How UX Writing Can Help Create Better Design?

User experience designers spend a significant amount of time designing user interfaces. It’s crucial that the design is clear and easy to understand. But often, poorly worded designs can cause more confusion than they solve. That’s where UX writing comes in. 

Designers know that great design is only as good as the words that accompany it. When you read a book, do you pick out the plot points or the written language? Designing an interface requires just as much attention to detail when it comes to other parts of your writing too — and not just grammatical accuracy either. The right type of vocabulary, correct use of verbs and descriptors, and effective transitions are just as important as how well-written your ideas are from top to bottom. Let’s take a look at why you need to include UX content writing in your design process and how it can help create a better design.

What is UX Writing?

UX writing is basically any writing that describes the user experience. This can include copywriting, face portrait, user research reports, or visual design content. In many ways, UX writing is like any other writing: you’re presenting your ideas and communicating your message to your audience. The main difference is that UX writing is focused on how people interact with a product or service.

There are different types of UX writing:

Copywriting: Copywriting is basically anything that explains the value of a product or service. This includes copy for websites, brochures, SEO optimized content, press releases, email marketing campaigns, and more.

User research: User research is conducting qualitative research with actual users to understand their needs and motivations. This can include surveys, interviews, focus groups, and more.

Visual design: Visual design refers to how a product looks. Visual design writers can be involved in everything from logo development to web design.

What Is the Role of a UX Writer in the Design Process?

In order to create a product that people will love, you need to involve a UX writer from the beginning of the design in writing process.

A UX writer is responsible for writing the user-centered copy that will be used to explain the benefits of the product to potential customers. This is where they shine: they can show empathy and understanding by writing words that communicate exactly how a user will feel when using the product. And since other parts of your team may not always understand what makes a good user experience, it's nice to have someone who can translate a user's thoughts into words.

UX writers should also be part of any design meetings so they can provide feedback on how their comments translate into visual elements. They should also be on hand to write wireframes, mockups, and other visual tools that will help designers build an idea into something real.

But most importantly, UX writers should know that their job isn't just about creating great copy; it's about creating a great product as well.

Why should designers write UX copy?

UX copy can take many forms, and it can include everything from product descriptions to user interface mockups. No matter what shape it takes, it’s essential for designers to understand the basics of UX copywriting in order to craft effective messages that resonate with users.You can read more about UX design and writing to understand and improve your work.

In addition to communicating information about a product or service, UX copy can also convey a message through tone, context, and formatting. For example, if you’re writing a form letter to thank a user for her positive feedback on your website, you might want to keep things short and sweet while still clearly conveying your gratitude. In the same vein, if you’re trying to promote a new feature on your site, you might opt for bolder language and imagery.

All of these factors come together to create an overall tone for your product or service. While this approach may feel intuitive for some people, it’s important for others to realize that there are different ways of thinking about UX copywriting.

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UX copy forces designers into the mind of the user

There's no doubt that the first user-centered design principle, or "UX" at its most basic definition, is "user-centered design". This is a very good thing: a designer should always be thinking about their potential users. But there's a big problem with this: it's very difficult to immerse yourself in someone else's head.

When you're designing for the web, you have to consider the experience of all your users, not just the one you're sitting next to right now. This can be incredibly challenging. So how do you do it? Well, one way is to skip ahead and start thinking about what the end-user will be doing while they're on your site. That might sound simple, but it can be hard to visualize because it involves extrapolating what happens before they even get there. Another way is to ask yourself some basic questions: What kind of device am I designing for? What kind of screen resolution are they using? What type of connection are they on? How fast is their internet connection? These are all important things to consider when building a website or app.

Wrapping Up

UX content writing truly addresses the complexity of good UX design. It’s a process that involves learning how best to explain how solutions work under various conditions, with different types of users, in different contexts, and for different audiences. It requires developing a clear, concise style and a good command of the language used.

That said, UX writing is not just for the seasoned writer. It’s a skill that everyone can improve by taking a bit of time from their design work to sit down and write more clearly. When you sit down to write an article, you don’t expect to be able to just type away. That’s why it’s important to have a process for developing the content that will benefit from professional editing.

About author

Frank Hamilton

Frank Hamilton is a blogger and translator from Manchester. He is a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, digital marketing and self-education. He also loves traveling and speaks Spanish, French, German and English. Meet him on Facebook and Twitter. Write to me, please, with the feedback. 

