This post on sentence length was published on GOV.UK in 2014, but the benefits of writing shorter sentences remain the same today. One other thing that I always emphasise when running training sessions is one idea per sentence. It forces you to think about what you are trying to say and helps get the word count down.
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A directory of trauma-informed design resources
Well, this is a fabulous collection of trauma-informed design resources put together by "...the volunteer organisers of the Trauma Informed Design Discussion Group". It includes blog posts, books, journals, podcasts, courses and much more.
In time, I will no doubt link to specific resources and add the most relevant stuff to our very own Clear Language Bookmarks. But don't wait for me to find the most golden of nuggets – get stuck in and start exploring.
Principles that guide our content design and communications in Funeralcare
It's all well and good using clear language, but you still have to get the right tone and choose the right words. It's even more important when writing about difficult or sensitive topics.
The Co-op team do lots of great work and this piece by lead content designer, Helen Lawson, includes some fine examples. It covers the principles that help funeral directors write and work with content.
This paragraph resonated with me:
We reduce the chances of misinterpretation by being very deliberate with the language we choose. For example, we say “he died” not “he passed away” because euphemisms can be misunderstood – especially when English is not someone’s first language. Defined by Collins Dictionary as “a polite expression used to refer to things which people may find upsetting to talk about”, euphemisms about death do not soften the blow but they can lead to confusion.
I have spent the last 18 months working on content where I have needed to tackle this exact challenge. How can we write clearly and directly, while also showing empathy, understanding, even warmth? It is not easy. Often, I have felt like there were no right words available to me at all.
Luckily, I have been working alongside a team of other experienced content designers. We've had the most success when we have worked openly and improved content based on insights from user research. In practice, that means making changes to language and tone in response to feedback from the audience. And by sharing with and learning from each other.
Sometimes, that work has led to a change in terminology – a simple update to the style guide. But there have also been fundamental shifts in how the entire organisation talks and writes about the service and its users. It has had a material effect on both internal culture and the user experience.
Of course, this is how you should approach all projects. Listen to your audience. Write or make a thing. Test it and be willing to change. But I'd argue it is even more important to have these conversations and work iteratively when the content you're working on has potential to cause harm or traumatise.
WAVE – web accessibility evaluation tool
You may already know about WAVE, which is one of many free tools that helps you check the accessibility of a website or single web page.
WAVE® is a suite of evaluation tools that helps authors make their web content more accessible to individuals with disabilities. WAVE can identify many accessibility and Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) errors, but also facilitates human evaluation of web content.
The second clause in that last sentence is some way from being written in clear language, but it is important.
WAVE is fantastic at automatically picking up errors in your website. But you – dear human – must be the one to look for and identify accessibility issues more generally, and especially with your content.
Watch the 11-minute explainer video to get a good introduction to WAVE. Then head to the home page, enter a web address and poke around to see how it works hands on.
Video subtitles, captions, audio descriptions and transcripts
This from Darek Kay is a perfectly succinct explanation of the difference between video subtitles, captions, audio descriptions and transcripts:
As I was preparing the requirements for an accessible web video player, there was some confusion around subtitles, closed captions, audio descriptions and transcripts. In this post, I use interactive examples to show the difference. I also provide related success criteria from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
I'm sure there will have been times where I have previously talked about subtitles when what I really meant was closed captions. Maybe for you too?
If you create videos of any kind, this is the sort of stuff you should know. And of course, video-making tools are now so much better at helping you create and add subtitles, captions and transcripts. There isn't much of an excuse to not make your video content accessible.
For example, I use the excellent Descript to make podcasts. Add an audio or video file to your project and the app will auto-generate a transcript for you. The transcript is never perfect, but it gives you a fantastic start by doing the bulk of the work for you. A few tweaks and it's ready to go.
Challenging ageism: Inclusive writing for the 50+ audience
Apart from the personal devastation of being just a mere half-decade away from joining this particular user group, there is lots of good stuff in this piece by Bryan Kelly on writing for people over 50:
Designing for older adults isn’t about simplifying everything or creating a “senior version” of your digital experience. It’s about designing with respect, complexity, and care — just like you would for any other audience.
That's the gist of it, but Kelly also includes a range of research-backed personas to help you think about how different people might approach your content. Basically, it's 2026 and we are quite some way past the notion of the 'silver surfer'.
