What do content designers actually do? We all know what skills a content designer needs, and there are job descriptions and blog posts aplenty – but what is it actually like, day-to-day? What do content designers do? Well, I’m a content designer working on a service and this is a weeknotes-style record of some of […]
Too good to miss: summer 2019 A round-up of the best advice, thinking, tools and news in content. This has all appeared in the fortnightly Scroll newsletter. (Sign up on the right, never miss out again…) Practical tips and how-tos Writing good UI Some good rules of thumb for writing labels, buttons and other bits […]
Content crits are an excellent way to improve your work, share good practice and establish standards in a team. Other than 2i (second pair of eyes), crits are probably the single best thing you can do for your content. What is a content crit? A content crit (content critique) is when a content designer shows […]
A list of things that any discerning content designer would be delighted to unwrap this Christmas. 1. ‘Oxford library’ candle Evoke sliding ladders, spiral staircases and leather-bound books. Best customer review of this says it “smells like a freshly showered Sherlock.” If this is all a bit clubby for your taste, try ‘Reading at the […]
A round-up of the best advice, thinking, tools and news in content. This has all appeared in the fortnightly Scroll newsletter. (Sign up on the right, never miss out again…) Practical tips and how-tos Use words at the start of the design process How to use the right level of content in different stages of […]
Content design for services: what’s it like?
News, thought pieces, advice Content designers add value (just by doing their job) Just having a content designer on your team means you get training, capacity development, mentoring and user-centred design advocacy for free. Content designers are AMAZING. Map a content ecosystem There is no better way to work out where your content stands. Then […]
A round-up of the best advice, thinking, tools and news in content. This has all appeared in the fortnightly Scroll newsletter. (Sign up on the right, never miss out again…) Enjoy your summer! News, thought pieces, advice Content and emotions Rule #1 for emotion-driven content: never assume you know how your user is feeling. Rather, […]
A round-up of the best advice, thinking, tools and news in content. This has all appeared in the fortnightly Scroll newsletter. (Sign up on the right, never miss out again…) News, thought pieces, advice Structured content saves lives US doctors had to use a huge reference book when they diagnosed cancer. This case study explains […]
A good content audit is the cornerstone of many web projects. But starting a content audit can be scary. It’s like standing on a high board, preparing to dive into a sea of raw data. If you want to avoid drowning in data, you need to invest time in defining the goals and scope of […]
This blog is a round-up of the best of the Scroll newsletter in January. The newsletter is itself a round-up of the best advice, thinking, news and events in content strategy and content design. Sign up on the right, never miss out again… News, thought pieces, advice Why lorem ipsum is the worst thing ever Proof […]
This blog is a round-up of the best of the Scroll Training newsletter in November. The newsletter is itself a round-up of the best tools, tips and tricks in content strategy and content design. Sign up, don’t miss out… News, thought pieces, advice It doesn’t matter what you call it Struggling to explain what content strategists […]
Content Strategy Applied: 2-day conference Theme: Benchmarking content 9 and 10 Feb 2017 London Scroll is delighted to sponsor this year’s Content Strategy Applied content conference. The focus is on the practice of content strategy – problems, solutions and case studies that professional content strategists are dealing with now. The aim is that you can […]
One of the most important skills for a content designer is the ability to manage relationships with subject matter experts (SMEs) and other stakeholders. That’s because content designers are at the sharp end of digital transformation. It might be the CEO who sets the grand digital strategy but it’s up to us to implement it […]
Too much internet to wade through before you find the worthwhile stuff? Never fear – we read it for you, cut the dross and keep the best. Then we put it all together in this round-up of the latest thinking, advice, tools and events in content strategy and content design. (Hint: you can get this straight […]
Scroll’s own content strategy guru, Rahel Bailie, has been named one of the top 25 content strategist influencers 2016 by MindTouch. MindTouch evaluated thousands of content strategists and created a measurement that took into account a wide range of metrics, including internet presence, influence, community engagement and participation. This is a snapshot of what’s happening […]
Here’s what you might have missed while you had your ‘Out of Office’ on (metaphorically or not) for a sunny, summery August. This blog is a round-up of the best of the Digital Content Academy newsletter in August. The newsletter is itself a round-up of the best advice, thinking, news and events in content strategy […]
Here’s what you might have missed last month while you were busy with Brexit and related drama… This blog is a round-up of the best of the Digital Content Academy newsletter in June. The newsletter is itself a round-up of the best advice, thinking, news and events in content strategy and content design. The newsletter […]
Content professionals spend a lot of time talking about the content creation and content management phases of the content lifecycle, but they seldom talk much about delivery. That’s because delivery is often misunderstood. And, it can be challenging. It requires a different skill set and specialized tools designed for the job. Webinar with Rahel Bailie: […]
It’s easy to get in a tangle writing guidance for GOV.UK. Usually, it’s because too many people want too many different things from one piece of content. As a content designer, you need to know how to manage this. Tangled webs of guidance, policy and spin Imagine the government is launching a big new scheme […]
The role of the content designer has changed. Before, a business or a subject matter expert used to write something then hand it to us for a few hours copy-editing before it went live. This just doesn’t cut it anymore. The competition for readers’ attention online is now so intense that no-one can afford to publish poor content. To […]
When should you use a link in copy? How many links should you use on a page? What happens when a user sees a link? We know lots about the technical aspects of using links on websites. But it’s hard to find solid advice for copywriters about when to use a link and where to […]
It’s true! People don’t read. At best, they’ll read less than 30% of your (brilliantly researched, skilfully crafted, elegantly honed) copy. We all know this, right? We all know about the F-shape – users scanning briefly down a page, only reading across when something salient grabs their attention. We know that they hop around in sentences, like […]