Powering Content

Chapter 9. Optimizing the Content Experience with Design

You can create the most compelling content in the world. Yet, if people cannot see it while they’re multitasking their hearts out, it is invisible. And so is your brand. The day I understood online users are only loosely committed to content consumption turned my entire strategy upside down—and it might just do the same for yours.

Design is your silent storyteller. The visual aesthetic you share with the world tells a story about the values you uphold. When your audience isn’t ready or willing to listen, a strong visual can capture even the most evasive of minds. Design isn’t ornamental or secondary: it can propel your stories far beyond the spaces you initially planned.

Design is about clear, cohesive aesthetics. But it is also about good construction and organization—looks and user-friendliness, feel and clarity. Good design is a transcendental part of the reading experience, the video or presentation flow, and the structure of the content hub. Design is, in Steve Jobs’s words, not just how something looks and feels—design is how it works.

In the upcoming pages, we will explore how design can affect the frequency and intensity with which your content is consumed by others. I will share a few essential principles to make your content scannable—and therefore ready for twenty-first-century users.

How to Design Scannable Content

We are faced with the incredible challenge of creating high-quality content for an audience ...