User experience is an essential part of product design. After all, it’s the user who will purchase and use your product, unless that is, they can’t figure out how.
That’s where design writing steps in.
“As the apps and websites that we use become increasingly complex, the need for clear guidance within them also grows,” writes Yuval Keshtcher in his careerfoundry article from earlier this year titled What Does A UX Writer Actually Do?
Luval continues:
[…] as these digital products become more a part of our daily lives, we as users seek out those that give us the most natural and fluid experience. These changes in the way we interact with technology have led to the creation of UX writing as a discipline in its own right. Some would say the UX writer is the most creative position on the team as they use that creativity to find solutions to problems the end-user would potentially face […]
Sounds great, in theory. But why not just let the designers focus on, ya know, design? Simple. It’s wasteful.
“Bad design writing is just bad writing. Poorly written material wastes productive time” writes Eric Stephan Moore in his Medium article Bad writing will destroy a designer’s reputation
Moore continues:
[…] “Writing is frequently ineffective because it’s too long, poorly organized, unclear, filled with jargon, and imprecise. Designing is about telling stories … portfolios must not only showcase skills and work histories but a representation of storytelling. The story gets people excited about the design. The excitement gets budgets approved, and designers paid” […]
So designers who can write are not only useful, but also highly valued? By using the proper language, designers can tell a story to guide their work and excite the user.
“Design solves problems and writing is an essential part of that effort” writes Rizawan Javaid in his article A Designer’s Superpower: UX Writing
Javaid continues:
[…] “Taking a jumble of words through this process and arriving at just the right language for your users takes a steady mindset, focus, and a will to do what is right for the user .. By using the right words in your product you can help your users be successful in achieving their goals” […]
Organizing the problem into a usable solution. That sounds like a ‘self-help’ mantra, but writing is a large part when ‘organizing’ a user experience ‘problem’ into a ‘solution’ you design.
Tags: Yuval Keshtcher, Eric Stephan Moore, Rizawan Javaid, UX, Information design, User experience, Technical communications, design, UI, CX
Logan Senko 