Content Design is Necessary Magic

 

Imagine you are a Quest Maker, a wizard with the instruments of design at your magical fingertips. You have employed research to identify what grave evil is afflicting the kingdom and how we might be saved. With experience design, you have identified and built a possible solution – a hero’s journey filled with character-building obstacles and opportunities for the “Chosen One” to save us all. It’s all planned out. You used sticky notes. 

But how does the hero know that they are the “Chosen One”? When they learn of their fate, should it be through a formal decree or mysterious omen? Are they new to this world or a seasoned veteran? Do you need to gain their trust before leading them to adventure? And how?

All these questions and more can be answered with the magic of content design. 

   The Heart of Content Design

Content is more than words and images. At its core, content is information. Content designers determine what information and when, where, and how we communicate it to our audiences. They craft messages, develop voice and tone, structure content, create personalization strategies, and define SEO keywords – everything we need to communicate effectively and deliver information. With the magic of content design, your hero would receive the right message, at the right place, at the right time.

  This is Where the Magic Happens (Everywhere)

When crafting your grand quest, who should call upon the powers of content design? When? The answer: Everyone, all the time.

We all know the design process isn’t as neat and tidy as the double-and triple-diamond diagrams suggest. The feedback loops, iterations, fog, and chaos are the reality of the design process. It’s an adventure story on its own. There is a common assumption that content design is a distinct chapter towards the end of the story, relegated to the part in which words and images replace the placeholders and Lorem Ipsums in the prototype. In reality, content design happens in every chapter of the design process. And everyone in that process has a little bit of content design magic within them.

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Research and Language

Researchers understand that the questions you ask your participants must be worded carefully. While researchers often can clarify their questions as an interview continues, the language used can set the tone for the entire conversation. For example, your language can make participants feel welcome, respected, listened to – or make them feel excluded, defensive, or ignored. If a participant doesn’t understand the questions in a survey, they won’t give you the answers you seek. They may not answer at all. Like all content, the content you use throughout your research should be understandable, relatable, and meaningful. 

Synthesis and Communication

Content design can also help transform your research findings into a meaningful narrative. Organizing insights and research synthesis require strong information architecture, one of the foundations of content design. This can look like tagging your research using a robust metadata scheme – for example, labeling and categorizing data by keyword, participant type, etc. As “Quest Master”, you may have a compendium of notes from interviews with locals and veteran heroes. Using tags and good information architecture practices would help you organize and re-organize your notes as needed. But to tell the stories found in your data to the king and queen? Such clear, unambiguous communication of information once again calls on content design. 

Experience and Information

Experience and service design, likewise, require careful attention to content. Content is the bridge that connects your audience to the service, program, or website you have carefully designed. It is content that tells your audience what the experience is, why they should care about it, and how to interact with it. If the experience you have designed is a quest, then it is the content design that answers the myriad questions about what information the adventurer needs and how to best deliver it.

  

  Content Design for Good

Content design is important, but not unlike most magic, it takes care and concentration. You can create content that is understandable and usable, but it means very little if the adventurer does not trust the message or the voice behind it. Content design helps shape the relationship you have with your audience. What you say and how you say it can easily build trust and respect – or alienate the people you are trying to reach. 

Good content is inclusive content. It’s more than just “using the right words.” Inclusive content helps us develop an inclusive mindset and create more inclusive spaces, both internally and externally. It shapes who has access, who is involved, who can participate, or who can lead. Imagine the loss of would-be heroes if the call to adventure was designed with one type of adventurer in mind. When you send your wisdom and queries to the kingdom, ask, who you are writing for? Who are you excluding? 

We may create grand designs and world-saving quests, but without strong, inclusive content, they will cost us. They will fail the people we are trying to help. Instead, we must infuse our design process with the magic of content design. In each messy chapter, we can better support our research, transform our knowledge into effective stories, and more clearly communicate to the people for whom we have designed. The words we choose contribute to the narratives that shape our experiences and our world. Only with the power of content design can our quests shape our world for good. 

About author

Caitlin Gebhard 

Senior Content Strategist at Mad*Pow

A strategic design company, on the important connection between content and design. According to Caitlin, there is a very clear connection between content and design. Visual design or experience design can’t stand alone. Content has to be carefully thought through. Having a content strategy is an integral part of design – they aren’t separate at all. Caitlin can talk about why making your content thoughtful and meaningful in terms of design is essential.

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Theme image credits: Photo by Amandine BATAILLE on Unsplash.