Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Erin Schroeder Whether you lay out your plans on post-it notes, or you sit side-by-side behind a screen, content and design experts are part of the same family making the best UX possible. (Photo courtesy of Pexels)

If you think your job as a content strategist or copywriter is more important than your user interface designer or back-end developer, you’ll want to stop reading.

If you think your design is more important than the words and experience on the page, you should probably stop reading, too.

Content and design share a seat in the wonderland of digital that they help craft so carefully. While one may come before the other in some cases, both impact the user experience in the final product.

In my office, we sit on siloed teams — content with content, design with design, search experts with search experts. But when it’s time to swarm on a new project, we work as one team.

How do we do this? Weekly touch points and team meetings, along with regular client meetings, mean we’re in each other’s face and business. All. The. Time. And this is a good thing! Everything I develop for site architecture and content recommendations is shared with my designer before the client, and vice versa. Rather than feeling bombarded on a client call by a surprise design feature, microcopy, call-to-action, or navigation change, we make decisions as a collaborative team and have full knowledge of the reasons for the content and design direction we’re heading.

I can’t count how many times we’ve referenced each other in our calls. “As Amanda mentioned before…” or “As Erin talked about last week in her content recommendations…” We’re not afraid to stand up for each other and back each other up, when the situation requires.

So how do designers and content folks work together?

One way the industry has tackled this is by calling everyone a “designer.” Content designers and UI designers have different skills, but working toward the same goal: The best experience for the end-user as possible.

Here are some tips for working collaboratively, especially if you’re new to the world of UX:

Meet regularly. Almost obsessively, actually.

Don’t be afraid to pull up a chair to your designer or content strategist’s desk and get some time to talk through what you’re trying to accomplish. Ideally, schedule this time on a calendar so as not to disturb he/she, but just make sure you’re putting yourself face-to-face as often as possible.

Slack, Skype, and other office IMs are great, but they’re nothing compared to talking in person. Granted, if you work in a remote office, video chats will have to do — but it’s such a great way to get to know the person you’re collaborating with on a regular basis. It strengthens the relationship, and the trust.

And when you’re together, use that time wisely. Post-it notes, screensharing, or whatever tools float your boat to keep your collaboration moving along and meetings meaningful.

Just don’t rely on team meetings to be the only place where you communicate with your designer or content expert. You should make these conversations a part of your day, from the elevator to the break room.

Don’t be defensive of your work.

I can’t stress this enough. You may think you created the most amazing landing page copy known to mankind. Or, maybe you think your design is the bee’s knees.

That’s great. But if your designer or content strategist has needs to deliver the best UX, you may have to adjust your design elements, website copy, navigation, or more. The great thing about this strong partnership is the ability to question each other’s motives and thought process, ensuring you’re considering all the angles in which a user might engage with the end product.

Regardless of the feedback or questions, take a deep breath. Remember, you’re both playing for the same team. As a content expert, you’re probably not versed in great design tactics, and the same goes if you’re a designer working with a content pro. You have to build trust, suggest changes, and be open to feedback. As a creative-minded person (writer or designer), you should know this anyway. But you’d be surprised how many writers I know with thin skin, even after years in a professional writing field.

At the end of the day, the client’s preference reign supreme. Keep their needs, and the needs of the end user, in mind before you marry yourself to clever navigation or design that doesn’t fit with the client’s or organization’s goals.

Ask a lot of questions along the way.

Your designer or content strategist is an expert at what they do — and many times, the UX risks they want to take are in their head before they’re on a page or wireframe.

As they’re presenting ideas, or talking out solutions, ask questions along the way. We’ve all heard the phrase “There’s no such thing as a stupid question,” and it’s completely true. It’s especially valuable to ask questions if you’re thinking from a user’s perspective.

As web experts, we all have ideas that may not quite work with the intended goal of the end-experience, so it’s OK to bring this up, question it from all angles, and solve it another way if necessary.

Likewise, if you’re just curious about how your partner-in-crime thinks or does what he or she does, ask them! They’ll be happy to share knowledge with you so you can deepen your trust and understanding of their recommendations in the future.

In the end, you work as a team.

There’s a reason “teamwork” and “There’s no ‘I’ in team” was repeated throughout your younger, more formidable years. Because as adults, whether working remote or in an office, you and your colleagues or peers are part of a team.

Approaching projects from a team mentality rather than from a place of superiority is vital. It doesn’t only reflect in the quality of the work you deliver, and the way your client views your company, but reflects in your job satisfaction, too. There’s something really great about having a stellar, 5-star meeting with a quality deliverable that you created together.

As you work on your next project, consider asking yourself:

What would (insert teammate here) question about this decision?
Did I account for (content, design, SEO) with this recommendation? I should check with him/her/them.
How should we tackle this problem from every angle (of the team)?
I heard (feedback) from the client, but I wonder if (teammate) heard it the same way?

If you spend 40 hours a week combating people who are on your side, it’ll feel a lot longer. Life is short — compromise and collaborate.

Don’t take things personally. Take a deep breath. High-five your teammates. Get to know them. All of these things deepen the relationship you have on cross-collaborative teams and makes for a better product and better satisfaction with life.

<a href="https://medium.com/media/b85dfbb5286d8a25cf2e754b9462cf45/href">https://medium.com/media/b85dfbb5286d8a25cf2e754b9462cf45/href</a>

How Design and Content Can Always Share a Seat at the Table was originally published in Prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

How Design and Content Can Always Share a Seat at the Table

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