Content design is important at every stage of the content
creation and product design process. It runs through every
aspect of your content like veins through marble.
The goal of content design is to help users do what they
need to, as simply as possible, through whatever format
suits them. Content designers dig into the details of what
people want to do or find through qualitative and
quantitative user research, such as journey mapping,
interviews, usage metrics, and other data.
It’s not just about graphic design, but also user experience,
web design, copywriting, readability, accessibility,
information architecture, and deploying the most
appropriate type of media. So whether you’re a designer,
UX writer, editor, content strategist, or web developer,
content design is probably part of your job, even if you
don’t know it yet.
Content design can be applied to both interactive and
static web content. interactive content tools can help
people to perform specific actions, navigate through
complex information, or get a personalised experience
online.
The best content design also gives people a consistent
experience through the words, visual design, infographics,
pop-ups, and other elements of user experience — a style
guide is important! This can be invaluable in growing trust,
ensuring your content is accessible, and helping people
find what they need.
Depending on who your users are, and what your user
research tells you they want to do, that content might take
many different forms. In the examples below, we’ll see how
the principles of content design can be applied to
everything from calendars to pie charts, search bars to
sign-up forms.