Copywriting demands not only visual, verbal and marketing skills but also courage, single-mindedness and diplomacy.

To my mind, there are two kinds of copywriter. There's the hit and run merchant who just takes the project and runs with it. Then there's the conscientious or more courageous writer who dares to say "Why?" and "So what?", challenging the brief (if there is one) from the outset and applying marketing know-how. Mind you, Mammon rules sometimes and points for bravery have to be discarded.

In the halcyon days when I was joint creative head at Apple Computer (a great name to drop) in Paris, the only useful and pronounceable French word I discovered was 'redacteur concepteur' for copywriter. In other words, a combination of editor and designer.

Copywriters must be able (and allowed) to visualise - up to a point. Similarly, designers must be able to write (even if a high percentage of them can't spell!) - up to a point. By working together from the outset with these pooled verbal and visual skills, the best creative solution can be reached. It can then - and only then - be post-rationalised as 'design led' or 'copy led'.

Despite the noble efforts of the Plain English campaigners and Bill Bryson, the English we used to speak, write and love is dying. My beloved Apple encouraged us 'To think different', heralding the death of the adverb. "Its" and "it's" are still mixed up. Americanisms are ubiquitous. Hyphenated hybrid adjectives and acronyms are all the rage. Techno babble is rampant. Political correctness is rife. Even Radio 4's English is deteriorating...

What's worse, there's another version of English creeping out of the woodwork - EASEL (English as a Second Language) which is being adopted rapidly across Europe and is based on American, culled mainly from cinema and TV. "Have a nice day", "Enjoy" and "Things have gotten worse", with that endearing twang, will soon be on everybody's lips. And copy could well prove the adage that Americans say twice as much as they mean, Englishmen half.

The overall quality of briefs still continues to amaze and dismay me - and others too. Sometimes there's no brief at all. At other times, there's a wheelbarrow of undefined information. Clients are therefore using the writer and designer to crystallise their own thinking.

The dreaded invisible hand coming round the shoulder plus the immortal line "You can write something, can't you?' is also ever present. Hence once of my platitudes de jour, "Creativity, yes. Telepathy, no."

In today's 'uncomfortable' economic climate, clients are expecting twice as much for half the money and in half the time. The margin for error is minimal and miracles are the norm. The least clients can do is to give designers and copywriters a decent brief or give them time to elicit one. I leave you with four more questions...

Should design groups write and design advertisements?
Should advertising agencies write and design brochures?
Should advertising agencies and design groups get involved in naming?
What's a better descriptor than 'copywriter' which signifies nothing?