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Resources

For the past 15 years or so, I’ve mostly worked as a content strategist, content designer, and/or information architect, and I teach students and train teams on those topics, too.

Over that time, I’ve written, recorded, sketched, and made a lot of stuff.

This guide collects everything of value I can find to share from my history of writing, public speaking, interviews, and teaching — over 100 items! It’s all stuff I’ve written, made, or contributed to.

While this collection is focused on my own work, many of the resources contain links and connections to further resources from others — as do most of my talks, classes, and workshops. I took inspiration for this page from Amy Santee’s excellent resources page, which is worth a look for anyone into UX research or design.

You might also be interested in my design tools and methods or this curated collection of talks, podcasts, and meetup recordings.

Happy exploring! Please contact me if you catch any errors or omissions.

Some Really Good Stuff

Personal favorites and popular tools.

UX Content Playlist

Curated collection of 80+ videos on UX, IA, content strategy, & content design topics.

Dear User, Let’s Be Friends

A talk at UX Lisbon, 2022.

Content Strategy Resource Guide

Every article, video, template, or guide from The Practice of Content Strategy, a CCA course.

VMT Product Clarity Framework

A tool for clear thinking.

The Consistency Trap for UX Writers (and How to Avoid It)

An important lesson to learn early in your UX writing career.

The Brick Analogy

On the self-apparent value of content design.

Getting Started in UX & Content

Finding your footing and first (or next) step.

Careers in content: UX Growth Podcast

Where to find UX writing classes, events, and workshops

Paths into UX content

What is UX writing?

UX writing is less “writing, but apps” and more “design, but words.”

How do I get started in UX design?

How do I get started in UX writing?

How do I get started in content strategy?

Careers in UX & Content

Real talk, practical approaches, and useful tools for moving forward in your UX and/or content career.

Where & how to find UX writing, content design, and content strategy jobs

Content Career Accelerator newsletter

Content Career Accelerator community

Four tips on writing about design

You don’t have to be an influencer to have a career

What to do when you get the ‘job ick’

Navigating conflicting advice on your UX content portfolio

There are better ways to search for content jobs

Six career ladder myths that might be holding you back

Networking: Sign up. Show up. Be there.

What to put in your UX content portfolio

Getting ready to ask for a raise or promotion in a UX content role

Is UX writing a career dead-end now with ChatGPT?

Can I include online writing challenges in my UX writing portfolio?

Make sure you actually want the design job you think you want

Tactics for responding to UX job recruiters

Portfolio tip: show your understanding with ‘work stories’

Finding Your Place: Two Factors that Shape Every UX Role

Two attributes that shape every content role

You don’t have to be a native speaker to excel as a UX writer

Design jobs and design roles are not the same thing

What stories should you tell in your UX content portfolio? (Outcomes!)

Put yourself into your UX portfolio to stand out

Do content designers and UX writers need to learn Figma?

Do you need a portfolio for UX writing or content design jobs?

Understanding Content Strategy and Content Design

Philosophical musings and other high-level perspectives on the nature and practice of content strategy and content design. These aren’t how to do it, they’re how to be about it.

Content Strategy is Boring (and That’s OK)

The Brick Analogy (on the value of content design)

What UX writing and content strategy get wrong (and how to get better)

Writing ain’t religion

Content strategy is not just one thing

I still care about content

You can’t convince everybody

Hire product people who already understand content (CS as world-building)

On the value of content design: Proving or providing?

UX Writing and Content Design Craft Skills

Being the writer on a product team, collaboration with design, UX writing and content design craft skills.

Working with graphic and UX designers as a designer who writes

How to get the UX writing done

Writing for Designers

Dear User, Let’s Be Friends

Good interfaces are not, in fact, like jokes

Navigate Content and Design Vocabulary Like a Pro

Eavesdrop your way to better interface copy

The Consistency Trap for UX Writers (and How to Avoid It)

My most used UX writing tool is Pastebot

Who should own the text in our design process?

Should UX writers use Lorem Ipsum?

A button is not a call to action

Jump start your new UX writing job with discovery interviews

Fighting back against proper noun feature names

Ep. 59 – Writing for Designers

Practicing Content Strategy

Ideas, methods, and tools for setting strategy and improving your craft skills as a content strategist, whether or not you’ve got the title.

Change is a feature: Effective strategies for communicating product changes

How to Answer: How Long Will This Content Take You to Write?

Case Study: Yes, chatbots are still part of your website.

Making Time for Content Strategy

What to Do When You Need More Writers

Put the Work Before the Words

How smart teams create and train writers

The Situation Analysis: How to Put Your Research to Work

Design Like a Content Strategist

Assessing Your User-Centered Content Strategy

How to Plan and Run a Content Strategy Alignment Workshop

Tools for content migration planning (page tables + content matrix)

Writing rules are made to be chosen

5 Uncomfortable Truths About UX & Content

Can we let engineers and other non-experts write copy if we haven’t trained them?

How many content reviewers are enough?

How to make someone hate writing for you

Information Architecture

Assorted thoughts and resources on the design and stewardship of information spaces.

What even is a website?

21 Thoughts on Information Architecture

Conceptual debt is killing your design process

The map in your head

The website of Theseus

Content Ecosystem Mapping

Content ecosystem mapping is a design mapping method that helps team align and create clarity for large website, app, and digital strategy initiatives. I didn’t coin the phrase, nor did I invent concept modeling which underlies this methodology, but I’ve gone very deep on this as a facilitation method for content and digital strategy, and evolved it into a whole thing.

Mapping content ecosystems w/ Scott Kubie, ep. 29

What the heck is content ecosystem mapping?

Mapping Content Ecosystems, Ep. 29

The OOUX Happy Hour: Content Ecosystem Mapping

An Introduction to Content Ecosystem Maps

What to Include in a Content Ecosystem Map

How to Use a Content Ecosystem Map

How to Plan Your Content Ecosystem Mapping Project

Content Ecosystems, Ep. 03

Develop a Strategy for Your Content (Chapter 9)

Put the Work Before the Words

Websites Aren’t Rocketships (So Stop “Launching” Them, Please)

UX Design, Design, and Design Thinking

Practical and philosophical takes on the nature of design, how to be a designer, and all of the myriad disciplines that comprise contemporary “UX design”.

Making sense of things is a designer’s job

Learn thinky things

It’s all made up, and that’s okay

Two product culture weaknesses that can kill your experience

Creativity, Clarity, and Thinking Clearly

Reckons, notions, thought technologies and other things that aren’t about design or content per se, at least not in the business sense of those terms.

The Value of Slowthinking (Who doesn’t want to wear the ribbon?)

Learn thinky things

The effortful way

Being the thing

Give him some room

A smaller toolkit

Always Be Deleting

Build your digital writing toolbox

Brainstorming is Broken

Paper carries, but it doesn’t keep

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