Copy-first promotional website designI’ve been working on a few promotional website developments and redevelopments recently. Small clients, a range of tech and non-tech…Nov 19, 202023Nov 19, 202023
The language of COVID-19On the 24th of March, the UK government sent a COVID-19 alert via text message to its population that read, “Stay at home”. The very next…Mar 25, 202010Mar 25, 202010
Remote UX writing #3: Staying saneTo most of us, the idea of remote work spells freedom. You work when you want, break when you want, and no one’s watching when you come…Jan 15, 20206Jan 15, 20206
Remote UX writing #2: The workRemote freelance work from the tropics is all selfies of your computer balanced on your bare knees, and your feet in the sand with blue…Dec 13, 201917Dec 13, 201917
Remote UX writing? Of course you canIf you read Melissa Williams’s great intro to remote UX writing recently, as I did courtesy of The Dash, you may well be intrigued by the…Nov 11, 2019811Nov 11, 2019811
Starting Points for Better UX WritingThis is the title of a free ebook I’ve just released.Dec 13, 2018312Dec 13, 2018312
The *real* role of plain English in productsYou’ve heard of plain English, and you know we should use it to communicate in digital products.Jun 14, 20184Jun 14, 20184
Content warningIf you’re doing content marketing for your brand, I want to give you a warning.Jun 8, 20184Jun 8, 20184
Published inUX CollectiveThe founders’ guide to app translationWant to take on the world with your app? Make it useful to more people? Broaden your market potential?May 3, 2018783May 3, 2018783
Microcopy or marketing copy? What are we writing here?Up to now, UX writing, product writing, or microcopy writing — whatever you want to call it — has had a few phases.Apr 18, 20181123Apr 18, 20181123
What’s in a name, Bob?Humans. What I’m about to say may seem elementary. Perhaps you’ll feel its value is miniscule in the overall scheme of things. But this is…Mar 1, 201811Mar 1, 201811
Introducing the Word Design DoctorThe good news is that you can start winding back your text debt now, if you want to.Jan 2, 201818Jan 2, 201818
Winding back text debt in digital productsThe web industry in Melbourne, Australia has matured since I first got into it a little under 20 years ago. And founders are realising the…Dec 1, 2017131Dec 1, 2017131
We know who you areI’ve always had trouble sleeping. On trains, on planes, in beds. Haven’t you?Aug 29, 20171Aug 29, 20171
On losing your passion (and finding it again)I grew up a writer. One of my happiest memories is of “publishing” story books we’d written on craft paper at school. My favourite part was…Jul 31, 201723Jul 31, 201723
Having the conversation: on language and productivityAfter last time, when I explained how not-great English skills can affect business productivity, a few people told me this was “something…Jul 27, 20174Jul 27, 20174
5 Team members you didn’t realise need language lessons (and how you can help)Poor English is reducing your business’s productivity. There, I said it. Don’t believe me? Here are five employees who didn’t grow up…Jul 5, 20172Jul 5, 20172
The wrong side of luckyWhen I got home that afternoon the house was stuffy with the day’s heat. I was living in a rented house in the canyons that year, with a…Jan 20, 201771Jan 20, 201771