congo, and the illegitmate means of trading that cause those autrocities. And the last sentence of my supporting group talks about the alternatives to diamonds. My final sentence could be, “Choose a diamond alternative, and help save something of more value – the lives of the people of Congo.”
This is the basic structure of the body copy for any kind of design - whether it’s an anti-war poster or an ad for diapers. It’s why having a really good creative brief is important - because that should be the only reference you need.
Another tip is to write the body copy in a separate file. So you’re not trying to think and design at the same time. You can manipulate the rag and rivers later. This is a separate type of creativity.
Writing your own copy is a good thing to practice - even if you hate it or think you’re not good at it. It builds up your creative muscle and helps you because you can think more wholistically about the concept and make your piece much richer in value. That’ll make your talents/skills more valuable as well.