Dominic Warren is a content designer at Mercator Digital. He’s worked in the digital industry for over a decade as a designer and writer. We asked Dominic what advice he would give someone looking to start a career in Content Design. He gave us five key pieces of advice.
So you want to be a Content Designer?
The first thing to note about starting out in content design is that there is no one way of starting. Everyone who works in content design comes from varied and different backgrounds. I come from a graphic and web design background. I know others who have come from what might be considered a more relevant word-y background of journalism or marketing. Others have come from law and studying history. The point is, with there being no one way to access the career, it’s open to anyone willing to learn the craft. This also means there is a wide variety of viewpoints, perspectives and experiences that help inform and build the discipline into something better.
There are two crucial elements you should have an interest in. For the first, a passion for words. Lots of content designers will say what we do is more than “just words”. And they’re right. But at its most fundamental, we are writers. We work through design, but we also work through narrative. We understand how information is presented and structured. More often than not, this is through words. A GOV.UK page with no words is useless. The guidance, descriptions, button labels, form names, directions, contact details and information is all read by the user. It is all needed by the user.
The second is collaboration. A content designer cannot truly succeed without the efforts of designers, researchers, developers, analysts and more. It’s the interconnectedness, the criss-crossing of skills, that makes the best design outcome. It’s not a competition of skills, but being able to lift up your colleagues and also let them empower you too.
1. Read articles and listen to podcasts
There is an abundance of content out there. Many content designers maintain their own blogs, write books or host podcasts. Use these resources. Read them, take notes, pull out favourite quotes and share online. You’ll find a whole load of different topics covered. And many are covered by different people offering their differing views. This will give you an understanding of the sorts of issues facing content designers, the areas where we succeed and the usual topics of discussion.
2. Connect with other content designers
A great first step is to connect online with content designers. Places like LinkedIn make it really easy to find people with that job title. You’ll often find once you’ve connected with one or two, you’ll find lots more.
Share blog posts and articles that you’ve enjoyed and connect with the authors. Send them messages, ask questions and get an idea of their tips and tricks — I’ve found everyone in this industry that I’ve ever messaged out-of-the-blue to be friendly and helpful.
3. Understand UX design and research
You might think that UX design and UX research are for UX designers and researchers to worry about. But that’s not the case. You’ll be working so closely with them and often overlapping tasks, so the more you know about these disciplines the better.
Your content can inform the direction of the design. The design can inform your choice of words or positioning of information. UX researchers will help you find out what terms are understood and where users expect to be told certain information.
4. Practice writing
Writing is a skill that is learnt over time. This means the more you write, the more you’ll learn. So write, write, write. Think about how you write in your day-to-day life, like your emails and messages. Write your own blog posts and articles, exploring subjects and interests you know about — even if you don’t publish them, although there’s no harm in putting your writing out there.
These all allow you to practice and understand the mechanics of writing but also explore voice and tone. Unpick how you write specifically and compare how other writers frame their ideas.
5. Read plenty!
I believe an hour spent reading is an hour learning how to write. Read wide and varied. Read books, both fiction and non-fiction. Read articles, blog posts and essays.
This will permeate your thinking and writing. And if you want to get further into it, then take notes and annotations when you read. Unpick wording choice, sentence structure and the ideas expressed. Are the sentences long and floral? Or short and snappy? How does this affect your understanding?
These are just a few tips to get you started. The content design profession covers a range of skills, some that overlap with other UX professionals. So there are lots of ways to practice, improve and upskill. The most crucial element is to be curious. Look around you, take interest in different topics, read widely and write about them. Write about things in different ways; explore and play.
