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Content Designer (UX Writer)

Sam edited this page Feb 18, 2025 · 12 revisions

What is UX Writing and Content Design?

UX Writing and Content Design are two terms for similar roles. While we don't differentiate the roles at Expunge Assist, the term "Content" is often used to refer to this role and team.

The Content team designs and maintains clear, concise, and useful content across the website that supports the user’s goals. Content creates, audits, and maintains Content Guidelines and Content Ops, voice and tone, information architecture, terminology, structure, and copy/text.

Content designers work closely with the design team and focus specifically on iterating solutions for the content of website. Content designers also work with strategy, a higher level process focused on content decisions in relation to the other teams. Here is another definition of Content Design.

Context / Origins

For the Expunge Assist project, Content was established as its own team in June 2021 when two writers joined the project - Lori and Sam. Content was built from the ground up by creating the voice, tone, and style for the product, and establishing work flows and processes with other teams (for example, for handing off work to Development and how to collaborate with Design and Research). All previous Content/Writing on the product was done by unknown persons -- most likely by the Design team directly in Figma.

Slack

Content specific channel:

#expunge-assist-design-content

Other slack channels, see Joining the team

Github

Content Github issues on the EA Project Board

Project Resources

Research resources (see also UXR Wiki space)

Research resources are for reference for our writing tasks

Understanding Expungement in CA a presentation about the nuances and key terms of expungement processes in CA.

Internal Usability Testing 1

Internal Usability Testing 2

Personas/Target audience demographics

Read our project's One Page

Content specific resources

Content Guidelines, on Figma (with intro and resources for new writers). Official Content Guidelines.

*For historical reference, the Content Guidelines were originally drafted (in 2021) in Google docs as a quick start into setting up Content Ops Writing/Content Guidelines (includes style, voice, tone, and best practices for anyone writing on the team). Do Not Use The Version in Drive! The current and most up to date version of the guidelines are housed in Figma. Figma was chosen as it is the workspace of both Content and Designers and allows for easier and more transparent access to the information across both teams.

General Wiki pages and specifically the resources under this wiki page

Content Timeline doc, which documents all major highlights since the Content Design/UX Writing team was started (2021)

Content Timeline and Documentation. Documents all major highlights from when the Content Design / UX Writing team was established in June 2021. Please read the timeline once you are onboarded to get a sense of what has happened previously. The Content Co-/Lead(s) update this document every 6 months for documentation purposes.

Content copy doc and Source of truth document, tracks all current content on the site (careful not to edit anything here!). This and the master pages on Figma (listed above) are the ONLY sources of truth.

Google Drive Content Folder. This folder is mostly unused and the majority of Content work happens on Figma and FigJam.

Archived Expunge Assist Drive. Context: This drive was used up until 2021/2022. Each person who created a file needed to copy it over due to the parameters of that Drive. Not all previous members were able to move the files, and so some files are on this drive still. For example, some past research and other context.

Meetings

Content and All-teams Meeting times

Content Agenda

For Content (Co-)Leads

Onboarding Guide: Content Leads and PMs outlines general areas of responsibilities for new Content Leads and PMs

Leads: update this documentation every 6 months, remember to fill in the sections at the top as well as updating the timeline Github issue and Content Timeline

Self-onboarding for new Writers happens by creating a new Github issue with the "pre-work Content" template. Ask the new writer to create a this new issue using the template and follow the instructions in it.

Recruit new Content team members by adding a Github issue under the appropriate heading on the HfLA Open Roles board, assign the Content Lead or PM

Onboard and offboard Writers to EA using this Github issue This is typically a Content PM task.