High on
Design - The
Wix Studio blog

ABOUT THE PROJECT

High on Design is the Wix studio blog, and by far the project I’m most proud of. Blogs are an old passion of mine, and I’ve always appreciated them as an important tool for anyone: be it a private person, a small growing business or a large company.

That’s the thought I had in mind when I pitched the idea to create a blog for the studio. We were desperately missing a place online to call our own - where we would be able to publish our projects, share our thoughts, and expand our online (and offline) community we were rapidly growing.

The idea was simple - High on Design will act as the studio's official website, provide resources to the local and international design community, serve as a creative outlet for all the beautiful things we create, and above all - challenge our designers to be not only designers but maybe writers as well, presenting them an opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas about the world of design.

THE WEBSITE

The project began as an internal team mission. I was assigned with two super talented designers - Ella & Dafi. Together we created wireframes, mockups and various sketches and options. It was a back and forth effort, debating and negotiating constantly between the design and content, keeping the right balance between an easy-to-read non-complex article experience and an inspiring look and feel that brings some edge and personal flare.

As we moved on to production, the project presented technical issues that had to tackled - both internally and externally - with engineers, server experts and general backend assistance. Though causing a few delays along the way it was also a great lesson in patience and respect to the people behind the code.

THE EDITORIAL CHALLENGE

The big elephant in the room was standing there from day one. All along I was confronted with the question - “But who will write all the content for the blog? you can’t possibly do that by yourself”. And they were right. I wasn't planning on being the solo writer, I wanted to have an editorial team with me for the ride.

One can only imagine the response you’d get trying to ask a designer to write. Stepping out of their comfort zone of visulas and dealing with words is not easy. I knew the hardest part was this - scouting, convincing, and nurturing talent within the team. It began by organizing a day workshop for the studio dedicated for the subtle art of storytelling - with words rather than images. I invited an Israeli Author - Deakla Keidar, who gave us her fascinating take on how to let go of the fear of the written word, gently guiding the designers through unknown territory. We then split into groups, imitating editorial meetings, brainstorming ideas for articles, interviews and inspiring, funny and interesting sections for our future blog.

We finished the day with a list of great ideas waiting to be assigned, and a group of brave designers ready to take on the challenge of writing. Here are a few of the published pieces I guided, co-produced and edited.  

The Book and cover 
A section by Ella Moscovitch covering the relations between books, authors, their stories and their cover design.
| 80's Love Affair |
| Luminous Gold |

Music to Design to 
Shai Samana, designer by day and DJ by night, interviewing fellow studio designers about their playlist preferences for their design process.
| Never Was a Cloudy Day |
| It Takes a Muscle to Fall in Love |

Design Thinking
Various articles about design, philosophy and life. 
| The Desk Cleaner |
| A World Without Shortcuts and Undos |
| Design yourself a hobby |

Designers Abroad
A section covering travel and design, recommendations and must-sees for the aesthetics enthusiasts around the world. 
| Japan |
| NYC |

Wix Twins
Documenting designers who show up to work dressed the same, which happens quite often.
| Pink Punk |
| Polka Dots |

MARKETING

As with everything we do in the studio - we like it heard and celebrated! It began with planning an internal launch party, which I wrote about here. We also created a launch campaign for Instagram and Facebook, with a matching concept and branding.

After the blog was live and running for a few months and gathered momentum, we took it on tour. As part of a collaboration with the annual AWWWARDS Conference, I traveled to LA and gave a talk about the whole project. You can read about that here.  

WRITING SAMPLES

The blog provided me with endless opportunities for writing. Click here for the highlights.