mindful user experience

DTA – Introduction to content design, Canberra 9 Feb 2017

Bruce Klopsteins -

DTA – Introduction to content design, Canberra
9 Feb 2017
With Libby Varcoe

These recollections are based on my personal notes, mistakes are my mine. My comments added in [square brackets]

  • DTA has a small team of content designers
  • Works externally with peers

What is content design?

  • Usability
  • Readability
  • Accessibility

Important to:

  • Understand user needs

  • Design content around the user needs

  • Refine the content based on user feedback and testing

  • Make use of critiques

NOT what do we want to tell people but – what do people want to know

I am sorry I wrote a long letter I didn’t have time to write a short one

  • NOT JUST WRITING AND EDITING (but writing and editing still extremely important)

  • User research/testing can be shocking

  • Language of simplicity and trust [? I think trust is very important but not sure how it is defined. I think this comes out of a relationship over time]

Agile work methods

  • They make use of morning stand up – what are you doing today.
  • They also use a Kanban (jobs on a board visible to all – to do | doing | done) type methodology to share visibility of work across the team
  • They use multidisciplinary teams and work in the open

Fun stat: 44% of Australians have low literacy

Issues

  • User needs first or Policy first – Funding model supports policy development rather than user needs

  • User research – they make use of user stories [Can be a good design artefact]

  • The also use pair writing [A big fan of this too] – work together early

  • Guerrilla testing of copy – with a highlighter – highlight important bits.[I like this]