The "A List Apart" website has a new article which suggests that writing is an important skill for effective design. I'm not a designer so I can't say this is true with any authority, but I do believe that effective-writing skills are a bonus to just about any profession…even programming.
The author makes his point quite strongly when he writes, "It's time we designers stop thinking of ourselves as merely pixel people, and start thinking of ourselves as the creators of experiences. And when it comes to experience on the web, there's no better way to create it than to write, and write well."
What do you think? Is it the designer's job to worry about the words?