How to start using Medium at your Design Agency?

At our small design agency, we decided to start publishing on Medium regularly. We are all daily readers of inspiring stories but none of us found time in the past to begin writing. So we decided to create a framework to manage our publications. First of all we wanted to make it clear for ourselves that why do we want to write.

Share our learnings. As a design agency we are working on many different things with many interesting people. We designed housing for an industrial appliance which can measure power consumption patterns and casing for a sensor which can measure and analyse different attributes of a cow’s rumen. In our portfolio you can also find a modular electric bus which is made of cutting edge composite technology or our very own furniture project, the transformable paq chair. Many exciting projects, many exciting design stories behind all of them.

Showcase how we work. As the technology evolving and product design and manufacturing getting faster and better every day, we need to keep up with our design tools and processes. We are constantly experimenting and developing our own design methods and processes. By sharing our insights we can help and inspire others who are facing similar challenges. Next to that it is an opportunity to receive feedback and learn from others.

Reflect on current trends. Just like many other designers we have our own opinion of trending topics and we are often getting excited about the possibilities what the future holds. Our visions are worth to share.

How did we begin?

In order to generate publishable content regularly we had to create a framework. This is something familiar for us, designers, because we are dealing with creative content daily.

Regular Medium Meetings. We hold a Monthly Monday Medium Meeting (every meeting sounds better when it alliterates). Here we collect ideas of potential writings and we set up a timeline with the ideal publication dates. This meeting shouldn’t take longer than 30 minutes and it can be combined with lunch. The ideal outcome is a list of topics and a publication schedule.

Upcycle materials. There are available content which takes minimal effort to turn it into an article. These can be project reflections, speeches from conferences, presentations from workshops. In order to turn it into a ‘Medium article’ we still need to upcycle them, rearranging their content, optimise or generate fitting photographs, graphics or animations.

Collaborate. Writing — just like sketching or CAD modelling — takes practice. Everyone has a unique method of writing but sometimes it helps to get feedback from an outside perspective, just like we would do when we design products. Medium is an exceptionally well designed platform to collaborate. It is super easy to share your draft with a single link, and people can comment either on a word, sentence or on a paragraph without instantly massing up your writing.

Write for enjoyment not for obligation. When something was written with joy and enthusiasm it is readable.

In the upcoming months we will share our experiences not only on design but on writing as well.