Anjana Menon, PayPal

Hi! I’m Anjana and I work as a Senior Content Designer at PayPal. I love words, travel, music, food, and football. I’m one of 25 content designers at PayPal. We work on all the UI content you see on the PayPal app and website — button labels, instructional copy, landing pages, system emails, notifications. I’m a remote employee so I lead a very nomadic life and live out of a suitcase!

How did you get into content design?

By complete accident — at one of my previous jobs, I was asked to revamp user communications and that gradually led to doing more product content. I’ve always liked writing but I lost my love for creative writing a few years ago. I think my whole career prepped me for UX writing. I started as an editorial assistant, which I enjoyed. I then worked as a writer for a boutique research consultancy, which is where I learned a lot about user experience and translating user speak for companies. Then I started at Zomato where I got involved with the product team. I think my obsession for great UX started here and I sort of fell into the product comms team. That was the first time I felt like I’d found my calling! And now I’m at PayPal. I finish a year here this week and I wake up every morning thinking I have the best job in the world. :-)

What does a normal day look like?

This is completely dependent on what time zone I’m in! I usually start my day going through emails and Slack conversations. Because I work remote, I do have a lot of calls and meetings to get through in the course of the day, so I prioritise my tasks according to what’s needed before my meetings.

My days are never the same, I go through research studies, scope out other apps, work on user flows, etc. I support multiple designers, product managers, and products. Never a dull day!

These days, I’m also trying to sharpen my design skills. Design is not a part of my job as a content designer, but I would really like to learn and grow more in it.

What are the top 3 apps you use?

WhatsApp, Spotify, Instagram. This is entirely dependent on what I want to do and not UX-driven! :P I can’t do anything without music, so I use Spotify on my phone and the desktop constantly. WhatsApp is great for me to keep in touch with everyone. Instagram is a good distraction! I also use Dropbox Paper and Trello a lot to keep track of things.

Where do you go and what do you do for inspiration?

The Microcopy & UX Writing Facebook Group, Really Good Emails, Empty States, and also just reading articles on Medium!

Are there any books or blogs you’d recommend?

Everything John Saito has written on Medium and Content Design by Sarah Richards.

What have you worked on that you’re most proud of?

I’m really proud of everything I’ve worked on — it’s amazing what a difference even the smallest word can make to the user’s experience. I’m currently working on the Consumer Financial Services team at PayPal, which builds products for the financially underserved. I love all the products which are a part of this portfolio! Also, I think working in payments is pretty challenging. It’s complicated to make people understand money, and why you need their most private / secure information!

How do you approach getting stakeholders on board?

I work at a company where content is a priority, so I don’t need to work too hard to get people on the same page. I’m lucky to have this, but in general, A/B tests and data are super helpful. Building a great rapport with stakeholders is also essential. I find that a little challenging given I’m not co-located with them, but I’m trying to make it work! The other thing that’s super important is to make sure you can justify your decisions. When you trim out certain words or suggest changes in the flow, you need to be clear about why you’re suggesting these changes. You’re a user too!

What are the biggest challenges you face as a content designer?

Trying to make people understand what I do and the impact it creates. I also feel that people think of content as an afterthought or simply not important enough. I think there’s a long list of things here, but John Saito has summed it up well in this post.

What’s your biggest content pet peeve?

Lack of clarity and inconsistency is one. I wish apps and websites would pay more attention to these. I also hate passive aggressive messages I see, especially if it’s related to permission settings or just saying “no” to something online. Please, don’t make your users feel bad!

Do you have any advice for aspiring content designers?

Read as much as you can online about content design. If you want to break into the field but don’t have work experience, you can still build a portfolio with case studies. It’s very important to have one. Also, network! People out there are nice and helpful :-) My last tip would be to learn how to use Sketch / Figma at a basic level. Understanding design is the base for UX writing.

Where can people find you?

I tweet a lot about content and UX. My Instagram is mostly food and travel!

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every word matters is curated by Dominic Warren.

Thanks again to Anjana Menon for taking the time to answer these questions.