Category: Uncategorized

The way tech companies hire people is far from perfect. The process can exclude many – not only candidates with disabilities or neurodivergence, but also those with multiple waged jobs or caretaking responsibilities outside of paid work. Bias in decision-making is another big challenge. So when I recently went to hire for 3 content design…

Yesterday I received a terrible email. Terrible both because it delivered bad news and because it was badly constructed and ultimately ineffective. I already posted a twitter thread about it, but I’m going to go into more detail here (and also proofread better – I really wish twitter would let us edit tweets!). Email subject lines…

I see a lot being written about digital content: content strategy, user-centred content and content design. Much less about user-centred content in the context of print materials. But many of the same practices and concepts apply. For example, my family and I recently took a little holiday. One day we visited a museum, which had…

Ever since I started studying plain language more than a decade ago, I’ve been on a mission to educate people about everything that plain language entails — and that it doesn’t just mean choosing simpler words. I thought if I could just reach enough people, eventually we’d reach a tipping point where most people would…

While it’s true that I’m generally not a fan of elevators, there’s one I encounter regularly that is particularly difficult to use. On the bright side, it’s a great case study in exploring some key principles of user-centred content: Address separate audiences separately Group like information together Use labels consistently. Address separate audiences separately This console actually has two…

I’ve come to the conclusion that footnotes are not user-centred. I’m not talking about source references, although I mostly tend to see those in the form of endnotes that come at the end of a book or chapter. I’m talking about the references that lead to more discussion or information on the bottom of the…

I didn’t watch the Oscars, I don’t have cable, and even I heard about the Best Picture snafu. This essay shows how the winner cards could have been better designed to help presenters identify immediately when they’re given a wrong card and could have prevented the embarrassment. It’s a brilliant example of how important information structure and design are in communicating…

When I first got into plain language, I thought the fewer words you use the better. But over the years I’ve learned this is not always true. When you first look into plain language, one of the first pieces of advice you’ll see is to replace common bureaucratic phrases and constructions with simpler options. Advice like…

Once you start thinking about things from a reader’s or user’s perspective, the world can become an irritating place. Because you know how simple it can be to make things easier for people. For example, there’s a café I go to somewhat regularly, and its door always trips me up. Think Midvale School for the…

Most customers or clients aren’t interacting with an organization for fun. They have something they want or need to do. They’re busy. They don’t have time to read every single word in a message or on a sign. Instead, they scan for key words. When you’re writing for someone who’s scanning, the position of words…