“Seat at the table,” “Writing is designing,” and other gems.
* Before I start, I want to give a shoutout to Andy and Michael who wrote a book titled Writing is Designing, one of the best books on Content Design there is. You should absolutely read it, even if there’s more to the title than first meets the eye IMHO.
I have close friendships with many fellow Content Designers and have spent the vast majority of my career in the depths of #UX, figuring out how to make the most impact with my work. At times, I’ve felt extremely frustrated (you can read about it here) and other times, I’ve felt more than grateful to be able to earn a living doing what I do — because I do love it.
Lately, I’ve found myself reflecting more on not just my career but how we — as practitioners and as a community — talk about Content Design and UX Writing. There still is a lot of frustration. There are lots of differing opinions, especially about how our jobs should ideally work. There is also a good foundational understanding of what Content Design is in most organizations these days, from governments to big tech.
Yet, I feel like there still is a disconnect between what many imagine themselves doing when they enter this career or even when trying to figure out the expectations of a new job.
While some still aspire to be seen as absolute equals to Product Designers, others are actively dialing back their involvement in design projects to work more with an agency mindset.
I believe the opportunity to thrive is somewhere in the middle.
Where’s the sweet spot?
After many years as a Content Designer actively advocating for the work and building content design teams, I know there are limits to what we can do. While some exceptionally successful Content Designers and thought leaders want us to believe we can do anything, the reality is that in the vast majority of orgs, the actual day-to-day work we do is that of a supportive design function, one that is mainly driven by writing.
The job is different from a designer’s job.
And after years of fighting this fact, I’ve come to peace with it.
Because there’s good news:
Content Designers and UX writers can make great impact on the product with their skills. And that impact is greater when we’re doing the things that push design to the next level instead of trying to expand the scope of our roles. Plus, I’d also argue the job feels easier when we do things where our impact and craft complement each other.
So where is it that Content Designers can have the greatest impact? Let me tell you what I think.
1. Microcopy.
Why is this such a controversial thing to spell out?
As I advanced in my career as a UX Writer it became more and more important to distance myself from “writing copy”. I would say things like “I care deeply about content systems!”, “The work is mostly content strategy!”, “I can fix your information architecture!” — and while all of these are true statements, what companies ultimately cared about was the copy that made it into the product.
My work was most appreciated when users or leadership noticed my copy. They’d find it delightful. They’d ask who wrote it. They’d learn who I was and what my skills were and that would get me involved in bigger projects.
Sure, information architecture and content strategy went into it but besides me, and maybe an especially interested designer or PM, no one really gave 2 cents about that. They saw and cared about the end-result, sometimes just a word or two.
2. Connecting the dots between marketing, brand, and product.
Another spicy topic.
When I first got into Content Design the mentors I had made it a point to differentiate our work from the work of marketing and brand. This was a point I accepted at first but struggled with the more content design I was doing.
Why?
Well, first of all, I do have a Master’s in marketing and did find it quite beneficial to my work in UX from day 1. Understanding audiences, conducting basic user research, and learning how brands and perception work at the core are incredibly useful skills for Content Designers.
Don’t shoot me, but I still start every single one of my Content Design and UX Writing lectures with this statement: Content Design is a marriage between persuasive copywriting and user experience design tactics. I see this in my day-to-day work plenty: connecting with marketers to understand their go-to-market strategies, and spending enough time with Brand to immerse myself in their archetypes make my work on the product a lot easier. For example, it helps ensure tone and voice are truly on point and consistent, and it allows for better UX transitions between campaigning, ads, and the product. Don’t we all want that? So ping a Marketer or Creative Director and invite them for a coffee. They’re great allies!
3. Managing consistency.
One of the skills I appreciate the most about my peers is our eye for consistency and how we manage it across markets, teams, and flows.
For many of us, the way we manage consistency is through clear documentation and by identifying the right stakeholders to resolve consistency issues. Some of us are lucky enough to collaborate with Design Systems teams to reduce inconsistencies by working directly on components. But besides the tactical ways of consistency management, one thing is true about Content Designers for sure and that is: we actually really care about consistency. Like, really really. Beyond button shadow and character limit.
Some of my favorite discussions with peers revolve around niche topics like naming conventions and term changes that feel insignificant but in the long run, are so worth it when it comes to providing a better, more consistent user experience. It’s that specific eye to detail and level of care that can sometimes take the user experience to the next level.
4. Helping others understand information hierarchy and architecture.
On purpose, I want to make this point not just about working with information architecture and hierarchy as a Content Designer but about the impact we can have by showing others how to do it.
This is not limited to designers either. Most people could do well with a better understanding of how to structure their work. Figuring out what they’re trying to say, what the most important points are and how they are connected is arguably a basic problem solving skill that many struggle with. I don’t just see it in design flows but strategy docs, spreadsheet and even emails and Slack messages. So involve people in your architectural work! They’ll surely appreciate it.
5. Storytelling. Product narratives. Design framing.
Framing design problems and coming up with a captivating narrative about why you designed something a certain way is an art of its own.
I see designers of all experience levels struggle with this, as a winning narrative depends on countless factors — from the leadership team, to the audience's needs and more. Now, who’s great at world-building? Well, writers are. And many of us Content Designers come from rich writing backgrounds. Yet I see only a few of us actively working on product narratives and design storytelling. They’re a great opportunity to show off our craft and make an impact. Why not offer your skills here?
There’s more.
Some other things I believe Content Designers are great at and can make an impact with:
- Effective writing. All the things. Show how to do it well with your Slack messages, Figma explorations and shareouts.
- Naming things. In tight collaboration with Product Marketing.
- Offering a niche perspective when jamming on designs. Look beyond color and shape and bring up things like Localization or Accessibility.
- Quick product fixes. I know, I know. Most of us don’t like being brought into a design project way too late because something isn’t working right. But using words to effectively help users resolve friction before the next redesign is a pretty meaningful way to use our craft — if you ask me.
So, yes, Content Design is a design support function but I wouldn’t say it’s mostly designing.
The point is, if you want to be a designer I believe you’d be happiest if you become a UX/product/service designer.
If you want to be a writer, you should become a writer.
And if you want to be a writer who does other things related to writing, feels something for UX, and enjoys working with designers, content design might be for you.
All 3 of the above are fundamentally different careers that different types of people will enjoy (or not).
For a long time, I focused my energy on trying to get to do more of the product design work on the teams I was working with. Looking back, this was pretty draining, often felt vague in terms of my impact, and didn’t result in the outcomes I am now most proud of in my career. Reevaluating my involvement and focusing on what I do best, has helped me achieve more satisfaction with my work.
It feels like I’m owning my lane, not switching lanes to try to get ahead.
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Nicole is a Content Design Lead at Doordash and host of the Content Rookie pod. She lives in Sweden, where she writes poetry and chases her toddler around her clover lawn. Website. Twitter.
Phrases that have messed up my expectations of Content Design was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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