Content Design on television
4 lessons in content design from Kevin from “The Office”
Maybe Kevin should have been in user experience.
The Office, the smash-hit television series with 42 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and 5 wins, stole the hearts of fans around the world — myself included.
If you’ve seen The Office, you probably know that Kevin Malone was not a great accountant. In fact, he probably should have been fired multiple times throughout the seasons, like when he admits he’s been inside trading or when he makes up numbers. However, even if you haven’t seen The Office (which I think you should) you can still learn some valuable content design lessons from Kevin. Be warned, there are some (minor) spoilers ahead.
Kevin and content design
But what does a sitcom about a paper company or a fictional accountant who lacks communication skills have to do with content design or user experience? Okay, Kevin might not be explicitly giving us tips and tricks, but he does bring up some great points.
4 lessons in content design from Kevin Malone Quotes
1. Use concise language
“Me think, why waste time say lot word when few word do trick” — Kevin Malone
In season 8, episode 2 — “The Incentive”, Kevin brings his car to a mechanic who is not fluent in English. Kevin is able to communicate with the mechanic by only using words the mechanic does know, such as “car no go.” Because Kevin is able to get his point across with just a couple of words, he decides he no longer needs to speak in full sentences.
Although he might not be grammatically correct, Kevin makes a great point here. No, I’m not telling you to go have a conversation using as few words as possible (although that would probably be a great exercise). However, in content design, you don’t necessarily need to use full sentences. In fact, a lot of the time, few word does do trick.
Kevin is teaching us that sometimes less is more.
Most people don’t read every word. Even as a writer myself, I tend to skim long pages or directions. So how can I expect anyone else to read each word? Instead of long paragraphs or sentences, write less. My goal is to use the least amount of words while still getting the point across clearly.
Instead of:
Your password is incorrect.
Try:
Incorrect password.
Each word you use should have a reason for being there. If you can take out the word without affecting the meaning or readability of the sentence, consider removing it.
2. Consider all the outcomes
“If there’s one thing that I have learned through the whole experience, it’s that if you film anybody long enough, they’re going to do something stupid. It’s only human natural.” — Kevin Malone
During season 9, episode 25 — “Finale”, Kevin speaks about his experience during the filming of the documentary. As evident by pretty much everything Kevin did, people do stupid things sometimes, even if is being recorded.
Working in user experience, I’ve heard people say users are stupid. That’s not true. However, users can do stupid things sometimes. Why? Because they are human.
Often, we tend to think the users are stupid when they don’t follow exactly what we think they will do. When we make a product, we think it makes so much sense because, well, we made it.
People don’t always make the most logical decisions, which is why it is so important to user test. Maybe you thought the directions made so much sense, and then users got frustrated because they couldn’t figure out what to do next. You could’ve clearly stated exactly what to do, but remember, people don’t read every word. Instead, they might just click anything and everything they see hoping it’ll bring them where they want to go.
Stupid? Yes, but we all do it.
Account for people not doing exactly what you want. Sometimes people may not be rational. When emotions are high, whether they’re positive or negative, logic tends not to be. People also want to get to their goal as fast as possible and will look for shortcuts wherever they can.
Don’t make assumptions about how your users will act. Ask questions, test, and be willing to change your designs.
3. Match user’s expectations
“You think this is a great party? This cake has vegetables in it like a salad bar, Robert.” — Kevin Malone
During season 8, episode 20- “Welcome Party”, the office is forced by the CEO Robert California to throw a welcome party for Nellie Bertram, the self-appointed new branch manager. The members of the Party Planning Committee are not happy and decide to sabotage it. The typical colorful, fun decorations are replaced with plain black and a delicious cake is replaced with a boring, vegetable-filled cake (sorry carrot cake lovers).
Sure, some people might like vegetables in their cake, but for Kevin, the cake was a disappointment. When Robert proclaimed he thought the party was great, Kevin had to correct him.
You can create what you think is the best product in the entire world, but if your users don’t agree, then you didn’t. You have to understand who your users are, their goals, motivations, needs, and where they are in their journey.
The first step in creating a product your users will love is to match their expectations. How can you go above and beyond if you don’t even reach the minimum? Really get to know who your users are and what they need from you.
For example: let’s say you want to learn yoga. You decide to download an app that advertises free online yoga classes. Awesome, how convenient! However, after opening the app, you find healthy recipes, weight lifting workouts, and music playlists. This would be great…if you were trying to get into weight lifting. But your goal was to learn more about yoga. The app may be useful for someone else, but it failed to meet your expectations and most likely, you’d delete it and go somewhere else for your yoga needs.
Matching users’ expectations is also on a more detailed level. For example, a button should be clearly labeled so that a user has an idea of where they will go when they click on it.
Don’t give your users carrot cake when they are expecting chocolate cake. It can be the best carrot cake in the world, but they still won’t want it.
4. Things change fast
“You go to the bathroom for 45 minutes and everything changes.” — Kevin Malone
During season 9, episode 18 — “Promos”, Kevin steps away and misses everyone in the office together watching the first documentary promo video about their experiences working at a paper company. When they rewatch it with Kevin, he finally understands why they had been filmed for several years.
Okay, this one might be a bit of an exaggeration, but Kevin isn’t totally off. The world moves fast, and user experience (UX) is no exception. 10 years ago, the role of “content designer” was pretty much nonexistent. Sure, there were people who did the jobs that now content designers do, but people were not specialized in it.
Even today, many companies have their UX designers also write the copy. While I know many designers who are great with words, having someone specialized in content design allows everyone to focus on what they’re most skilled at. Plus, while everyone can write, not everyone should. Nor do they always want to.
Today, content design is growing. Fast. Companies are starting to understand its value. Even the title is changing frequently. More and more companies are starting to change the title from “UX writer” or “content specialist” to “content designer.”
So, if the role of content designer can be formed and transformed so much in the past 10 years, think about what the future may hold.
Turn away (or go to the bathroom) for 45 minutes and UX may have shifted and changed. Okay, maybe not 45 minutes. But 5 years? Things will definitely change. There will be new technology to learn and understand the best practices of. New research to use.
Understand that things will change. Be prepared to research, ask questions, and test.
Lessons in content design are everywhere.
Whether it is from a book, play, friend, documentary, or movie, you can find inspiration and knowledge everywhere, even from Kevin Malone. If you needed another excuse to rewatch The Office, here it is: let me know if you can find another content design lesson from Kevin.
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