CONTENT DESIGN
Content design, explained by an intern
So it’s like copywriting, right? Uh, no…
What is content design? I’ve been an intern at Atlassian for three months now and in this time, I’ve had friends and other interns ask me this question (heck, I was still asking this after accepting my internship offer 😅). Since starting this role, I’ve come to learn more about the what, why and how of content design, and I thought, what better way to show what I’ve learned than to have a go at explaining what I do to someone else?
See for yourself
Instead of offering a hard and fast definition upfront, here’s an example to help situate content design in our everyday lives. Show, don’t tell, they say.
Reading the weather forecast
There’s a new restaurant you want to try with your friends later this week, and Friday is the only day everyone is available. Just in case, you check the weather to see if there’s going to be any rain.
The iOS weather app presents its forecast with a raining cloud icon, followed by an 40% figure. So, you might be wondering, is this a little or a lot of rain? Is the rain significant enough to reschedule our dinner? It’s a bit confusing, and probably doesn’t give you much confidence about what to do with your plans.
If you hop over to the Bureau of Meteorology’s website, things are clearer… kind of. The rain forecast is split into two elements, Possible rainfall and Chance of rain. It looks like Friday will have 0 to 2mm of rainfall, and 40% chance of any rain… wait, or is that 40% chance of 0 to 2mm of rain? The correct reading is the first one, but you’re not alone if you understood it the other way.
That’s because daily rainfall forecasts are the most viewed and misunderstood part of the metropolitan forecast. Sure, part of it is because weather prediction is a complex subject, but I have a feeling that the general confusion, and occasional frustration, around weather forecasts is more about people not being able to make sense of the forecast that’s being presented to them (and less about not understanding the actual science).
Content design is a way of thinking
“It’s about using data and evidence to give the audience what they need, at the time they need it, and in a way they expect.” — Sarah Winters (contentdesign.london)
Content design was defined by Sarah Winters, leader of the discipline in the U.K., when she was working for the U.K.’s Government Digital Service. It was during this time that the gov.uk website won a prestigious Design of the Year award — the first time a website was crowned the winner (Quartz). The name is one that tries to convey that we don’t just write words, we design experiences with them.
Content designers are called many names in many places. Sometimes it’s UX writer, sometimes it’s technical writer. Sometimes they’re interchangeable, sometimes they’re not (no, content design is not the same as copywriting). Either way, the general consensus is that what we do is more important than what we’re called.
The goal of content design is to design content that is helpful for our customers and supports satisfying product experiences. This starts with ensuring content — which could be anything ranging from help documentation, online tax calculators, to a map — is easy to find, has a clear purpose, and is simple to understand. You might have suspected by now, it takes a lot of empathy. Content design revolves around the user’s needs, whether that be practical, mental or emotional. That’s where I draw the line when I try to explain the difference between what we do, and what marketing does. How many people visited a shoe website last month as a data point is less important to us than the one that tells us how many visitors who came to find the company’s returns policy found that particular page helpful, for example.
As an intern, I’ve learnt a lot about practising this empathy, starting with asking what a user is trying to achieve with a piece of content, how much time they have to do this, whether they are multitasking or differently-abled, and if English is their first language. All these considerations determine things like how brief(/detailed) a piece of content should be, what format we should present it in, or how cheeky(/serious) our tone of voice can afford to be.
It requires team work with designers and engineers
Content is not the only part of user experience, that’s true. But content is also not “we’ll add the words later”. Here’s my favourite quote that explains why:
“…words are no good when form and function don’t consider them. You can’t write around illformed product ideas or design that doesn’t do most of the job explaining itself.” — Becky Hirsch (medium.com/deliveroo-design)
There are some principles
There’s a lot of guidance on the internet (and off the internet for that matter) about how to create good content, and the advice will differ depending on what you’re trying to achieve through your content. I like Kseina Cheinman’s summary:
👉🏼 Good content is findable
Findable content is designed in a way that allows users to find content through navigation and search. (uxdesign.cc)
Even the best piece of content will let a user down if it can’t be found in the first place. That’s why this is the first and most basic principle of content, and it applies equally to content found online and offline. Good content has multiple meaningful paths to it, supported by thoughtful information architecture, accurate metadata, and a focus on accessibility.
