content design foundation
Course overview
If you or your team are looking to expand on your knowledge of writing for the web, then sign up for our foundation course.
Over 2 days you’ll take a deep dive into the role of a content designer and the tools and processes they use to produce accessible, user-focused content.
Throughout the course you’ll complete exercises so you can practise the techniques and skills you learn and improve your confidence.
Delivery: in person or online
Class size: up to 12 people
Duration: 2 days
Cost: from £4,500 plus VAT per course
What the course covers
Day one
On the first day we’ll focus on user needs and content design skills including:
what a content designer does and how the role can vary in different work contexts
understanding user needs and balancing them against the needs of an organisation
how to map user journeys so your content works across an end-to-end transaction
ways to do user research and how to interpret it to make improvements to content and journeys
how to meet users’ needs with acceptance criteria
structuring information in a logical order
understanding why content designers write in plain English and having a go
how to make your online content accessible
Day two
On the second day we focus on content design activities including:
what pair writing is and how to do it
when and how to run a crit session to get and give feedback on work
the benefits of using a style guide to maintain consistency
making sure a second pair of eyes proofreads your content before it’s published
using data to test whether content is working or not
when and how to iterate and improve your content
What you’ll learn
After completing this course, you’ll be able to:
use data and research to help you write effective user needs
write user-focused content that meets the user need acceptance criteria
create content that is clear and accessible using plain English
confidently use a range of collaborative content design techniques
make informed choices using analytics and research
document and track content iterations and design decisions
We tailor all exercises in the course to make them relevant to you and your organisation.
If you’d like to focus on a particular area, we can adjust the course content to suit your needs. Or we can add elements from other courses, or create something completely bespoke for you. See how our training works.
Your trainer
Christine Cawthorne is an experienced trainer who has been teaching people to write for the web since 2009.
She joined Government Digital Service in 2013 and trained thousands of people how to understand user needs, write in clearer language and use the GOV.UK style guide.
As well as giving training, Christine works as a content strategist helping public sector and non-profits with their content. She mentors content designers at all stages of their careers and runs the Crocstar content community.
Feedback from this course
I attended the foundation course and thought it was great. Christine used language I could understand which made me feel completely at ease.