Good writing cannot be done by almost anyone

As a copywriter helping clients come to terms with the exciting idea that brand identity has both verbal and visual components (among others), I find myself parting company with my learned colleague Tony Gamble (Letters DW 17 October).

‘Design,’ he says, ‘is carried out by trained designers, whereas writing can be done by almost anyone.’

Do we detect the dread hand of editorial partisanship here? Or does Gamble simply have too much work on his books?

It is precisely because writing – good writing – cannot be done by just anyone that some of us were put on this planet to serve.

Writers, as a breed, are ideally placed to help organisations develop their brand strategies and articulate their key messages. In a literal sense, it’s what we do on a daily basis.

The sooner client and design communities get used to the idea that writing is much more than a short paragraph bolted on at the foot of the quote, the sooner I can take up full residence in the Principality of Monaco.

Barry Hunter

Writer

Aquarium Writers

London N1