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November 5, 2018 Content Chat Recap: The Intersection of Design and Content

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Great content can be made even better with great design, but the path to the perfect visual content is often times rough. In this week’s #ContentChat we were joined by Jeff Baker (@Baker_Rithms), director of marketing for Brafton, to discuss the intersection of design and content, and ways your team can ensure a harmonious relationship between the two.

Q1: Which comes first, the design concept or the content draft?

A baked design with filler text can easily lead you into trouble, but general guiding principles or themes are encouraged.

Your team needs to first assess what will work best for your audience, using hard evidence or industry research where possible to guide you.

Content is the safe place to start, because you should not sacrifice the quality of your content to fit design constraints.

You can remove any guesswork by bringing your design and content teams in for a meeting to discuss the project, the goal, and initial ideas. This way your design and content can evolve with each other in mind, as opposed to being created in silos.

And we all hate that awkward moment when your content team and design team are waiting for the other to make the first move.

Q2: What are some of the pitfalls that can happen when content is drafted without the participation of a designer?

Without additional context from your content team, the designer may not realize the main points of the copy or what narrative should pull through.

Collaboration is important to not only determine what is/is not feasible from a design standpoint, but to also brainstorm ways to make the design and content better together.

The disconnect doesn’t only create frustration for your team, it can cause a subpar experience for your audience.

Q3: Let’s turn the scenario on its head. What are some of the challenges when a great design comes first, and then the content writer is left trying to write copy to fit (a scenario that happens frequently with websites)?

The biggest pitfall of prioritizing design over content is that the content can lose its value by either being too long or too short, just to fit within the design.

It can pose a thrilling challenge, though, as long as your audience’s needs are at the forefront of the conversation.

Q4: In a perfect world, what is the right way to get content writers and their designers on the same page, and on the road to a successful collaboration?

Your audience’s needs must come first, and you should leverage existing data to determine what will resonate best with them. At the core, this means that the content is most important.

But designers always need the ability to weigh in on a project’s direction. This not only allows them to raise any concerns or limitations, but they can also brainstorm ways to make the content even better.

Again, this means that a kick-off meeting is the best place to start, and you should come prepared with a creative brief.

Or, you could just try out these incredibly helpful tips.

Regardless of your approach, be sure to give ongoing feedback to your team regarding the results of any projects, and build a relationship with your team to develop a greater trust and partnership for future projects.

Q5: Many content creators struggle with visual thinking. What are some ways they can develop their visual skills to improve their collaborations with designers?

There are plenty of resources online to help. Research best-in-class examples of web designs and read up on what makes them so great.

Bookmark, screenshot or save designs that appeal to you so you can reference them when describing future projects.

Consider shadowing any designers to learn more about their craft.

When all else fails, doodle away.

Q6: When should design come first in content creation?

Design should come first if there’s a desired look and feel, or a framework that the content will need to fit into.

Patrick still stands firm on his position of using user data. We think he’s onto something.

Q7: What are some favorite examples of content where there was clearly great collaboration between design and the content creator?

About Alek Irvin

Alek Irvin is a content marketing professional with a rich history in social media management, executive thought leadership development, and media relations. As a consultant at Erika Heald Marketing Consulting, he creates human-focused content and thought leadership platforms that help brand leaders connect and engage with their communities. Alek has worked with a range of startups and Fortune 500 companies across the B2B technology and consumer spaces, including IBM, Dell Technologies, Hitch Works, Emtrain, Integrate, and Frameable. Connect with him on Twitter @AlekIrvin.

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