👉🏼 Good content is clear
Clear content is designed with clear purpose and does not leave users with questions. (uxdesign.cc)
If it’s not obvious why a piece of content should exist, it shouldn’t be created. Similarly, if a piece of content should exist, but doesn’t adequately fulfil the purpose it was created for, it becomes a wasted effort. And that wasted effort is potentially costly. Unclear content forces users through more trial-and-error (customer frustration) or to resort to calls to support (a strain on business resources). Worse, users will just go elsewhere to do what they need to do. Writing in plain, concise language, being thoughtful about structure, and striking a balance between different types of media is a good start to creating clear content.
👉🏼 Good content is connected
Connected content is designed in a way that integrates all related pieces into a comprehensive whole that is maintained over time. (uxdesign.cc)
Good content exists as an ecosystem, and this ecosystem is achieved through the creation and maintenance of a solid content strategy. Organising content this way creates a logical flow for users, prevents duplicate or competing content, and ensures there’s a way to monitor and update content when needed. This principle is all about reducing the user’s cognitive burden, creating sustainable solutions and improving findability.
👉🏼 Good content is human
Human content is designed with empathy to respect the varied human conditions and states. (uxdesign.cc)
Technology that respects human effort is functional, convenient, and reliable. It is thoughtful and accommodating; not arrogant or demanding. It understands that you might be distracted or differently-abled. It respects the limited time you have on this planet. (ind.ie)
Human content is accessible and inclusive. In other words, good content design considers the different knowledge, skills, physical attributes, mental states, and literacy of the users who will engage with any piece of content. The average user is probably multi-tasking, has less time to consume your content than you’d like, and may be experiencing a temporary or permanent impairment. Understanding a user’s environment and “designing for the worse case scenario” is a start to making human content.
👉🏼 Good content is helpful
Helpful content is designed in a way that allows users to get something done now. (uxdesign.cc)
People want to get things done, and sometimes answers don’t completely resolve someone’s problem. It’s why there’s still live support on a website that has an FAQ. It’s also why there’s still a team member looking after the self-serve checkout at Woolies. Helpful experiences are those that go the length to make sure users don’t reach a dead end, or if that’s not possible, at least give indication as to why. A website that has an email form is good; a website that explains what you can and can’t send an email enquiry for is great. Moreover, content is improved by having its impact constantly assessed. Establishing success metrics that you can monitor and act upon is key to making helpful content.
“It is helpful to see content design as an ecosystem with 5 layers, each one building on top of the other […] It is also important to understand that they are often interrelated. So an issue with content could be happening simultaneously at multiple layers of the pyramid.” — Kseina Cheinman (uxdesign.cc)
There are also some myths
❌ Content is about words
Words are one way to present content, but they are not the only way. Calendars, maps, videos, and charts are just some examples of other types of content. Part of the role of content designers is deciding (through research and testing) what type of content (or combination of types) will meet a user’s needs most effectively.
❌ Anyone can write content, especially experts
The reality may just be the opposite. Being a subject matter expert (or knowing a lot about something) sometimes distracts from good content. The “curse of knowledge” describes how difficult it can sometimes be for experts to separate what’s important and relevant from what’s not for a non-expert audience. One way you can see it is, content designers, who are experts at writing accessible, user-centred content, work with operational experts, who help ensure content is up to date and not misleading.
❌ Content design is the same as copywriting
Content design is not the same as copywriting, but it can help copywriters focus their content, give it structure, and connect with their audience better. Copywriting focuses on selling an idea and persuading people to take action, i.e. what you want them to do. Content design finds the best way to help people do what they need to do.
Some final thoughts
“…three years ago, while there were clearly marketing copywriters and technical writers and other writing folk, very few people were using the term “content”, nor exploring the boundaries between one type of writing and another, nor considering the entire content experience as a whole.” — Tom Waterton (medium.com/design-ibm)
While content design as a discipline is relatively new, and sometimes done differently in different places, it it’s encouraging to see the craft grow and establish itself as something that’s necessary, not just a nice-to-have. This writeup is only the tip of the iceberg, and I know that because content design in practice is so much more nuanced and challenging!
