Content design is crucial for surveys, so it was fun to turn that around and think about surveys for content design for a change, as part of the Coffee and Content webinar series. My theme was ‘Using surveys to uncoverContinue reading… Coffee and content: Using surveys to uncover audience insights
Tag: content design
UX Writers Africa Conference 2023: Beyond Words
It was a pleasure to be able to support the UX Writers Africa Conference in Lagos, Nigeria in November 2023. The one day event featured presentations, a panel session, networking and a keynote. Congratulations to the founders Joynels Ogbogu andContinue reading… UX Writers Africa Conference 2023: Beyond Words
Content design in practice May 2023
“Content design in practice” is the latest version of a training course on writing and editing that I present with Jane Matthews. This course started in 2004 Back in 2004, Lesley Twitchen from HM Revenue and Customs asked me toContinue reading… Content design in practice May 2023
How many participants do you need? One is enoug
“How many participants do I need for my usability test?” is a topic that has been much discussed over the years. A thought for you: “One is enoug”. It’s a slide that I used to show attendees at my ‘IntroductionContinue reading… How many participants do you need? One is enoug
Stop using no-reply email addresses
We are visiting relatives at Christmas this year. They’ve got a houseful already, including several lovely but very young children. “Would you mind booking somewhere nearby rather than staying with us?” Hmm, let me think about that. Two seconds later,Continue reading… Stop using no-reply email addresses
Book review: From Solo to Scaled by Natalie Marie Dunbar
If you’re building a user-centred design team, then you need Natalie Marie Dunbar’s book From Solo to Scaled: Building a Sustainable Content Strategy Practice. Of course, if you’re building a content strategy practice – maybe from solo, but also ifContinue reading… Book review: From Solo to Scaled by Natalie Marie Dunbar
Why plain language and Plain English are different
When a user says to you “why can’t they write in Plain English?”, that’s a very reasonable request for us to think harder about how we are writing content. What I’m going to discuss here is the difference between “plainContinue reading… Why plain language and Plain English are different
No yes/no questions
If you’ve been in a forms studio with me, you’ll be familiar with the moment where I say: “No yes/no”. It’s my shorthand for “Avoid questions that only have two available answers: ‘yes’ and ‘no’. People often struggle with them”.Continue reading… No yes/no questions
How to look at the content in a form, UK cross-government content meetup
Good forms work across three layers: appearance: are they easy to use and easy to read? conversation: are they easy to understand and easy to answer? relationship: can the user easily get it done and easily move on? I had greatContinue reading… How to look at the content in a form, UK cross-government content meetup
Forms workshop for ConCon Manchester 2016
This forms workshop was my first opportunity to contribute to ConCon – a conference for content designers from across government. The differing perspectives of content designers working on GOV.UK and those working within services generated lively discussion during my forms workshop and throughout the conference.Continue reading… Forms workshop for ConCon Manchester 2016