It’s been an very interesting transition into UX writing, coming from a few jobs where long-form copy (complete with a minimum word count) was the norm. But I’m so happy I’ve made the change because it has allowed me to shift my perspective on words and how just a few simple words can have a huge impact.
Now what exactly is a UX writer?
Glad you asked.
If you asked a majority of people what a UX writer is or what they do, you’d probably get a lot of blank stares. That’s because UX writing is a fairly new field that is still establishing itself, fighting for a spot at the table next to the technical writers and marketing writers.
To be totally transparent, I had only a vague understanding of what a UX writer (or Content Designer, which is what we’re called at the company I currently work for) actually does while searching for these roles. One time in San Francisco, I was interviewed for a contract role at Western Union, where I would “write the labels for the forms and mobile experience.” This was my introduction to UX writing, and back then it sounded like a snoozefest to be creating form labels and input fields for a money wiring service.
This is why my initial grasp of what a UX writer does was solely writing text for buttons and labels on a website — and I was dead wrong.
Content Designers definitely write the button text to help users transition between screens. But they’re also responsible for:
- Updating all microcopy — including error messages, empty states, success messages, toasts, and more
- Choosing the right component — whether a message should show in an alert, modal, or tooltip
- Understanding the flow of the site and each user interaction
- Establishing the voice of the site, and flexing tone effectively
- And, most importantly, being an advocate for the end-user by showing empathy
That’s a lot to unpack! And its only a part of what I’ve learned now that I’m ten months in at my company. So what I wanted to do was share a few other lessons I’ve learned along the way.
Here’s what I’ve learned as a Content Designer
And I’m sure this isn’t limited to just my experience 🙂
You have to insert yourself into the design process.
Sometimes there are teams that aren’t used to having a person on the team who actively cares about the words and the experience. So you have to get in there and make yourself known.
If a designer is starting on a wireframe, volunteer to help and set up a working session with them. If something requires content, ask to be involved. Always look for places where words come into play and take the opportunity.
You work with the designers in their tools.
Word documents are the bread and butter of copy docs (along with some very specific instructions on what copy goes where).
But you also have to work with designers where they are. This includes Sketch, InVision, and Abstract. Updating minor copy in these tools can help get copy changes in faster, without the need for creating a copy doc for everything. But copy docs always have their place in the process.
You work cross-functionally with all sorts of teams.
Content Designers get a lot of face-time with everyone on the team. One moment you could be working with designers on the user flow for a particular process, and then you’re in a meeting with stakeholders discussing the goals of the home page. Then you’re sitting with the developers and are understanding how to meet their needs as they turn designs into working prototypes.
While this requires a bit of a juggling act, it expands your vision across the project and helps you see things wholistically.
But working cross functionally means you get to work with a lot of talented people.
Working as a Content Designer, I’m always impressed by the amount of knowledge and insight that my coworkers have into different processes and designs. It’s really rewarding to work alongside people who also want the projects, product, or website to be the best for the end user.
You have to be collaborative.
With so many designs, copy docs, and concepts getting thrown around, you have to know how to work with all sorts of personalities and people. But this collaboration is important because it brings a lot of different ideas and perspectives to the table — in turn, creating something that is inclusive of many different types of users.
You have to give (and get) honest feedback.
When you’re working together to achieve a goal, open and honest feedback is crucial. Everyone is respectful of others, but they also know when to push back on and idea and explain why it might not be the best approach.
This type of candid, real feedback is something that feels a bit harsh from the get-go, but its important for two reasons:
- You get better at your craft
- The project gets better with everyone’s input
You help establish the terminology and taxonomy for a project.
Because you’re “the person in charge of words,” it means you’ll be in charge of defining those words and making sure they’re used purposefully within the experience. Creating a word list and adding it to the project’s style guide is a great way to ensure everyone aligns on the same terms.
You’re the one getting content in before lorem ipsum sneaks its way into designs.
Oftentimes, a designer will work on making a great-looking layout and design a space for some text. They’re thinking, “Text goes here. A writer can fill this space in!” But that makes it challenging to work.
First, you have to fit content into a space, which already puts restrictions on what you can do. What if the space isn’t enough for what the content needs to say. Or worse, what if its too much?
Second, this approach makes it difficult to do content-first design. Content-first design is telling the story with words — all before wireframes or designs enter the mix. Designing with words first lets you ask yourself, “As a user, what would I want to know about on this screen or page?”
You’re in charge of a lot of content — like, a lot.
Buttons, modal titles, navigation items, terminology, helper text, placeholder text, error states, empty states, error messages, information icons, tooltips…this list goes on and on.
tldr: There’s a lot of content on the Content Designer’s plate.
You have to be flexible.
As someone who cares about words, it can be difficult when designers and stakeholders don’t agree with your word choices or how you want to show those words on the screen (is it an alert message? a modal? help text?). Being a Content Designer teaches you to be flexible, and makes you realize how important it is to pick your battles.
Being a content designer may seem like a lot to handle, but its very rewarding work.
In these first ten months, I’ve learned so much about the world of content design and how a content design team operates. Every member of my team has different strengths, and its very invigorating to see how all of these strong points help establish content as an industry necessity.
In our effort to add and refine copy throughout the user experience, we’re helping to make products more usable and understandable to the end users. And that alone is a really cool outcome of our work.
Austin Writes Content 