Because UX is all about the quality of the content, the primary focus of any design must be about delivering valuable content to the audiences and users.
You must’ve heard about content-first design many times throughout your design journey. Whether a project already exists and needs reconfiguring, or is in the early stages of conception, designing content-first is a bullet-proof way to build a successful user experience.
Why content-first design is beneficial?
- For the existing platforms, focusing on the content guides us to outline the intent and user needs/goals so it leads us to (re)design with specific purpose.
- When designing a new product, we have the option to design content from the mobile-first perspective. Mobile-first design is much more challenging than designing for desktop because of the limited space and other constrains; it helps us to prioritize the needs of the users.
The Content Strategy Cycle
Analyze
- Start with researching the existed content and figure out the purpose of it. Then compare the user needs with the content, match it with both user and business goals.
Align
- Assess areas of concern and highlight content inconsistencies. Re-organize the content based on importance and hierarchy throughout the platform. Align the content by keeping type, intent, voice and tone consistent throughout the platform and companion products.
Execute
- Delegate ongoing responsibilities for sourcing and maintaining content. Then finalize the considerations, project definition, structure and content by device type.
Distribute
- Conform all content, language and hierarchy to the brand guidelines. Update brand guidelines and ensure the content adheres to them.
Other resources:
Designing content-first for a better UX | Liam King
Seamlessness in the Omnichannel User Experience (Links to an external site.)
Content Strategy in 180 Seconds (Links to an external site.)
