Mantras on simplicity

We love technology — We love to make it, work with it, work in it, roll around in it, play with it, even worship it. We love technology in its purest forms because…well, I don’t know why anyone else loves it, but I love it because of how it not only solves some of…

On UX writing If done properly, the reader will know how to do what they came to the product to do without noticing the words. On design Design is constantly closing the gap between what people expect from your product and what it actually does. On testing & research “Never let yourself be diverted by what you wish to…

TLDR Think in terms of things being turned “on” or turned “off”. Fill in the blank: “when this is turned on, the customer can __________.” What you use to fill the blank is your toggle label, or very close! Enable, disable, activate and deactivate are often the least helpful words you…

TLDR Error messages must be well-crafted, empathetic and problem-solving. If you can, tell the customer what went wrong and how to recover. Avoid talking about server errors or technical issues that don’t give customers useful information. Keep messages substantial and case-specific: generic messages usually aren’t very helpful. Watch your tone: things…

The little word that just can’t even anymore We want to tell the story of our products and services in a way that explains to our customers what’s in it for them. This is how we often try to do it: Skrubbie provides powerful tools that enable dishes to be washed with ease. “But,” I hear you object…

Deactivate that light! A product manager once asked his project team in an email that I was copied on why the UI was, in the app settings, saying things like “switch on” and “switch off” instead of “activate” and “deactivate.” “When I go home in the evening,” I rationalised, “I switch on the…

The what now? — Who am I and how did I get here? The label I most often apply to the sort of work I do is “UX writing.” Others doing this work also say that’s what they do, except for those who prefer “UX content design.” I prefer the former: principally, I write. What I write is text that guides people through…