Strategic Writing for UX, 2nd Edition

Chapter 6 Edit, Because They Didn’t Come Here to Read

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Edit, Because They Didn’t Come Here to Read

I try to leave out the parts that people skip.

— Elmore Leonard, writer

Editing is the process of iterating the text to make sure that it meets its purpose, it’s concise, it’s conversational, and it’s clear to the person using the experience.

As content designers, we might be asked to edit “finished designs”—content that has been inserted as placeholder into designs that have been reviewed and approved—and that’s some of the hardest UX content work to do. In that scenario, we’re asked to tidy up some of the most difficult design problems, like disclosing potential risks, naming new concepts or features, and enticing people to use those new features, all within an information hierarchy and among design decisions that already bear the weight of multiple rounds of executive approval.

Far better is for content design to begin as part of the overall design process, including research. There are very few parts of experience design that don’t require language. Paying due attention to the words as the design emerges pays off when the experience not only requires fewer redesign cycles and less redevelopment to include appropriate information, but is also more usable when it ships, which reduces support costs and increases satisfaction.

I do not mean that the content designer should be busily correcting spelling and grammar throughout the design process. While it’s distracting to ...