A Designer’s View Into UX Copy

In the world of UX, there is a constant drive in having UX inherently integrated into business practice. Designers for the most part exude curiosity, empathy, and interest in users, but should also remember to instill the importance of content as a critical component of UX design.

In learning more about UX content strategy, I thought to share some of the valuable findings I was able to parse out. To excel in creating successful designs, there must be robust content to support design. Building strong UX content in the product development process is vital to receiving good feedback, collaboration, and thoughtful designs in the long term. Some of the questions we ask ourselves as designers are:
Did you help solve a problem users currently have not been able to crack? Do users know your features and if so, are they easy to access? Are they guided through a holistic experience that creates delight and how can the experience be better for them? 

There were a range of topics in a recent webinar series hosted by InVision called DesignTalks: UX Copy. It covered an array of UX content strategy topics shared by UX Content gurus like Biz Sanford, Ada Powers, Sara Walsh and Lauren Pope. Here are my key takeaways:
 

Sketch and collaborate early in the process

Within a company, it is important to foster and improve collaboration. Pair-working and critiques are helpful to share work early on and increase internal engagement. Knowing how to wire frame content can make the UX content feedback process easier – it’s important to understand how wire framing fidelity should be completed as well. Wire frame types are typically  divided into the following levels of fidelity: sketches, low fidelity mockups, and high fidelity mockups. Content should start in the sketching phase and change only slightly in high fidelity wire frames. 
Sketching allows feedback to be shared from a variety of people early on. It can easily be changed without wasting significant time or resources. Sketching with words goes hand in hand with building initial design wireframes. When it comes to selecting copy for UX, it is crucial to explain  using the clearest words possible. Just as we ask ourselves in design, for UX copy ask yourself, “does every word have a purpose?”. Clear might sometimes mean lengthier, but delivering the most concise content is key. UX Content Strategists Biz Sanford and Lauren Pope recommend designing copy that meets a ‘reading level 5’ in the Hemingway Editor app, and ensuring the content is easy to digest.
 

Champion inclusivity and make it natural

A core area in constant consideration is one that users might think of as an afterthought or side dish to the main course of UX design – form design. Form design is integral opportunity to offering moments of inclusivity and delight. There are a few points to consider when tackling this area. As Capital One’s Sara Walsh points out, online forms focus on the customer and gathering the information. Profiles get developed from the customer story, so collecting the right information is important. In conversation design, natural conversation informs design - there should be a natural language flow that feels consistent throughout the customer journey. This is the case for error messages as well. Error messages are part of the conversation, so it’s necessary to set aside time to create them and have them support natural language design. Messages should also match the customer’s emotions (for example, if there is a serious error or concern, it should not feel comical or light and users should understand that the tone is more serious).

Inclusivity is broadening in today’s world, but are we applying the same awareness to inclusivity to our designs? It can feel natural and comfortable to stick to the same tendencies and familiarities we have in the past for things like form design. But when we have boxes to fill and data to submit, it can be a challenge to understand the right approach. There is no simple answer to solving these challenges. The answer lies in the efforts taken to think about making the experience comfortable, useful and enjoyable for the user. For instance, UX Content strategist Ada Powers has pointed out gender inclusion flaws in FitBit’s UI for gender submission in their initial submission forms for the user profile – she pointed out the importance of asking the questions “why are they asking me this and how can it be customized to be sensitive?” The questions asked should give the user an understanding of how they will eventually be using the data (will it be used as a profile outline or will it be compared to gender-specific health scenarios to track health related metrics?). It’s a dynamic topic we can always learn more about and it will continue to grow and develop in the world of design as we become more aware.
 

Understand your user better

Interviewing users is key to validating if your product, website, form, or app is successful. The more we can understand what users are experiencing, the better we can iterate and progress UX design and copy. In tackling interviews, Walsh suggests it is worthwhile to understand the problem you are solving, come up with a prioritized list of questions to understand customer experience, and as much as possible, try to secure 1:1 in-person interviews for the greatest value. In-person interviews enable the interviewer to pick up on verbal cues and undertones that can only be seen or felt in person. Video interviews also work, but could result in connection delays, sound distortion or limited periphery.