THE SERVANT

When I write I try to be discreet, quiet, knowing. That’s because I believe the easiest journeys are the ones we don’t even notice. The best experiences bring us what we need without knowing we needed it. That’s the gift of the perfect servant.

The invisible presence

I often describe myself as a writer who prefers to take things out, rather than put them in. I’m always looking for silences, to create spaces that allow the user to breathe.

The UX writer’s primary goal is to create fluid experiences. Unlike copy writers, we rarely focus on sticky content. We create content that slides.

That concept is especially important in design software, where we do everything we can to stay out of the user’s way. Sure, users need onboarding. Yes, they may want tutorials — but I try to provide that content when the user needs it, on their terms, at a time of their choosing.

The example below demonstrates how UX copy can evolve as we iterate and simplify a feature that allows users to choose what type of content they’ll see.

First iteration: a selectable stepper, a dropdown and two buttons. Too much.

Second iteration: A simpler dropdown but still too heavy on copy.

Third iteration: Let’s take out more words. But do we really all these options?

Fourth iteration: Just two options now. Short and simple. Inspirational. Perfect!

Making sense of money

Money. We all want it. We crave it. And yet few of us know how to manage it. Writing for a large bank was a trial by fire for me as I tried to make sense of our many, many complex banking services and products.

Banking also tends to revert to fairly archaic Latin terminology that immediately puts customers at a disadvantage. That’s especially problematic when most of your customers speak English as a second or third language — like in South Africa.

As a UX writer, I tried to find the core value of a banking product and summarise it in terms that most customers could understand. What products are available to them? How much can they save? What will this transaction cost? How is this not a scam?

And did I always succeed? No. Did I learn a lot? Absolutely.

Focusing on what matters

When we designed our commenting feature at Sketch, we wanted to make sure the focus stays on the conversation happening between people.

In such cases, UX copy is just another distraction that nobody needs.

This is a good example of where design hierarchy and UX copy need to work closely together. Notice how the headers and other interactive elements are in the background. The focus here is who is saying what — not the components, not the labels, not us.

Finding the core message

Somehow, emails are still a thing. Well then, let’s at least make sure we tell people what they need to know in as few words as possible.

In this example, we quickly explain that a user has been invited to join a shared Workspace. No cross selling, no frills, no bullshit. Just the facts — and a big juicy button.