Should Designers Learn to be Marketers?

There was a time not too long ago when the big question on the minds of many designers:  “Do designers need to learn how to code?”

The answer to that question is pretty obvious by now.  If you’re a designer today, your projects are online in one form or another.  So getting by with only a knowledge of Photoshop or Illustrator won’t cut it.  You must have some level of understanding of HTML markup, CSS, and even a working knowledge of content management systems, like WordPress.

OK, we know that.

Today, in 2013, I think a new question has entered the picture:

Do designers need to learn marketing?

I believe that in the same way we saw the emergence of the designer/coder hybrid, we’re now seeing a new convergence of skills:  The designer/coder/marketer.  And those who most effectively use these skills interchangeably will be the ones who thrive and succeed in today’s web industry.

It isn’t enough to master the art of using negative space effectively, or researching the history of type, or understanding color theory.  Those, of course, are essential pieces (among many others) in the puzzle of becoming a well-rounded designer.  But if you really want to gain an edge today, you have to supplement your visual design skills with a healthy dose of marketing know-how.

You have to know why you do what you do.

A Few Inspiring Designer/Marketers

If you’re like me, then you get your inspiration by observing the work of others who have carved a path similar to the one you’re exploring. Here are just a few designer/marketers who have taken their career up a notch, thanks to their commitment to mastering both design and marketing.

### Nathan Barry

He started as a web designer, then learned how to build — and sell — iOS apps.  Then he wrote a few books, and successfully self-publish them by learning how to market through education.  Now he created a SaaS app, ConvertKit, and designed a beautiful marketing site (and strategy) to attract customers.

Check out my interview with Nathan Barry, all about how he marketed and self-published his books.

Sacha Greif

Sacha’s impressive portfolio of work shows us what’s truly possible when a designer expands their horizons beyond just design.  Scroll past his design work for awesome companies like HipMunk and Intercom, and you’ll find his personal collection of ventures including his startup, Folyo, a couple of eBooks (one is about JavaScript… Talk about wearing lots of hats!), among others (too many others to list!).

Elliot Jay Stocks

Certainly a rockstar in our design world, Elliot Jay Stocks is currently the creative director of Adobe Typekit, but he is also the co-creator of two print publications, a conference series, and a book (I think I’m noticing a trend here…).  By building his personal brand and continuously exploring new areas, he has gone from working with clients like Microsoft to creating and selling products to building communities.

Oh and you definitely need to check out Elliot’s music compositions. They’re among my favorite soundtracks to work to.

Allan Branch

He’s the co-founder of LessEverything, makers of the popular accounting software, LessAccounting, among other cool stuff like a conference and a film production company.  What impresses me about Allan and company is how their personality shines through everything they put out — whether it’s a user-interface, some marketing copy, a video, a sponsorship poster, or anything else.

Jason Fried

We all know him as the leader of one of the most popular SaaS companies on the planet, 37 Signals. He approaches product design the same way he approaches marketing and business:  By keeping it simple and getting a message across with clarity.

Design is Copywriting

I’m a firm believer that a great landing page is achieved when both the design and the copy are on point, working together hand-in-hand.  The best way to achieve this is to actually design the page and write the copy at the same time.

I usually start out by creating wireframes in Balsamiq.  Even from this early stage of a design, I begin the copywriting process.  I draft all of the headlines, sub-headlines, paragraphs, button labels, all right here within the wireframe.  I don’t use Lipsum placeholder text.

What this approach allows me to do is think critically about the message I’m putting across.  As I build out the page, the message and how I’m delivering it is constantly at the top of my mind, dictating every design decision I make.

I use visual design techniques like crafting a clear visual hierarchy.  These serve to support and enhance the message.

Take a look at one of the earliest wireframes I made for the first version of RestaurantEngine.com (it has since been redesigned).  Notice how every element has real copy, not placeholder text.

Copywriting is such an integral part of online marketing.  And I believe copywriting is just as critical to the way a web page design takes form. That’s why it is essential that designers learn and practice the art of the copywriting and weave it into their approach to designing a web page.

Here are a few of my favorite resources for learning about copywriting:

• CopyHackers.com – Blog and eBooks by Joana Wiebe
• The Adweek Copywriting Handbook – Book by Joseph Sugarman
• Neville Medhora – Blog and course
• Reading every word of a startup’s marketing website, just to see their approach to communicating benefits.  Start with the product sites from 37 Signals.
• Tuning into TV commercials, and really listening.  Some of those scripts are pure gold.  Like this one.

New Problems to Solve

Design is about solving problems.  Guide a user from point A to point B; Reduce friction in the way this feature operates;  Make a page easier to read;  Help users be more productive by getting out of their way.

Marketing gives designers a whole new set of problems to solve.  As designers, we love the process of thinking through all of the ins and outs of a problem, crafting possible solutions, and considering all of the implications.

This is why so many designers eventually grow to become great marketers and product people.

For example, I love to think about pricing models.  How do we match the right price point with the value this product delivers?  How do we communicate that value to prospective customers?

When Apple debuted the iPod in 2001, it wasn’t the first portable MP3 player on the market.  But it was a massive hit because it was differentiated from it’s competitors.  One of the ways Apple set the iPod apart was in the way they communicated it’s value:

“1000 Songs in your pocket.”

While everyone else promoted X number of bytes of storage, Apple figured out a better way to connect the dots for consumers, who at the time largely weren’t in-tune with how tech specs stack up (not in the way today’s consumers are).  They cared about taking their music on-the-go.  Apple solved that problem and communicated that value proposition beautifully.

Marketing is Freedom

If you’re a designer working at a job, or freelancing for clients, and you’re aiming to transition to building a products business, here’s some advice:

Don’t focus so much on coming with a “brilliant idea”.  Invest more time and energy learning everything you can about marketing, and apply your problem-solving skills as a designer to enhance that skillset.

When you learn about value proposition, customer development, and about what motivates people to take a desired action, you begin to think about things in an all new context.  You think differently about the types of products you want to build.  But more importantly, you’ll think differently about your path as a designer.

It was my obsession with learning about marketing over the past 2 years (and many more years to come) that really shook things up for me.  It changed my design process, and it changed how I thought about user experience.  It changed my career path and the decisions I’ve made in regards to my business.

The bottom line:  Becoming multi-disciplinary in both design and code is a given.  Take it one step further and learn about marketing.  You won’t regret it.