Among Peers and Clients: Professional Communication

Writing formal and informal emails in the context of one’s work as a future design professional is an opportunity to bring the context of communication in focus. It is as much about deciding what needs to be said regarding the work that one shared with a professional acquaintance, peer or client, as much as it is about being considerate of the reader, and making sure they understand. For emails, this entails an ability to make use of conventions of the genre, but also being able to write briefly and clearly; being able to help the interlocutor engage with the work provided as attachment; and ensuring that they are clear on what is expected of them. Such emails need to be crafted with care to the register and tone one adopts, and need to be seen also as an act of presenting a certain image of oneself in the professional world.  

Similarly, putting together a portfolio of one's work requires the double focus of articulating the shifts in one's own understanding of oneself and one's skills, and deciding which of these need to be communicated to others -- along with the presentation details that these decisions entail.