Design
UX Writing & Content Design
UX Writing & Content Design
November 25, 2025
·
5m
read time
I’ll be the first to admit, I've tried and failed at good content design—especially UX writing. I look back at some of my early work and feel quite embarrassed.
I ignored the "less is more" principle, likely adding extra cognitive load for users. Other times I would completely overlook microcopy or overuse complex language or jargon. I was also unknowingly writing based on my own assumptions and assumed I didn't have to test with users.
The more complex my projects became over the years, the more these shortcomings became more apparent.
Before it expanded into "Content Design" it was just UX writing. The shift in language was intentional and represented a broader evolution of what was to come. Instead of filling in the content at the end of the design process, it became more fundamental and strategic. The role evolved into influencing systems and structures for guiding user actions.
As the discipline gained more attention, I was eager to learn all I could and connect that skill to my product design work.
Once you see it…
For the longest time, we didn’t have dedicated content designers at Trello. Everyone was doing their best—most of the time, doing things their own way. Content design and UX writing was everyone’s job and no one's job simultaneously.
I started to notice more issues in our app, and it drove me crazy. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for the decisions in tone or style. Everything was disjointed. I wanted to make improvements, not just add to the confusion and inconsistencies.
We were also about to start growing the team, and the need for a dedicated content designer was obvious. But even so, there were things we could do as product designers in the meantime.
Digging in
If I was going to improve my work, I needed a plan. My journey looked a little something like this:
Get familiar with your voice and tone guide.
If you're in a large organization that has this, it's really helpful to understand it thoroughly. This way, you can write without constantly checking references. For instance, are you supposed to use sentence case or title case for headings and buttons? Are you supposed to write in a more casual tone or a more professional tone?
If you don't have a guide, here's a lovely guide to create your own.
Work through the "Writing Effectively" course (proprietary Atlassian training).
If your company doesn't offer courses, alternatives exist on LinkedIn Learning and other independent online courses. It's also (hopefully) likely you can expense it through your organization.
Audit apps that nail good content design.
Spotting apps with outstanding content design was an important first step. I examined some of the top apps and websites at the time. I would ask myself things like, "What makes this so effective?" and "Which pieces can I apply to my work?"
Watch conference talks and read articles by leading content designers.
This can quickly turn into an endless task, so I recommend stopping yourself around 15 to 20. Here are a few I found helpful:
Sign up for writing challenge.
Signing up for a writing challenge was fun. It gave me a chance to work on real-world scenarios outside of my day-to-day work. I also used it as an opportunity to experiment with UI in a mobile context. If you’re curious, check it out: Daily UX Writing
Get work critiqued by a content designer.
Step outside of the flows for a moment and critique the content. Interrogate every piece of content. Our content designer says, “Every piece of content should work hard to earn its spot on the page."
A few tips to write better
Aside from never forgetting who you're writing for, these are the tips that help me the most.
Have a singular goal.
Most products are fairly complex. When writing for an experience, think about this: “What’s the one thing a user needs to know to move forward or succeed?”
Make it clear.
Avoid using jargon, made-up words, regional-specific slang, and synonyms or metaphors. Instead, use the most commonly used language (unless your voice and tone guidelines say otherwise). The more we try to be clever or talk in our own ways, the bigger the possibility someone gets confused.
Break things up.
Don’t cram a million things into a single screen. Separate things out into distinct steps, ideas, concepts, and actions. Make it concise, scannable, and digestible. Make it easy to know what the next step is.
Use the tools.
There are great tools out there, especially writing tools. Don’t use them as a crutch, but do use them to spot potential issues after you’ve used your own brain. If you are reliant on them to do anything, you’re never going to develop the muscle on your own.
Some tools I use:
iA Writer for focused writing but really any text or document editor will work here
Hemingway for cleaning up redundancies, tone, and various grammar and structure issues.
Various Figma plugins
Validate it.
Besides critiquing the work and incorporating feedback, it must be validated with real users.
Keep on keeping on.
As with any skill, practice, practice, practice. And keep seeking out opportunities to learn.
Happy writing!
I hope someone finds this useful. If you have any additions or critiques of this, send me a note. I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks for stopping by.
