More than just rules: How to build content systems that foster critical thinking
“Content systems” are essentially sets of guidelines embedded in our design systems. Unfortunately, many companies treat those guidelines as rules to follow, rather than principles to guide decisions. Yes, it’s important to consistently use terms and content patterns, but we can’t follow the rules at the expense of our own critical thinking. Sometimes we need to protect and reuse patterns — but sometimes, we need to transcend them.
Come learn how you can build a content system not only to improve content quality and increase speed of delivery, but also to help foster an environment of critical thinking.
In this session, you’ll learn:
- Principles for crafting your content system documentation
- How to structure documentation to be user-centric and not UI-oriented
- Concrete strategies to write content system documentation that fosters critical thinking vs. rule-following
More 2024 sessions
More than just rules: How to build content systems that foster critical thinking
“Content systems” are essentially sets of guidelines embedded in our design systems. Unfortunately, many companies treat those guidelines as rules to follow, rather than principles to guide decisions. Yes, it’s important to consistently use terms and content patterns, but we can’t follow the rules at the expense of our own critical thinking. Sometimes we need to protect and reuse patterns — but sometimes, we need to transcend them.
Come learn how you can build a content system not only to improve content quality and increase speed of delivery, but also to help foster an environment of critical thinking.
In this session, you’ll learn:
- Principles for crafting your content system documentation
- How to structure documentation to be user-centric and not UI-oriented
- Concrete strategies to write content system documentation that fosters critical thinking vs. rule-following
We can’t be everywhere: How to introduce AI to your content design workflow
As content designers, we spend so much time answering the same style guide questions or handling microcopy asks. All of this takes away from meaningful high-level strategy work. AI tools can help you become more systems-focused so you can reduce content inconsistencies and maintain a cohesive voice, allowing you and your team to work more effectively.
But … with all the hype surrounding AI writing tools right now, it can be hard to know how to get started using them for your work. By taking a few steps up front (before diving in to experimentation), you can ensure your time is well-spent and feel confident about your decisions.
In this session, you’ll learn:
- How to define content design use cases for AI
- How to train your AI writing tool
- Challenges to look out for
Evaluating AI: Choosing the best tools for your content team
We’ve all been told that generative AI tools have the potential to improve our content and enhance productivity. What now? How do we sort through the hype around dozens of tools and make smart choices about which ones are most helpful to our team?
Gavin will share his team’s method for tool evaluation, as well as ways in which to present findings to leadership and across diverse teams. You’ll walk away with practical templates for evaluating and selecting the right AI tools for your unique needs.
In this session, you’ll learn:
- How to build a list of which AI tools to evaluate
- How to communicate specific outcomes from evaluating several AI tools
- Communication strategies to align AI skeptics and believers
