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How thinking about hierarchical grids helps you take a content-first approach to design
Bad things can happen when you don’t think about content
![An example hierarchical grid on a web page. The same image is shown in a large window on the top with text on the right, and the same image is repeated below in smaller rectangles below.](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:700/1*QGf0QvjfnWlnqt2rtu-vgQ.jpeg)
As UX Designers, we’re often asked to tread a fine line between content and design. As a result, our designs, especially early on in the process, tend to avoid content since they might not be finalized.
If you want to include some introductory text on the home page, but your team is still debating it, any sketch you show the team might have placeholder text since including that content might derail the discussion.
![A page with a placeholder image and lorem ipsum text.](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:700/1*FKGpz9khdISNdZzEDH31YA.png)
We often abstract the design to get the team to focus on what the page should do, instead of whether something is a droplist or radio button. This allows us to figure out what we need to design and explore several creative options.
However, that begs the question: When do you add the content back in? There’s a tendency to avoid adding content until the latest possible stage: usually before user testing or even later if you feel necessary.
Leaving content for last can sometimes lead to several problems in the late stages of…