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The Sliding Scale of Giving a F*** Link post

And now for something a little different with a touch of fruity language.

One of the lovely colleagues on my previous project shared this blog post by Cap Watkins with me last year and I have thought about it a lot since. Essentially, if you are having a difficult design or content conversation, how much does the issue mean to you on a scale of 1–10?

There have been a few times recently when I could tell someone felt far more strongly about a decision than I did. So, I acquiesced, with the hope that the next time I'm a ten-out-of-ten on a topic with that person involved, they'll recognize that and hear me out. If you can let go of the things that don't matter so much to you directly, you can build currency with others and earn their trust when you do wind up pushing back.

I have found this an incredibly useful mental trick. When you are in the fog of deadlines and challenging work, it is easy to feel like every decision matters and all arguments are worth fighting for. But that's not how true collaboration works.

To work effectively as a team when things get tough and tense, there has to be a bit of give and take. You can't go full steam ahead into every single conversation. It's unlikely that your way will be the right way every time.

So yeah – these are good questions to ask. Is this decision – this argument – really that important to me? Do I feel so strongly about it? Or can I let this one go and save my persistence for a problem that's more of an 8, 9 or 10 out of 10?

A guide to content design Link post

From this concise and extremely handy guide to content design:

Instead of thinking about what we want to say, we research what a user needs to achieve their desired outcome. What they want and what they need can be different. It’s a content designer’s job to figure that out. Once we have researched user needs, we determine what sort of content will meet those needs.

I'm aware that I talk about content design a lot on the blog and in the newsletter. That's because writing in clear language is in large part about understanding who you are writing for and what they need. And that's crucial to content design.

But I am also conscious that there are many people who write in clear language and do not work in content design. This one-page content design overview is from Shelter's style guide and a brilliant place to start.

If you want to dig deeper, I recommend the handily-titled Content Design, written by Sarah Winters and Rachel Edwards.

Accessibility For Everyone Link post

Whether you are new to accessibility or have bags of experience, Accessibility For Everyone by Laura Kalbag is a fantastic book.

It was first published 9 years ago by the excellent A Book Apart, which has since sadly closed down. Fortunately, Accessibility for Everyone is now entirely free for you to read online.

If you are short on time, there is a section on content and design. I'm due a refresher and plan to dip in over the next couple of weeks.

Words not to use Link post

Brill list of words to avoid from the style manual of the Office for National Statistics. I always like it when these lists are either grumpy or include at least a little humour in them. Ideally, both.

For example:

drive out (unless it is cattle)

And:

deliver (pizzas, post and services are delivered – not abstract concepts)

And perhaps my favourite:

one-stop shop (we are not a retail outlet and creating a single place for everything often does not meet user need)

Top, right and other directional text Link post

I shared this post by Marian Avery on directional text in the newsletter, but it's worth a link post of its own.

There are better, clearer, ways to tell people where things are than by using directional text. As well as avoiding problems like locations changing with device type, and making things more difficult for people with low or no vision, you’ll end up with better content.

There's lots of good, practical advice in this piece. I think one of the easiest ways to help people navigate your website is by writing meaningful links. It solves a lot of problems for all users. And it becomes second nature quite quickly.

For example, I could write: 'Subscribe to the newsletter from the main menu on the left.' But the menu is not 'on the left' if you are reading on mobile. And there is no menu at all if you are reading via an RSS feed reader.

Instead, I can write a meaningful link: 'Subscribe to the newsletter.' There is no need for directional text because the link is right there. And the link itself describes exactly where the user will end up. Bonus: 7 fewer words.

Are they, or were they? Use of tense when referring to death Link post

There are so many brilliant, thoughtful reflections in this post on tense when referring to death by Lizzie Cass-Maran. But perhaps more than anything, this sentence is the one that really rings true.

Good content design comes from combining clarity and kindness.

Yes! This is exactly it. This is the very feeling I have in my waters when I go to work each day and try to put words in the right order. How can this piece of content be clearer? How can it be kinder to the person reading?

I like the word kind a lot. I think everybody instinctively knows what it means to be kind. I tell my children to be kind most days when I drop them off at school. Have fun. Be kind. See you later.

This shared understanding of kindness is why it's so important to speak to and understand your reader. How can you be clear and kind if you don't know what being unkind might look like to them? Or if you do not take the time to research the potential impact of your words?

Anyway, writing about death is absolutely the time to be as clear and kind as you possibly can. I haven't talked about it publicly, but I have spent almost the last two years working in this space. I was part of the team that helped set up the Infected Blood Compensation Authority.

I'm sure I will write about this experience over the coming months. But needless to say, it saw me work on some of the most challenging content I have ever had to write. At times, and especially when referring to death, it felt like the need to be clear made it harder to also be kind. Or as kind as perhaps I would have liked.

I suppose that's because although clarity and kindness are at the heart of good content design, they can sometimes feel at odds. Being clear can sometimes seem cold. Being kind can maybe confuse. It's a tough balance.

The good news? This piece by Cass-Maran is a brilliant place to start if you are dealing with any of these content challenges. Go read it now. And let me stew on the subject for maybe a later, longer, more thoughtful blog post.

The Sliding Scale of Giving a F*** Link post

A guide to content design Link post

Accessibility For Everyone Link post

Words not to use Link post

Top, right and other directional text Link post

Are they, or were they? Use of tense when referring to death Link post

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