—Chris
I’ll be the first to admit, I've tried and failed at good content design—especially UX writing. I look back at some of my early work and feel quite embarrassed.
I ignored the "less is more" principle, likely adding extra cognitive load for users. Other times I would completely overlook microcopy or overuse complex language or jargon. I was also unknowingly writing based on my own assumptions and assumed I didn't have to test with users.
The more complex my projects became over the years, the more these shortcomings became more apparent.
Before it expanded into "Content Design" it was just UX writing. The shift in language was intentional and represented a broader evolution of what was to come. Instead of filling in the content at the end of the design process, it became more fundamental and strategic. The role evolved into influencing systems and structures for guiding user actions.
As the discipline gained more attention, I was eager to learn all I could and connect that skill to my product design work.
Once you see it…
For the longest time, we didn’t have dedicated content designers at Trello. Everyone was doing their best—most of the time, doing things their own way. Content design and UX writing was everyone’s job and no one's job simultaneously.
I started to notice more issues in our app, and it drove me crazy. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for the decisions in tone or style. Everything was disjointed. I wanted to make improvements, not just add to the confusion and inconsistencies.
We were also about to start growing the team, and the need for a dedicated content designer was obvious. But even so, there were things we could do as product designers in the meantime.
Digging in
If I was going to improve my work, I needed a plan. My journey looked a little something like this:
Get familiar with your voice and tone guide.
If you're in a large organization that has this, it's really helpful to understand it thoroughly. This way, you can write without constantly checking references. For instance, are you supposed to use sentence case or title case for headings and buttons? Are you supposed to write in a more casual tone or a more professional tone?
If you don't have a guide, here's a lovely guide to create your own.
Work through the "Writing Effectively" course (proprietary Atlassian training).
If your company doesn't offer courses, alternatives exist on LinkedIn Learning and other independent online courses. It's also (hopefully) likely you can expense it through your organization.
Audit apps that nail good content design.
Spotting apps with outstanding content design was an important first step. I examined some of the top apps and websites at the time. I would ask myself things like, "What makes this so effective?" and "Which pieces can I apply to my work?"
Watch conference talks and read articles by leading content designers.
This can quickly turn into an endless task, so I recommend stopping yourself around 15 to 20. Here are a few I found helpful:
Sign up for writing challenge.
Signing up for a writing challenge was fun. It gave me a chance to work on real-world scenarios outside of my day-to-day work. I also used it as an opportunity to experiment with UI in a mobile context. If you’re curious, check it out: Daily UX Writing
Get work critiqued by a content designer.
Step outside of the flows for a moment and critique the content. Interrogate every piece of content. Our content designer says, “Every piece of content should work hard to earn its spot on the page."
A few tips to write better
Aside from never forgetting who you're writing for, these are the tips that help me the most.
Have a singular goal.
Most products are fairly complex. When writing for an experience, think about this: “What’s the one thing a user needs to know to move forward or succeed?”
Make it clear.
Avoid using jargon, made-up words, regional-specific slang, and synonyms or metaphors. Instead, use the most commonly used language (unless your voice and tone guidelines say otherwise). The more we try to be clever or talk in our own ways, the bigger the possibility someone gets confused.
Break things up.
Don’t cram a million things into a single screen. Separate things out into distinct steps, ideas, concepts, and actions. Make it concise, scannable, and digestible. Make it easy to know what the next step is.
Use the tools.
There are great tools out there, especially writing tools. Don’t use them as a crutch, but do use them to spot potential issues after you’ve used your own brain. If you are reliant on them to do anything, you’re never going to develop the muscle on your own.
Some tools I use:
iA Writer for focused writing but really any text or document editor will work here
Hemingway for cleaning up redundancies, tone, and various grammar and structure issues.
Various Figma plugins
Validate it.
Besides critiquing the work and incorporating feedback, it must be validated with real users.
Keep on keeping on.
As with any skill, practice, practice, practice. And keep seeking out opportunities to learn.
Happy writing!
I hope someone finds this useful. If you have any additions or critiques of this, send me a note. I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks for stopping by.
—Chris