Introduction to content design
Course overview
If you or your team are new to user-centred content design, our introduction course is a perfect place to start.
You’ll learn about the role of a content designer, the tools and processes they use in their work and what makes good, accessible and user-focused content.
Throughout the course you’ll work on your own and in groups to develop your ability and confidence in understanding how to design clear content that answers specific user needs.
Delivery: in person or online
Class size: up to 12 people
Duration: 3.5 hours
Cost: from £1,250 plus VAT per course
What the course covers
This course will introduce you to common content design concepts including:
user needs, how to write them and how they can help you keep your content relevant
how to map user journeys so you understand what your audience is trying to achieve and where your content fits in with their goals
how people read online and why content designers use plain English
content design tools and processes, such as giving and receiving feedback in content crits, getting your content proofread before publication and what happens in a user research session
What you’ll learn
After completing this course, you will:
understand what a content designer does and how they work on their own or as part of a team
be familiar with terms common to user-centred design
have the knowledge, skills and confidence to create accessible and user-focused content
understand what user needs are, how to write them and how to meet them
be able to map a user journey and use it to structure your content
appreciate that people read differently online and how this affects how content designers write
have access to the tools and techniques content designers use on a daily basis
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
We really liked working with the examples from our website as it allowed us to apply the lessons to our own products and consider how we might do this in our work. Thank you for working with Anna to make the training bespoke to our needs!