What’s a writer with a UX in front?
How I arrived here — a love story.
When two roads converge, how are their paths different?
Having worked in the user experience (UX) industry for a while now, I’ve seen noticeable shifts in the on/off ramps across UX toll roads. At the start of my UX career there were two distinct lanes, one for structural (interaction) design and the other for visual (graphic) design. Each lane had its own tools and skill set. My lane was structural — interaction design, functional requirements, UX architecture, and UX strategy. I spent some time in usability research, learning the unparalleled importance of feedback from customers, but soon realized I enjoyed the art and science of making things. So, how did I arrive at UX writer and content designer? I’m glad you asked!
As a structural designer of the web page (also called an interaction designer or UX architect), educated and certified in user-centered design principles, I worked alongside visual designers. We worked together to merge the structural layer with the visual layer of the user interface (UI) for a web design. In other words, the structural architecture — with its accompanying interaction design (IxD) specifications for how each feature will work, was combined with the visual design and graphic elements of each UI screen — with its accompanying UI style guide specifications for how the page is styled (known today as a design system). This is commonly called the “look and feel” of the design.
Gradually, as companies have been known to do, the skill sets began to merge into one role, and with that came the expectation that one person would do both. Today this position is called a UX designer or product designer. Some companies even want this UX hybrid to have front-end UI engineer skills. The job description became a complex mix of qualifications, and the salary became competitive enough to hit those “six-figure jobs” lists. Fun fact: where salaries are experiencing growth, people will follow. This changed the game.
And then what happened? UX became a bootcamp wearing buzzword.
But not everyone truly understood what UX was about. Some visual designers just put a UX in front of their job title, some folks joined a new thing called a “UX bootcamp”, and others just winged it based on being UX adjacent. Without in-depth knowledge of the human-centered design strategy required to be truly effective and impactful, some companies thought as long as “UX” and some other buzzwords were on the resume somewhere that you were a UX designer. Fortunately, colleges and universities picked up on this and now there are degree programs related specifically to user-centered design and human-computer interaction.
Digital products became synonymous with experiences. There are many companies that do “experiences” right. I won’t name them here, but I would bet good money that you either know who they are or use their products on a regular basis. Out of those experiences came the understanding that the content, microcopy, voice and tone of the words on the screen carry significant importance in building an intuitive user experience that grows user confidence, reduces friction, and drives conversion. In many cases, the success of the product owes as much or more to the effectiveness and personality of the UI content as does the structural and visual design. Often, without even being aware of it, this is where the magic happens.
Why did UX writing and content design emerge? Let’s talk about it.
We’ve circled the UX block enough to the point where it’s clear that to design and develop a product that will “surprise and delight,” one person with knowledge of UX can’t be all things. I was thrilled that a new lane opened up in user-experience design — UX writing and content design had made its way onto the user-centered design intersection and my love of effective communication + UX was front and center. When content design emerged out of an understanding that the voice of a product is as important to the user experience as the look and feel of a product, I eagerly became certified as a UX writer and haven’t looked back. Reading and writing have been one of the greatest loves of my life and I’ve been fortunate to have a career in a UX profession that I enjoy. In the convergence of UX strategy and design thinking with UX writing and content design, I had found my sweet spot!
So, what’s a writer with a UX in front? Now my career is focused on 3 areas: UX strategy + content strategy + a specific writing ability for web and mobile UX/UI = UX writing and content design. I use my UX strategy and UX writing knowledge to help companies design better products for their target audience. Whether you call me a UX Writer or a Content Designer, my lane primarily focuses on the end-to-end flow of conversations and interactions between the product and the customer. I love this lane, it’s a growing discipline still currently under construction. I’ll say more about that in my next article.