Design V Copywriting

LOL that's Vic's site, isn't it. I've hired him in the past and will again in the future. He changed it since last time I visited, too. You may have found the exception to the rule.

Ahh.... Good ol Dr Betty Edwards.

I'm a left handed / right brain dominant person, and have never needed any type of book to learn drawing. This is a drawing I did when I was 12.



Heres another I did a few months later.



The only reason I got her book was for the 3rd chapter, "Your Brain: The Right and Left of It". My psych professor gave it to me during glass (I was like 22 at this time at a uni), and I was so BLOWN AWAY by the "Spoon studies" that he wound up giving me the book. I still have it on my book shelf.

"The studies done by Levy and Sperry found extensive evidence showing the mode of processing by the right brain is rapid, complex, whole-pattern, spatial, and perceptual - processing that is not only different from but comparable in complexity to the left brains verbal, analytic, linear processing mode".

How they were able to trick participants by hijacking different hemispheres (right/left) was amazing. The study would take too long to paraphrase but I HIGHLY recommend that ALL left handed people read that study. It really proved that we might be 1 person, but every 1 person has 2 brains. And each hemisphere of our brain is in perpetual conflict with each other.

She talked about how left handed / right brain people are terrible at keeping appointments. How they are always late, and have no interest in time. And I've been like that my whole life. I rarely ever look at the clock. I rarely ever keep track of time. But all 4 of my older brothers are right handed / left brain dominant and they're the complete opposite. They're always early for appointments, always keeping track of time.

My entire life I always felt different just because I was left handed. I always perceived things differently than most people. I've always viewed things from both sides of the fence. If you told me a child molester was evil, I'd immediately look for reasons why that wasn't true. If you told me drugs were bad, I'd immediately look for reasons why they were good. If you told me prostitution was bad, I'd immediately look for reasons why it wasn't. I've been like this my entire life. Anything that people accept as "common knowledge" I have to challenge. And it makes me a very difficult person to debate things with.... because I rarely take sides on issues. Even if I agree with someone in principal I will still disagree with them. And I've never known why I do this type of crap.

Then I read her book and she clearly states that left handed / right brain people have problems taking sides. They also tend to be less confident than right handed / left brain people. And its true. Because no matter what I think I believe, I'm always questioning my own beliefs in my head. I NEVER believe ANYTHING as the absolute "truth".

And tbo, this could be my ego speaking, but I think being left handed / right brain dominant has given me a serious advantage in marketing. Because if I ever run into a problem, it is VERY EASY for me to find alternate solutions quickly. I don't just take criticism well but I LOVE criticism. I rarely if ever get "stuck" on any 1 idea or problem. I'm always looking for the larger picture and relying more on my intuition to work my way backwards. On the other hand, right handed / left brain thinkers tend to work forwards. They think in a linear, logical, straightforward way. It makes them better at math. But ask them to draw a picture or write a poem and their lost.

Now obviously, there is no concrete link between being left handed and right brain dominant. Or being right handed and left brain dominant. You can definitely be right handed and right brain dominant. Its just nowhere near as typical as being left handed and right brain dominant. And there is a wide spectrum of variables in between. But we do know that left handed people tend to excel in arts. Noone ever taught me how to draw. From the first day I picked up a pencil my brain just knew how to do it. But NONE of my brothers were like this, and ALL of them suck at drawing.

I didn't mean to turn this post into a long, self serving rant, but I've always found this topic extremely interesting. Because I have 4 older, right handed, left brain dominant brothers, and my ENTIRE LIFE I've been outcast as some weirdo. Not so much "weird" but different. Anyone who knows me on this forum knows I have a serious problem writing short posts. People call it weird (which I completely understand) but I think its equally as weird to write short 1 sentence responses all the time.

Anyway, back on topic. The OP asked what you could sell for more, design or copywriting. And this is 1 topic I can take sides on pretty quickly. You can have the plainest looking site in the world, poor design, but good copy WILL drive sales. It will get right inside your prospects mind and turn on all the right switches. But if you have an awesome design, and terrible copy, I don't see you going far. I don't see the connection. Thus I don't see the value.

-RS