At the beginning of August this year, I finished studying at General Assembly in London. It was a three-month-long intensive dive into UX, which has captivated me since I heard about it. Simplified to the max; UX is a job where you talk to people and listen to their frustrations to develop solutions for better experiences. UX is a job that seems too good to be true.
But before I began my studies, I was genuinely worried that with no prior UX experience, I would struggle to make it. And as the course started, my concerns only multiplied.
At the beginning of the course I was delighted to find a group of like-minded individuals who shared my passion for psychology and design. Most if not all of us were older professionals with varying backgrounds. It was comforting to learn that I wasn’t the only one without design experience, but my background seemed the most irrelevant.
Our lecturer explained to us that having diverse career experiences was an advantage. Extensively working in a particular field or industry gives unique specialisations and insights that can be reapplied through the lens of UX.
And companies in specific industries will look for candidates with matching experiences.
A former accountant has an advantage in designing apps that teach young people the benefits of managing deductibles. A former graphic designer easily slides into a UI role. Even a recent student would have valuable insights when building a student services app.
If you’re thinking about getting into UX but worried your background isn’t transferable or applicable, you might be wrong. Like I was!
With many other students coming from banking, agencies, or even startups — I began to fret that my experience as a writer and language teacher would fall short. I felt anxious and unsure how writing was applicable in a world of flashy UI and smooth checkout flows.
But an event occurred during the course, and afterwards everything clicked: My client project with Mixlr.
Mixlr is a live broadcasting app that allows users to go live to the world in several categories, from DJ sets and concerts to talk shows and live podcasts. We were tasked with addressing issues concerning the flow and confusing iconography that caused considerable user friction.
After addressing the out of place flow and common UI issues, another underlying problem still permeated the app: unclear copy.
None of the copy on Mixlr seemed to make sense. We realised that we couldn’t fix the bad copy using UI or by simply removing it. We needed something new that was instantly understandable to guide users. As the wordsmith of the group, I took it upon myself to address these issues.
Spoiler alert: I loved it.
One main copy issue centred around a feature which allowed users to incorporate ‘Sounds’ into their broadcasts. I began researching solutions and processes to solve copy issues. I nearly pooped my pants when I discovered UX writing was a thing. What was it? Why hadn’t I heard of it before?
I was intrigued. I had no idea UX writing could be so important. But it is. It’s essential for testing and iterating content for readability and accessibility. Vital for the visually impaired relying upon straightforward and structured copy for screen reader clarity. It is necessary for non-neurotypical people to read with ease. My fear that I would never find a suitable role in UX dissipated and relief washed over me in an awesome wave.
Back to the task at hand, I looked into practices to help solve our issue. I began ideating different alternative titles to give to these ‘Sounds’. Once I had my list I narrowed it down to only the serious contenders. Removing words that didn’t relate to music or broadcasting, words that wouldn’t gel with our users, or words that didn’t fit Mixlr’s voice.
‘Sounds bites’ and ‘Audio clips’ were among some of the unlucky.
Once I had my list down to two, I conducted what can only be described as a budget, lowkey AB test. I began to soundboard each term with as many potential users as possible until I found our winner: Audio files.What does it mean to you?
For our purposes, it was the perfect fit and testing it on users reflected that. It showcased exactly what the job to do was and it was instantly recognisable to users and said so much more than ‘Sounds’.
UX is common sense — and for so long it was neglected and people still don’t often know about it or properly understand it.
There are many facets to UX and UI. If you were to remove all the copy from an interface, you’d be lost. And understandably. Words on a screen are still the most powerful communication method, allowing businesses to connect and understand their users.
Currently, most of the work that would be considered UX writing falls under the branch of design. But, if you have someone without copywriting experience focusing on the content, they’re not going to give it the importance it deserves. The flow of a sentence is just as important as the flow of an app. Dedicated teams implementing copy and content to solve user issues need a UX Writer to convey ideas and solutions succinctly. Without one, copy is left to the end, becoming an afterthought of all design.
Copy is something that should be addressed and worked into the process as early as possible, ebbing and flowing in iterations with the design. My only hope is that more businesses appreciate UX writing, and we start to see more specialised roles will make their way onto the scene.