In the late 1990s, as digital practices like web design and development emerged, experiences were being created and users were getting attention, but the practices that guided that work had not yet been articulated. That’s when Jesse James Garrett wrote his book, The Elements of User Experience. After sharing his ideas in numerous client pitches […]
David Dylan Thomas and Dayana Kibilds: Cognitive Load and Emotional Labor – Episode 122
As content strategists and designers we do our best to create experiences that inform and empower our users. Unfortunately, we sometimes fall short of perfect, human-centered, user-focused design practice. Two of our most common failings occur when we bombard our users with excessive cognitive load and impose on them unnecessary emotional labor. David Dylan Thomas […]
Ashleigh Faith: Knowledge Graphs for Content – Episode 121
Knowledge graph technology can help content programs in many ways: to aid content discoverability, to discover valuable insights in existing content, and to build transparent personalization programs that build brand loyalty and foster customer trust. Ashleigh Faith has worked with content and knowledge graphs for more than 15 years and has a knack for explaining […]
May Habib: AI and Content at Writer.com – Episode 120
The use of artificial intelligence in content design and content operations is emerging and evolving quickly. As is the case with many new technologies, it might at first look like robots are coming to steal jobs from humans. But, according to May Habib, AI is more likely to create more, and more interesting, work for […]
Teodora Petkova: Semantic Web Explorer – Episode 119
Modern communication on the web is best when it’s semantic and meaningful, networked and conversational. Creating web conversations starts with collaborative internal communication and then invites the marketplace to join in. Teodora Petkova is a semantic web explorer with a PhD in digital marketing and communication. She loves to share her fascination with the evolution […]
Natalie Dunbar: Building a Sustainable Content Strategy Practice – Episode 118
Natalie Dunbar can help you build your content strategy practice, whether you’re running a one-person content show, building a content department, or incorporating a content team into a design operation. Drawing on experiences from her long and eclectic content strategy career and adding the insights of several other industry veterans, Natalie’s new book is a […]
Kate Thomas: Structured-Content Adventures at PayPal – Episode 117
Kate Thomas is leading the transformation of marketing content at PayPal from hand-crafted web pages to structured content stored in a headless CMS. Like many organizational-transformation projects, this one has highlighted both the benefits of structuring content and the challenges of getting content authors to work in new ways. We talked about: the migration of […]
Seth Earley: Ontologies for the AI-Powered Enterprise – Episode 116
Seth Earley helps enterprises use ontologies to power the intelligent content experiences that create personalized content interactions and that run chatbots, voice assistants, and other new technologies. An ontology is a business practice that helps you understand the knowledge in your business and connect and share it in new and powerful ways. We talked about: […]
Katrin Suetterlin: Content Design for Neurodiversity – Episode 115
Katrin Suetterlin is a content architect, a content designer, and an expert on designing for neurodivergent populations. You hear jokes about ADHD, dyslexia, and similar neurological conditions all the time, but as designers we need to take neurodivergence seriously. Research shows that at least 20% of the population exhibits one or more types of neurodiversity. […]
Dan Brown: Information Architecture Lenses – Episode 114
Dan Brown has focused his design work on information architecture for the past 25 years. Along the way, he has written three books, designed a design game, and created one of the the most-used tools in the profession, the Information Architecture Lenses card deck. Dan is very thoughtful about the practice of IA and has […]
Nicole Michaelis: Creating and Managing Design-System Content – Episode 113
Design systems are quickly being adopted across companies of all sizes and types, from big enterprises to burgeoning startups. As in all digital practices, content is a crucial element in these systems. Nicole Michaelis has worked with content in design systems for many years and has learned a lot about how to create and manage […]
Donna Spencer: Information Architecture Educator and Author – Episode 112
Donna Spencer has practiced information architecture at the highest levels for more than two decades. She has taught innumerable workshops and courses, and she wrote an entire book on the subject. Still, to this day, when she teaches IA, she feels inadequate. This speaks in no way to her professional knowledge or her skills as […]
Deane Barker: Content Management and Modeling – Episode 111
Content programs need to be guided by a sound model and built on a strong foundation. They need to put people first but to also account for the technical systems that handle the details of turning abstract concepts into tangible and useful content artifacts. Deane Barker has been modeling and building content management systems for […]
Chris Strahl: Content in Design Systems – Episode 110
In just a few short years, design systems have been adopted by most digital organizations. These systems free designers from many mundane design-production details, letting them focus on the creative aspects of their work. To this point, content has been an afterthought in many of these systems. Chris Strahl sees that changing in the next […]
Rachel Lovinger: Content Modeling Innovator – Episode 109
Many content professionals were first introduced to the practice of content modeling by Rachel Lovinger’s 2012 A List Apart article on the subject. Content modeling gives teams of authors, managers, designers, and programmers a shared understanding of a content ecosystem. Before they write a single sentence or line of code, teams align on a common […]
Are Halland: The Core Model – Episode 108
Are Halland’s “Core Model” has guided the work of content strategists, information architects, web marketers, and other digital professionals for more than 15 years. The model grew out of the need to align stakeholders around a practice that could balance user needs, business concerns, and content creation for websites. It has evolved into a versatile […]
Jack Molisani: Content Strategy Career Management and Job Hunting – Episode 107
Finding the right job in the content strategy field has always been a challenge, and it’s getting harder as computers take over more of the applicant screening process. Changes in the industry – especially the convergence of technical and marketing communication duties – also mean that you you have to be proactive about managing your […]
John Collins: Content Engineering – Episode 106
John Collins is a content engineer at Atlassian, where they are well along in their transition from old-fashioned bespoke content models to modern connected content. Creating and managing content for intelligent content ecosystems requires a fresh approach and a new set of skills. This new content engineering discipline helps enterprises address the biggest challenges of […]
Preston So: Omnichannel Strategy and Voice Usability – Episode 105
Preston So is an expert in both omnichannel strategy and voice design, as well as a number of other digital business and design practices. As communications channels proliferate and the variety of digital devices grows, we need strategies to give our customers and users a consistent experience, no matter where they are or how they […]
Aaron Bradley: Knowledge Graph Strategy for Content – Episode 104
Aaron Bradley uses knowledge graphs to create intelligent content experiences at Electronic Arts. Knowledge graphs are a relatively new technology that lets content engineers create more meaningful and versatile content experiences. We talked about: his work as a knowledge graph expert and content modeler at Electronic Arts (EA) his definition of a knowledge graph: “machine-readable […]