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app/posts/how-to/2025-01-15-why-we-write-design-history-posts.md

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 title: Why we write design history posts
 description: Writing up your design work is a way of sharing your thinking, decisions, and processes with others
 date: 2025-01-15
+related:
+  items:
+    - text: Want your system to last? Get an historian.
+      href: https://mechanicalsurvival.com/blog/get-an-historian/
+    - text: Government design principles
+      href: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-design-principles
+    - text: Why and how we create design histories - DfE Digital blog
+      href: https://dfedigital.blog.gov.uk/2020/09/01/design-history/
 ---
 
+> Writing forces you to slow down, focus your attention, and think deeply.—Shane Parrish, [Writing to think](https://fs.blog/writing-to-think/)
+
 Writing up your design work is a way of sharing your thinking, decisions, and processes with others. It helps demystify your approach, making it easier for teammates, stakeholders, or the wider community to understand the reasoning behind your choices. This transparency encourages better collaboration, feedback, and alignment, as others can see what you’ve done and why you’ve done it that way.
 
 For others, these write-ups can be practical examples, sparking ideas or helping them solve similar problems. They also contribute to collective learning, as people can compare approaches, see patterns, or adapt solutions to fit their needs.
 
-Openly publishing your work supports ‘designing in the open’ by showing that the process doesn’t need to be hidden or perfect. It normalises sharing work at all stages, fosters dialogue, and allows the community to build on each other’s contributions. This openness often leads to unexpected connections and insights from people who approach the work from different angles.
+Openly publishing your work supports [designing in the open](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-design-principles#make-things-open-it-makes-things-better) by showing that the process doesn’t need to be hidden or perfect. It normalises sharing work at all stages, fosters dialogue, and allows the community to build on each other’s contributions. This openness often leads to unexpected connections and insights from people who approach the work from different angles.
 
 Here’s a breakdown of why it’s a good idea and how it supports designing in the open:
 
-## Benefits for yourself
+## Benefits for you
+
+Writing about your design work is a powerful tool for personal growth.
 
-1. Clarifies your thinking – Writing forces you to articulate your ideas clearly, helping you to refine and structure your thoughts. This clarity can lead to new insights and a deeper understanding of your design decisions.
+1. **Clarifies your thinking** – Writing forces you to articulate your ideas clearly, helping you to refine and structure your thoughts. This clarity can lead to new insights and a deeper understanding of your design decisions.
 
-2. Document your process – Keeping a written record of your work allows you to track your progress, revisit past decisions, and learn from successes and mistakes. This record is invaluable for improving your future projects.
+2. **Document your process** – Keeping a written record of your work allows you to track your progress, revisit past decisions, and learn from successes and mistakes. This record is invaluable for improving your future projects.
 
-3. Demonstrates expertise – Sharing your process publicly showcases your skills and approach, helping to establish credibility and build your personal or professional brand.
+3. **Demonstrates expertise** – Sharing your process publicly showcases your skills and approach, helping to establish credibility and build your personal or professional brand.
 
-4. Encourages feedback – Putting your work out there invites constructive criticism, which can help you improve your designs and identify blind spots.
+4. **Encourages feedback** – Putting your work out there invites constructive criticism, which can help you improve your designs and identify blind spots.
 
 ## Benefits for others
 
-1. Learning and inspiration – Your experiences, tools, and techniques can inspire others. Sharing the rationale behind your decisions can be incredibly valuable for designers at all levels.
+Sharing your design process creates opportunities for others.
 
-2. Encourages collaboration – By openly sharing your work, you make it easier for others to collaborate with you, whether by offering insights, suggesting improvements, or contributing directly.
+1. **Learning and inspiration** – Your experiences, tools, and techniques can inspire others. Sharing the rationale behind your decisions can be incredibly valuable for designers at all levels.
 
-3. Build community knowledge – Documenting your work adds to the collective understanding of the design community. Open design practices make the field more accessible and inclusive for everyone.
+2. **Encourages collaboration** – By openly sharing your work, you make it easier for others to collaborate with you, whether by offering insights, suggesting improvements, or contributing directly.
 
-4. Inspires transparency – Your openness can inspire others to share their work, fostering a culture of transparency and trust within the community.
+3. **Build community knowledge** – Documenting your work adds to the collective understanding of the design community. Open design practices make the field more accessible and inclusive for everyone.
+
+4. **Inspires transparency** – Your openness can inspire others to share their work, fostering a culture of transparency and trust within the community.
 
 ## Supporting designing in the open
 
-1. Democratises design – By making your process visible, you can help remove barriers to entry for those who may not have access to formal design education or resources.
+Openly documenting your work makes design more accessible.
+
+1. **Democratises design** – By making your process visible, you can help remove barriers to entry for those who may not have access to formal design education or resources.
 
-2. Increases accountability – Designing in the open often leads to higher quality standards, as you know others will scrutinise your work.
+2. **Increases accountability** – Designing in the open often leads to higher quality standards, as you know others will scrutinise your work.
 
-3. Strengthens shared goals – Open design encourages collaboration on shared objectives, accessible tools, reusable assets, or more inclusive design practices.
+3. **Strengthens shared goals** – Open design encourages collaboration on shared objectives, accessible tools, reusable assets, or more inclusive design practices.
 
-4. Fosters innovation – Publicly documenting and sharing your work allows others to build on your ideas, potentially sparking innovations and creative solutions.
+4. **Fosters innovation** – Publicly documenting and sharing your work allows others to build on your ideas, potentially sparking innovations and creative solutions.
 
 In short, writing up your design work benefits you and the broader community by promoting learning, collaboration, and innovation. It’s a powerful way to contribute to a culture of openness while advancing your skills and visibility as a designer.