Content designWhat it is and what it isn’t

A long time ago in a galaxy far,

far away….

“If the only tool you have is a

hammer, you tend to treat

everything as if it were a

nail.”

– Abraham Maslow

“Content is anything that

provides information”

– Me

Not just words

Words are the building blocks

1,022,000

words in

English

.Common

words

5,000

Approximately

Block

Close of play

Deliver

Endeavour

Evidence

Impact

In order to

Key

Procure

Transform

Utilise

Do whatever meets the need

Webpage

Form

Online service

Video

Eligibility checker

Image

Analysis

Research

Communication

Write

Test

Edit

Great content is essential

“I use websites for their

cool animations, pop ups

(and unders), scroll jacking,

banner ads and hover

effects.”

– Nobody ever

Easy to find

Easy to read

Easy to understand

“The canning, processing, preserving, freezing,

drying, marketing, storing, packing for

shipment or distribution of: (1) Agricultural

produce; (2) Meat and fish products; and (3)

Perishable Foods.”

– State of Maine

Accessible

click here

Use the menu on the right

Click the red button

Don’t, can’t, won’t

Metaphors, Latin and idioms

Subtitles and transcripts

For the person reading it

“...involuntary exclusion from the world

of work”

– Teesdale District Council’s Sustainability

Appraisal Scoping Report for the Local

Development Framework Core Strategy

“This is just the way council reports are

written, and if you want to be a councillor

then you need to understand that. If you go to

France, they speak French. Here in the

council, we speak like this.”

– Councillor Newton Wood

Hi Steven,

We just wanted to let you know that your booking has

been taken care of. All the details are listed below, so

please just take a moment to check that everything is

tickety-boo, just in case.

This is just your confirmation, mind. Don’t mistake it for a

ticket. You need to bring a valid ticket with you on the day,

or you won’t be going anywhere.

“Content precedes design.

Design in the absence of

content is not design, it’s

decoration.”

– Jeffrey Zeldman

Thanks