Are you a UX writer?
Nobody knows what you do. But you’re on the right path.
A lot of people have asked me about what I do. I tell them proudly that I’m a UX writer.
“I write words for an app so that it speaks with you, as if it were a close friend who’s there to help you.”
They barely get it…
Much later I began wondering, so I dug deeper by asking them which part they didn’t understand.
Following were the reasons they didn’t understand:
- There was a huge gap of knowledge between my job and theirs.
- They were unfamiliar with UX. Let alone UX writer.
- They didn’t think there was a dedicated role for this. Thought that anyone can “volunteer” to become a UX writer.
Some would even ask me back…
We have words in our apps?
I don’t blame them for not knowing. I don’t feel ashamed about myself either. I’m saying this because some of us may later have doubts of becoming UX writers, just because nobody knows what it is. You shouldn’t.
Here’s why you should feel proud
Imagine if a tech company had no UX writer, would you know what something in your phone is used for? Maybe you would, but a tech company without a UX writer will less likely value the whole point of UX writing.
Keep in mind that UX writers do not just tie words together.
Take this random error screen for example, what does the left one tell you?
The whole point of UX writing is so the words have a soul and can interact with you just how a close friend would. If you see the left screen closely, these words don’t mean anything to anyone:
Apache/2.2.34 (unix) mod_ssl/2.2.34 OpenSSL/1.0.le-fips mod_bwlimited/1.4 Server at www.yourURL.com Port 80
It thus becomes a challenge for UX writers as we should be translating those html-formatted texts into simple words that may resonate with a lot of people. Tell me, do you find it easier to read the screen on the right?
Case study: GO-JEK
Here’s another example. What if, and just for fun, I changed the words on the homepage of GO-JEK into something unrelated, does it still picture GO-JEK as we know today? See the experiment on the right.*
*Disclaimer: just an illustration, never really happened.
Point is, UX writing is still a new field, yet the impact it gives is powerful to the growth of tech companies. It is as well constructive to the users, namely as half the word now is undeniably attached to smartphones.
We make people understand how to use their apps. How is that not important?
Lastly,
The words or the copy in our phones are more than just words, they are guidance to help us make decisions, get to where we want.
