Content design - Softcover

Richards, Sarah

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1527209180 ISBN 13: 9781527209183

Publisher: Content Design London, 2017

Synopsis

Between 2010 and 2014, Sarah Richards and her team at the United Kingdom’s Government Digital Service did what many thought impossible: they took over 400 separate government websites and transformed them into a single site designed to effectively serve its users. In doing so, they defined a new discipline: content design.

Content design isn’t graphic design or just copywriting under another name. Content design focuses on what content best serves the users’ needs, whether it be the written word, infographics, visuals, videos, or charts.

At the core of content design are the needs of the users—and this means determining what your users want. More than this, it’s about analysing data to determine when, where, and how users want to digest information. There is no room for assumptions in content design—success or failure hinges on how well you understand your users’ needs.

Discover the power of designing completely user-based content, grounded not on what organisations think their users want but on the needs, actions, and motivating forces of your site visitors.

About this title

Review

“A great practical guide to get you started in creating content that truly puts people first. It’s no-nonsense, sensible stuff. Sarah provides a set of techniques to create content that will work on the Web. Content that is designed for the way we search, read and live today.” Gerry McGovern “Clear-eyed, practical, and immediately useful. Sarah Richards shows us not just what content design is, but how to actually do it—and why doing it well takes more than a knack for writing. Whether showing us how to gain support from stakeholders, research user needs, or critique content without hurt feelings and huffy standoffs, Richards’s experience leading some of the largest, thorniest content projects around shines through” Sara Wachter-Boettcher “Content design” is the label Sarah Richards gives to the art and science of creating content so people can use your service, buy your products, and validate your organisation’s reason for existing. Sarah is one of the brightest minds in content strategy today, and she generously shares her wisdom, so the rest of us can put these principles into practice. “This book, filled with examples and real-life stories, shows how to develop smart content that will help you beat your competitors, create legions of loyal customers, and be more successful. “The end goal is to create the right content in the structure and format that will tell the most compelling story. “Designing content in a transformative way is a journey of knowing best practices, understanding your audience needs, and bringing that understanding to the organisation so everyone can think about the content in a whole new light. Come along for the ride – you’ll be glad you did. “Every content-rich organisation needs this book!” Hilary Marsh

About the Author

Born in Guildford, Surrey, Sarah Richards began her career as a researcher for a local television company before moving into copywriting.

After working for Ogilvy & Mather and Saatchi & Saatchi, Richards moved to a position with the Cabinet Office in the British government.

Starting in 2010, she created and led the www.gov.uk content design team for the Government Digital Service. The team was tasked with turning over four hundred diverse and complicated government websites into a single site focused on user needs. The result was a stunning work of content design held up as an example of the discipline’s potential.

Richards now runs the Content Design Center, consulting, coaching, and training organisations and governments around the world. More information about the Content Design Center can be found at www.contentdesign.london.

Edition details

• Publisher: Content Design London
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1527209180
• ISBN 13: 9781527209183
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 234