Upcoming events
Lessons in storytelling from the front line
Starting out as a pirate radio station during the Second World War, the British Forces Broadcasting Service has accompanied the UK forces in every war zone they’ve fought in since. In this session we learn from the creative mistakes the team have made along the way.
Practise pair writing
In this session, you’ll be able to learn about the theory of – and have a go at – the content design technique called pair writing.
A framework for advocating for content design
In this session, we'll look at making a framework to help you navigate structures and people at work.
While no one wants to have to do this – it's worth having a set of steps that can help you figure out which tactic to take.
While we'll talk about content design today, you can apply this framework to any profession.
Your speaker for this session is Crocstar content community's founder Christine Cawthorne. She's taught, coached and mentored several thousand content designers over the last 11+ years and is looking forward to sharing her ideas with you.
Ask your content questions and we’ll all try to help
Join us for this hour where we’ll work as a ‘mastermind group’ and try to help with your content questions.
A mastermind group is a group of peers who meet to give each other advice and support.
Everyone shares advice, ideas and feedback, including the facilitator.
We take it in turns to ask a question that we’re working on or struggling with.
The others take it in turns to offer advice, thoughts and resources aimed at helping with that issue.
Content design for forms
Asking questions in the right way can make all the difference when designing forms. It can increase completion rates, reducing the number of users that don't complete a journey.
Often the focus is on the technology and interaction design when creating online forms. But technology can't make up for asking the wrong thing, asking something in the wrong way or just asking a bad question.
You need to work what it is you want to find out, how you're going to use the information and then find the best - and most understandable - way to ask the question to get the answer you need.
This course, designed and delivered by the forms expert, Caroline Jarrett, will teach you everything you need to know.
Who should take this course:
If you're a content designer working on forms:
on a service in discovery, alpha or beta
on 'business as usual' content
at any stage of your career
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
understand the importance of knowing why you're asking a question
understand the importance of knowing what you will do with the data collected
recognise the difference between a good question and a bad one
write well constructed and thought out questions
You’ll also take away everything you’ve learned from working on real examples, ready to apply it to improving other existing forms and creating new forms that work.
Your trainer
Caroline Jarrett has been a forms specialist since 1994 when she became fascinated by the problem of how to make forms easy to fill in. She advises organisations on how to improve websites and business processes that include forms or surveys.
Book today
Spaces for this course are extremely limited, so book early to avoid disappointment.
Join us for a drop-in content clinic
Bring your content to the clinic - a relaxed hour on Zoom where you can ask a question and help others.
A practical guide to accessible content
As content designers we know that making content accessible is important - but there’s always something to learn. Join us on Wednesday 17 April for practical advice on how to help improve the accessibility of your content.
Planning a long-term comms project - on your own!
Paul Trouth moved from a large comms team to a much smaller team. He's now in charge of planning and delivering comms for a 5-year project to protect the Baltic Sea, on his own. In this talk Paul shares what he’s learnt from this formative experience.
Designing for people with dyscalculia or low numeracy
Dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficulty in understanding numbers which can lead to a range of difficulties with mathematics. Our speaker on how to design for this audience is Jane McFadyen, a senior content designer at DWP Digital.
Measuring content performance on a service using Google Analytics
Come and learn what Google Tag Manager is and what you could measure using Google Analytics, with plenty of examples and tips.
The crackin’ Crocstar Christmas do
Bring your content to the clinic - a relaxed hour on Zoom where you can ask a question and help others.
Join us for a drop-in content clinic
Bring your content to the clinic - a relaxed hour on Zoom where you can ask a question and help others.
Join us for a drop-in content clinic
Bring your content to the clinic - a relaxed hour on Zoom where you can ask a question and help others.