Rules for writing
2016 is over. That was interesting...
While we dig into the early stages of 2017, I’m pausing to kick start something I should have done a long time ago. I’m going to share what’s worked for me, what hasn’t, and what I want to learn about the world of product, design, and technology.
But first… a few ground rules.
For the last 10 years, I’ve been consuming an endless stream of tech articles, podcasts, talks, and tweets. In doing so, I’ve picked up on a few things that make content successful. So, I’m putting on my UX hat and designing a writing style that is informative, actionable, and fits with people’s busy schedules.
[1] A post will never be more than 1,000 words long — in other words about 5 minutes. I’ll be concise and you’ll get to the shower in the morning instead of laying in bed, glued to your iPhone screen for a half hour. (That’s assuming you’re glued. Content will also be important.)
[2] I love this industry. I’m in the middle of my career but I have a lot to learn. For that reason, you won’t hear me rant. There are enough designers doing that today.
[3] I’ll raise questions. These are not rhetorical questions. Respond in comments or send me a DM. Let’s all get smarter.
[4] I’ve noticed that a lot of the content written by designers tends to be pretty watered down. It isn’t original nor is it useful for professional designers. It’s more the kind of thing that gets new grads or non-designers excited about the field. I’m not discounting the importance of that type of content, but that’s just not what I’m going to talk about. I’m going to talk shop. You can expect topics like roadmap prioritization, design tool work flow hacks, usability experiment design, how to design for doctors, etc.
[5] Wherever possible, I’ll try and share my digital tools. That means templates, files, and instructions.
[6] Some things are my own ideas, others are not. I’ll give credit where it is due.
[7] At the end of each post, I’ll give you a preview of what’s up next.
All that in 394 words. Looking forward to starting a great conversation.
Next week’s post will talk about how I’ve gotten great satisfaction out of shipping MVPs despite being a polish-obsessed designer.
Adam
