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.
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
S3E5 w/ Nick Mann, 2024
Where to find UX writing classes, events, and workshops
kubie.co article, 2023
Paths into UX content
kubie.co article, 2021
What is UX writing?
UX writing is less “writing, but apps” and more “design, but words.”
kubie.co article, 2020
How do I get started in UX design?
kubie.co article, 2020
How do I get started in UX writing?
kubie.co article, 2020
How do I get started in content strategy?
kubie.co article, 2020
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
kubie.co guide, 2022
Content Career Accelerator newsletter
Weekly-ish updates with essays, tips, tools, & opportunities
Content Career Accelerator community
A private coaching & learning community for UX content professionals
Four tips on writing about design
kubie.co article 2020
You don’t have to be an influencer to have a career
Content Career Accelerator article, 2024
What to do when you get the ‘job ick’
Content Career Accelerator article, 2024
Navigating conflicting advice on your UX content portfolio
Content Career Accelerator article, 2024
There are better ways to search for content jobs
Content Career Accelerator article, 2024
Six career ladder myths that might be holding you back
Content Career Accelerator article, 2024
Networking: Sign up. Show up. Be there.
Content Career Accelerator article, 2024
What to put in your UX content portfolio
kubie.co article 2020
Getting ready to ask for a raise or promotion in a UX content role
kubie.co guide, 2022
Is UX writing a career dead-end now with ChatGPT?
article, 2023
Can I include online writing challenges in my UX writing portfolio?
video, 2022
Make sure you actually want the design job you think you want
article, 2022
Tactics for responding to UX job recruiters
article, 2022
Portfolio tip: show your understanding with ‘work stories’
article + video, 2022
Finding Your Place: Two Factors that Shape Every UX Role
Ladies That UX Seattle, video, 2023
Two attributes that shape every content role
article, 2021
You don’t have to be a native speaker to excel as a UX writer
article, 2021
Design jobs and design roles are not the same thing
video + article, 2020
What stories should you tell in your UX content portfolio? (Outcomes!)
video, 2022
Put yourself into your UX portfolio to stand out
video, 2022
Do content designers and UX writers need to learn Figma?
video, 2022
Do you need a portfolio for UX writing or content design jobs?
video, 2022
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)
Brain Traffic article
The Brick Analogy (on the value of content design)
article, 2023
What UX writing and content strategy get wrong (and how to get better)
Writers of Silicon Valley podcast, 2020
Writing ain’t religion
article, 2023
Content strategy is not just one thing
article, 2020
I still care about content
article, 2023
You can’t convince everybody
article, 2022
Hire product people who already understand content (CS as world-building)
article, 2019
On the value of content design: Proving or providing?
article, 2021
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
Content Design w/ Vanessa Barlow (podcast, 2020)
How to get the UX writing done
Interaction 19, event recording, 2019
Writing for Designers
Content Strategy Insights podcast, 2019
Dear User, Let’s Be Friends
UX Lisbon, event recording, 2022
Good interfaces are not, in fact, like jokes
article, 2022
Navigate Content and Design Vocabulary Like a Pro
Content Career Accelerator article, 2024
Eavesdrop your way to better interface copy
Content Career Accelerator article, 2024
The Consistency Trap for UX Writers (and How to Avoid It)
article, 2022
My most used UX writing tool is Pastebot
article, 2021
Who should own the text in our design process?
article, 2020
Should UX writers use Lorem Ipsum?
article, 2020
A button is not a call to action
video, 2023
Jump start your new UX writing job with discovery interviews
video, 2022
Fighting back against proper noun feature names
article, 2020
Ep. 59 – Writing for Designers
User Defenders w/ Jason Ogle, podcast, 2018
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
UXPA Boston, event recording, 2023
How to Answer: How Long Will This Content Take You to Write?
Brain Traffic article
Case Study: Yes, chatbots are still part of your website.
Content Career Accelerator article, 2024
Making Time for Content Strategy
Brain Traffic article
What to Do When You Need More Writers
Brain Traffic article
Put the Work Before the Words
Brain Traffic article
How smart teams create and train writers
UX Writing Bern & Zurich, event recording, 2021
The Situation Analysis: How to Put Your Research to Work
Brain Traffic article
Design Like a Content Strategist
PSU Web, event recording, 2014
Assessing Your User-Centered Content Strategy
Brain Traffic article
How to Plan and Run a Content Strategy Alignment Workshop
Brain Traffic article
Tools for content migration planning (page tables + content matrix)
article, 2022
Writing rules are made to be chosen
article, 2022
5 Uncomfortable Truths About UX & Content
ISTC UK, event recording, 2022
Can we let engineers and other non-experts write copy if we haven’t trained them?
article, 2022
How many content reviewers are enough?
article, 2020
How to make someone hate writing for you
Gather Content article, 2015
Information Architecture
Assorted thoughts and resources on the design and stewardship of information spaces.
What even is a website?
Brain Traffic article
21 Thoughts on Information Architecture
article, 2023
Conceptual debt is killing your design process
article, 2023
The map in your head
article, 2019
The website of Theseus
article, 2019
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
OmnichannelX w/ Noz Urbina, podcast, 2023
What the heck is content ecosystem mapping?
article, 2023
Mapping Content Ecosystems, Ep. 29
The OOUX Podcast w/ Sophia Prater, audio, 2022
The OOUX Happy Hour: Content Ecosystem Mapping
event recording, 2022
An Introduction to Content Ecosystem Maps
Brain Traffic article
What to Include in a Content Ecosystem Map
Brain Traffic article
How to Use a Content Ecosystem Map
Brain Traffic article
How to Plan Your Content Ecosystem Mapping Project
Brain Traffic article
Content Ecosystems, Ep. 03
The Content Strategy Podcast w/ Kristina Halvorson, 2018
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
article, 2020
Learn thinky things
article, 2022
It’s all made up, and that’s okay
article, 2022
Two product culture weaknesses that can kill your experience
article, 2022
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?)