Content Design

Between 2010 and 2014, Sarah Richards and her team at the United Kingdom’s Government Digital Service did what many thought impossible: they took over 400 separate government websites and transformed them into a single site designed to effectively serve its users. In doing so, they defined a new discipline: content design.

Content design isn’t graphic design or just copywriting under another name. Content design focuses on what content best serves the users’ needs, whether it be the written word, infographics, visuals, videos, or charts.

At the core of content design are the needs of the users—and this means determining what your users want. More than this, it’s about analysing data to determine when, where, and how users want to digest information. There is no room for assumptions in content design—success or failure hinges on how well you understand your users’ needs.

Discover the power of designing completely user-based content, grounded not on what organisations think their users want but on the needs, actions, and motivating forces of your site visitors.

Born in Guildford, Surrey, Sarah Richards began her career as a researcher for a local television company before moving into copywriting.

After working for Ogilvy & Mather and Saatchi & Saatchi, Richards moved to a position with the Cabinet Office in the British government.

Starting in 2010, she created and led the www.gov.uk content design team for the Government Digital Service. The team was tasked with turning over four hundred diverse and complicated government websites into a single site focused on user needs. The result was a stunning work of content design held up as an example of the discipline’s potential.

Richards now runs the Content Design Center, consulting, coaching, and training organisations and governments around the world. More information about the Content Design Center can be found at www.contentdesign.london.