Giovanna

As someone writing across multiple publications, what makes a design story stand out to you?

A thoughtfully crafted email from a PR person who understands the importance of a good hook, a timely angle or the wider story behind a project is ultimately still the best way to make something stand out. It's old school, but it works. Otherwise, a designer or PR person posting snippets of a project on Instagram, with some bullet points about why the project is relevant or timely, will also catch my eye. Good images, preferably within the body of an email or in an easy to access folder, are key too when sending emails to writers.

I am a fan of stories with a strong social or even political component or intention. Projects by underrepresented communities, or for underrepresented communities, are always of interest to me too. Things that are slightly off people's radar. I rarely find luxury design projects interesting, so if someone understands what I am into and reaches out to me with a story that fits, I am going to pay attention.

Olivia

What changes for a design studio over time when they work with a publicist?

What changes is the direction the conversation runs in. At first, we're pitching editors and making the case for why your POV and projects matter. Then, once the media become more familiar with your work, and in some cases develop a personal relationship with you, the direction typically flips and editors start coming to us because the work or conversation has sparked an idea for them. The goal is to go from a mention in a story to the example that other stories point to.

There's also an internal and more practical shift. Studios get more organized in how they document and communicate their own work, keeping proper records of a project as it develops, having language and credit information ready to describe the thinking behind decisions rather than scrambling to pull materials when a story shapes up. Over time, design studios typically start to see inbound business as well.

Giovanna

When you are writing about a project, what helps you understand the thinking, context and narrative behind it, rather than simply seeing a set of images?

The opportunity to visit the space and walk around it, or spend some time there, is always going to make for a more detailed, alive and interesting text, though visiting isn't always possible given time constraints and low editorial fees.

Speaking with the creatives or designers behind a project and the people who use the space is the second best thing. Reading about it in other outlets or via existing published materials also helps. Sadly, what's on the internet about any given project is, for the most part, endless regurgitations and AI written versions of the press release, so it's often not much help at all! Speaking to people is what it always comes back to.

Olivia

What needs to be in place before the relationship starts, and what do you say to studios who reach out a bit too early?

I typically recommend that studios ensure they have at least one project photographed, one or two projects ready to be photographed, and a strong pipeline of work to be completed within the next year. It's also not worth it for you to pay to retain a publicist and then have no work to show.

Set aside a healthy budget for a strong photographer. I can't stress this enough: it's so important. If you can't afford the photographer of your choice, reach out anyway and ask if they have any colleagues they'd recommend. They might have ex-assistants who are coming up on their own. I recommend finding a solid photographer and growing with them. Creatives, in my experience, root for each other more than people think. In a perfect world, the projects would be photographed by the same photographer (this is not a deal-breaker, though), but it typically helps create a cohesive thread across the projects and sets the tone for how your studio is perceived.

When a studio reaches out before any of this exists, I just tell them what is missing and tell them to keep in touch and reach back out once they're in better shape!

Giovanna

From your experience writing about design projects, where do you think designers most often miss the opportunity to communicate the story behind their work?

Sometimes it's just something really practical that hasn't been considered, like not telling writers about a project several weeks, if not months, in advance. It's genuinely never too early to start telling people about projects, because someone might want to run an exclusive in print, and editors still like to get there first and often won't publish stories on projects that launched or completed a while ago. I call this 'the tyranny of the new', but it's just the way things are, so telling someone about a project before it's completed is vital.

Another area where designers or studios fall down, in my opinion, is not having a decent press release or project description, also well in advance. A well written text, covering most aspects of the design and the key ideas or narratives behind it as well as essential stats, makes all the difference if you want what is written about the project to go into more detail, be fuller and more colourful and, above all, be accurate.

It's a good idea for both designers and PR people to keep those key ideas and narratives in mind and start posting about them on social media in advance, so that any imagery is accompanied by some ideas and text too. Often, I see beautiful videos and images posted online by designers with almost no text, credits or information on what I am looking at in the caption. I am still a more text based than an image-based person, so a couple of paragraphs on the context, brief, completion date or materials of the project, or just some of the above, in an Instagram caption is SO helpful. And I do often read it!

Olivia

What do designers usually underestimate about working with a publicist, and what actually makes the difference between a good and a great outcome?

One of the most underrated benefits is that it's one of the most helpful ways to scale a studio. Once the industry is familiar with your work, the right talent starts to notice, and you're able to attract excellent talent.

Designers also underestimate how long press coverage can take, and how much of it is a slow build rather than a quick win. It can take months of relationship building with an editor before a story even runs, so results tend to compound over a year, not weeks.

A good outcome is one story, in one publication, about one project. A great outcome is the same project picked up by multiple publications, extending into international outlets, and coverage that turns into something lasting: new business inquiries, room to raise your rates, and hiring.

Headshot credits:
Giovanna - Randi Sokoloff