what is content design?
and why you need it for your project!
First coined by Sarah Winters (née Richards) of Content Design London, content design, as Sarah explains, is the process of "answering a user need in the best possible way for the user to consume it.” It applies design thinking to the way we structure content, what order we choose to place it, and in what format.
‘Content’ can mean text, images, videos - even a poster! We use research and data to find out what the best possible solution is for the user. We also think holistically about the user experience, and the journey they take to find the information they’re looking for.
user needs - what are they?
A user need is something that a user (of your website, social media channel, or even a client walking into your office) will need to find or do. Using research and data, content designers then design content based on those needs. This could mean cutting 3000 words on a webpage down to 300. It could mean breaking said web page into smaller, easier-to-digest pieces. It could mean changing the format from words to a video. It could mean removing the content altogether! It's a content designer's job to figure these things out: what a user wants versus what they need.
“We also think holistically about the user experience, and the journey they take to find the information they’re looking for.”
Content designers use plain language that aligns with the language the audience is using. It's also always underpinned by a human, emotional tone.
After researching user needs, we go and create content! Content designers don't go it alone - we work in collaboration with other teams. Researchers, UX designers, marketing, and service designers are all great companions in the content design process. We even do something called 'pair writing', which involves writing content alongside another team member with contrasting knowledge and expertise. For this reason, it's great to bring us into a project early on so that we can guide and inform the experience.
Once we’ve created our content, we iterate and iterate again. And again. Content design is an organic, ever-evolving process. As well as reviewing content alone, we also organise ‘crits’, which are a collective review of content that includes other content stakeholders.
So, if you want to know why your users are struggling to buy your product, or they leave your website too early, or they simply can’t find the information they are looking for, then content design is definitely for you!
