Why I no longer believe in Content Design

Content Design is broken and we can’t fix it alone.

by Joshua Hoehne

I’ve spent the last 15 years writing copy. Ads, websites, books, blogs. And yes, products.

I still remember how ecstatic it felt when I worked on product flows for the first time. Watching user research recordings, discussing possible solutions with engineers and designers, and finally sketching out content bits and pieces.

That’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to build stuff. And I wanted that stuff to be effortless, easy to use, and have a strong voice.

I’ve now worked as a Content Designer (or UX Writer, call it what you want, I no longer care) for a good decade.

I’ve met most of the great minds in our field. I used to have strong opinions, screamed things like “Tone and voice!”, “Seat at the table!”, “Information Hierarchy!”, “Shorter! More concise!”. Hell, I even run one of the biggest podcasts on all things content, Content Rookie.

But my excitement has faded and I’m tired of hiding it.

We have to talk about it.

Earlier this year, I turned down a dream offer to teach Content Design to eager students. I, someone who loves teaching, coaching, and is obsessed with observing the moment when someone truly gets it. I turned it down because I felt like I couldn’t honestly — authentically — tell anyone to be excited about Content Design right now.

I kept thinking that we got it all wrong. The things we teach wannabe Content Designers make up so little of the day-to-day work. Instead of concise copy, shouldn’t we talk about understanding product orgs and finding allies? Instead of voice and tone, shouldn’t we teach how to document successes in a way that keeps you your job?

Don’t get me wrong. Content Design has made great leaps. More companies have Content Designers than ever before, teams grew and processes expanded, especially during the tech boom of the pandemic.

But nevertheless, in my day-to-day content practice of working with clients or even when working in-house, not much has changed.

Certainly, not enough has changed.

The same frustrations everywhere you look:

• Product leaders not aware of what Content Design is — certainly not knowing how to utilize it.
• Content Designers brought in way too late, essentially treated as overqualified (micro)copy-editors.
• Beautiful documents (lots of them!) and design systems copy components that nobody looks at or is even aware of.
• Low visibility. No time for content-specific user testing. Rarely time to set up success metrics.
• And sure, while of course what we do dramatically improves the product experience, nobody really knows how.

The looming question remains: is it even worth it?

And so when tech layoffs came, of course, many Content Designers ended up on the chopping block.

Who can we blame?

Ourselves? When all we’ve done is advocate, educate others, ask the right questions, and try to build sustainable processes.

Product leaders? When roadmaps are expected to be delivered tightly and collaboratively, with little opportunity for reflection.

Designers? Struggling with similar issues and often equipped with less context than we have.

There’s no easy answer. But there is a very obvious question:

How can we possibly make it better?

I think we need to start from scratch. Roll out the journey of a Content Designer and address each and every part of it.

1. Content Designers are brought in and often expected to establish their practice from scratch, ideally the day they start. This is before they have any context about the org or product(s) they’re working on. It’s just supposed to happen on the side. This needs to stop. Orgs need to know what Content Design is before a person is hired. Content Designers need to be equipped with budgets and mandate.
2. Nobody quite understands the amount of change and stakeholder management needed to even establish the simplest process. And many of us give up. Burned out or discouraged, it’s easier to edit copy than fight people. Most of us are never taught proper change management or the relationship and leadership skills needed to succeed. And we’re not given the time to learn them. Change management and leadership need to be official skills we look for in Content Designers and that we invest in — we need to be given time and resources to train and practice.
3. It’s our personalities, too. I’ve never met a Content Designer who wasn’t deeply empathetic, caring, and sensitive. Yet most orgs throw us to the wolves with a tiny support network, if there’s any at all. The most vital skill in a Content Designer — unfortunately — isn’t empathy though. It’s cold, hard resilience. And the ability to be ok with stepping on peoples’ toes. Why don’t we interview for these? Why aren’t we, as the community, more transparent about this? It’s not an easy, quirky job. It’s lots of negotiating. Let’s be frank about it.
4. Equal partnerships are needed. While yes, Content Design is a supportive function, the weight of our input should be equal to that of a designer, engineer, accessibility specialist, or anyone else working on any given product. The reality often is that our input has the lowest priority — it’s just words after all! Easy to change. Subjective. This needs to change at the core of how products are being built. We aren’t lobbyists.
5. It’s not just words. I repeat. It’s not just words. It’s so much more. And honestly, we can’t keep telling you. Orgs need to hold everyone accountable for understanding what Content Design is. They need to give us the space to show it from day one. Stop expecting us to teach every single person and to fight for space at every single table. Designers, engineers, marketers, and certainly product leadership needs to know what Content Design is and how to utilize it best.
6. And finally, we can’t leave juniors hanging. Fewer jobs for entry-level Content Designers are published by the day and the reason for that is that the weight of all of the above is crushing for any young person or anyone new to a career. Juniors are often set up for failure. We can’t continue to let this happen. We need to set up better structures for people to learn and establish their practice — and not just on the shoulders of already spread-thin Content Designers. Anyone working on a product can help someone learn.

Well, I guess I haven’t given up on Content Design totally yet.

There’s plenty we can do to make it better.

Can you imagine what great products we could build? I can.

If this article hits a nerve, please share it with your colleagues and leaders. And — if you absolutely do not agree or, in fact, think Content Design is an easy and rewarding job with few issues, please show us your ways.

Because while most of us design alone, we are in this together.

P.S.: If you’re interested in some data backing this article, please take a look at this year’s UX content survey.

Nicole is a Content Design Lead and host of the Content Rookie pod. She lives in Sweden, where she writes poetry and chases her 1-year-old around her clover lawn. Website. Twitter.