UX Design and an unexpected ability
Yes, you're gonna have to write.
Of all the changes and adaptations of the switch from Architecture and Urbanism to UX Design, the skill that I least expected to have to develop was writing. The preparation to start on the field itself involved a lot of reading, and that should have been an indicator, but I did not immediately associate the need. I prepared cases to put myself on the market and I wrote a lot, but it was a slow process, which took a couple of months … like one paragraph per week. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
When I actually started acting as UX my expectation was to have my routine involved in wireframes, sketches and post-its (yeah, I know), but my first deliverable working on the research team was a report.
What. A. Nightmare.
It was supposed to be something simple and not very extensive, but oh, how I struggled. With the blank Google Docs page in front of me, I kept trying to remember the last time I had to produce something written. Professionally, never. In a little more than 6 years of acting in architecture all I produced involved plans and technical drawings (hi AutoCAD), as well as some graphic pieces. Writing per se only to email clients.
In the end, it was all right and I delivered my first report of many to come, and with each one, the writing part was getting easier. But whenever I came across having to produce something written, whether for reports, wireframe copy, or even updating my LinkedIn’s description, it was always accompanied by some anxiety. I realized that I needed to practice more to lose this feeling. I began at a slow pace, trying to create the habit of writing, however small:
Reviews on Goodreads
Goodreads is a "social cataloging" site. In summary, users can freely input books, give notes, write reviews and interact with each other. In practice I use it as an encouragement to read more, but recently I started writing reviews for the books that I read, simple stuff, like a paragraph. It has helped.
Lorem ipsum is a no-no
Lorem ipsum is a standard Latin text commonly used to fill text spaces as a mock. As practical as it may seem, lorem ipsum and its variations are not as used in wireframes as I imagined before starting to work. And that’s good, it forces you to think about the real applications of everything you design. Each button, every menu, every piece of content needed.
Publishing on Medium
Of course, Medium could not be left out. It is the tool and the means to put content out there. Besides the obvious of the practice itself, writing about UX is a way of giving back some content to the community, which I’ve always seen as very open and collaborative. It is also a form of consolidation, having to organize your experiences for publication helps you see more clearly your journey and evolution to get here. I recommend.
Is it still unclear why writing is such a big part of being a UX/Product Designer? Check out this great article by Michelle Claessen, it encouraged me to write about the topic:
Design is about getting things out there — not perfecting them — and seeing how they do. Writing is similar. Get it out there and see how it does. Learn from that, then improve.
Of course, these tips will not turn you into a UX writer, nor is that my intention. But here is a small incentive for those of you who have the same difficulty. Do you have any other writing habit tips? Share them too :)
