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I Haven’t Met a Writer I Don’t Like
Everyone thinks they’re a designer just like everyone thinks they’re a writer. But just like great design, great writing isn’t just about making something look or sound good—it’s about making people feel something.
If design is the body, copy is the soul. A beautifully designed campaign without the right words is like a movie with no dialogue, it can work but oh boy, does it make harder to stay focused. Don’t believe me? take the most iconic campaigns: Nike’s “Just Do It.” Apple’s “Think Different. None of these campaigns relied on flashy designs or long complicated explanations. They used just a handful of words, yet precise, and perfectly in sync with their brand identity. These weren’t just ads. They were moments.
The History: When Copy and Design Became Creative BFF
The marriage of words and visuals in advertising has been around for a long time, but one of the first major turning points was in the 1960s with the “Mad Men” era of advertising. Brands started realizing that clever, minimal copy, when paired with bold, intentional design, could change public perception, create trends, and even shift entire industries.
One of the most famous examples is Volkswagen’s “Think Small” campaign. In an era of big, flashy cars, Volkswagen dared to celebrate the beauty of small. The ad was simple: a tiny Beetle against a stark white background, with just two words “Think Small.” It wasn’t about explaining the features of the car. It was about changing how people felt about it. I mean, it was common for magazines to have entire pages of copy detailing a product or service, this was just revolutionary. It proved that less was more, that design and copy weren’t separate disciplines, but two parts of the same creative force.
“Think Small” by Volkswagen
Think Small is an advertising campaign for the Volkswagen Beetle, art-directed by Helmut Krone. The copy for Think Small was written by Julian Koenig
The Psychology: Why It Works
So why do the best copy driven designs stick in our minds? well is simple:It’s science. The human brain is wired for storytelling. Our brains are wired to seek patterns and fill in gaps. This is known as the Gestalt principle of closure. When presented with incomplete information, like a broken circle or a fragmented image, our minds instinctively complete the missing parts to form a whole. In the Gollin Figures Test , a psychological assessment, participants were shown incomplete line drawings of common objects. As the images become more complete, individuals can identify the object more quickly, demonstrating how our minds fill in gaps to recognize familiar shapes. This test highlights our natural tendency to perceive incomplete figures as whole, supporting the Gestalt principle of closure. This tendency allows us to perceive incomplete shapes as complete, engaging our imagination and making the experience more interactive. This principle is widely recognized in design and psychology. And it is not different for words.
So Apple’s “Think Different.” It doesn’t tell you how to think different. It just plants the seed. Your brain does the rest. It makes the phrase personal. It invites you to be part of the story. To fill in the gaps. This is why over-explaining kills great design because the most powerful ads, brands, and products leave space for the audience to step in and make it their own. Just like designers understand the power of white space.
Real-World Impact: When Words + Design Create Magic
This isn’t just theory, it has been proven over and over again. Some of the most successful marketing campaigns in history were driven by precisely crafted copy that worked hand-in-hand with design. A few examples of the many amazing campigns out there:
Nike’s campaign “Winning is not for everyone. I’m a bad person?” This simple visually rich commercial is provocative with a catchy headline, that hooks you in. Simple yet powerful.
Converse “The Louie Lopez Pro Mid”. This first POV ad is full of sound, visuals and a powerful script.
Cash App's “1 of 1: A film ft. Shaboozey” Campaign. This campaign uses humor and straightforward messaging to promote a new card.
PG Lang's “Aura” Campaign. This PG Lang's campaign features striking, minimalist visuals paired with dialogue, creating a powerful narrative that resonates with audiences.
Why Designers Should Think Like Writers
Having worked with many copywriters over the years in the creative industry, I’ve seen firsthand how deeply intelligent and observant they are. They absorb the world in a way most people don’t, distilling complex ideas into a handful of words that make you feel something. Copywriters are, in many ways, editors of reality—cutting through noise, finding the essence, and delivering it in a way that resonates.
That’s why I think designers should think like writers. It’s not just about making something visually compelling, it’s about making it memorable. A strong designer understands the rhythm of language, the weight of a single word, and the power of space. When you master that, your work doesn’t just look good, it moves people. This interplay activates different parts of our brain, visual processing for design and language processing for copy—creating a cohesive and powerful message.
Closing: The Future of Copy + Design
As we move into an AI-driven era, the balance between words and visuals is evolving. AI can generate both, but human intuition, humor, and emotional depth are what separate great creative work from generic content. Understanding how words shape perception is going to be even more important as brands fight to stand out in an oversaturated, digital first world. So, if you’re a designer, start thinking like a writer. And if you’re a writer, pair yourself a designer who understands your rhythm. No two designers are the same just like no two writers are. But for now I ran out of words.