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On UX Writing & Content Strategy �

David Shuey�

UX Content Strategist & Writer

+ Designer, Project Manager� & Movie/Arts/Streaming Buff

Note: Slideset has animations.�For full effect, please select “slideshow” mode �in top-right corner

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C Creative ��

C Collaborative��

C Compassionate��

R Results-driven��

What connects �all my work?

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The UX Writing Process

What is it? Should we talk about it? ��

Ok, I’m a Master of One: Writing for the audience �(ux, ad copy, microcopy, scripts, news, etc.)

And if I’m a design and writing creative am I a…

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The David Shuey Top 5 6 (What You Get Day In, Day Out)

Bridge Builder: People & meeting facilitator at-ease communicating with C-suite stakeholders & customers�
Content/Brand Expert: Knows how to latch onto brand, work with forecasters & implement with consistency�
Writer: Fast & efficient (but researches & fact checks)�
Design Sensibility: Thinks in human-centered UX visual terms �
Understands Systems: Design systems, content systems, enterprise systems & data (personal hobby)�
Reciprocity: It’s my mantra (responsive & honest)

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Do We Want to Talk About Writing?

George Orwell �in his 1946 autobiographical essay felt compelled to ask the "why" question. � �(A great influence my first year in journalism school.)

But what is there to learn from talking about the art of writing?

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OK, who really said that quote first?

And does it matter?

Then there’s “Dance like nobody’s watching” – who coined that? *

* OK, I also looked into that here � (this time, it’s not Mark Twain)

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SOURCES: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/11/08/writing-about-music/� https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing_about_music_is_like_dancing_about_architecture

[Ding, ding ding] We Have an Answer! Martin Mull?

Comic Martin Mull maybe said it.�BUT IT DOESN’T MATTER �“WHO” IT MATTERS “WHAT”!

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Yes, We Do Want To Talk About Writing!

Again, the story matters first.

Not the creators.

Not the origin.

Not the tangential inspiration.

But the message and HOW and WHY it connects to the audience at each touchpoint.

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Good UX Is Empathy + Consistency at Each Touchpoint

Work hard to make sure the message works for the user at each touchpoint.

Build consistent UI patterns. (ex. No CTA should say the same thing in 2 different ways.)

Connect to the brand, which includes voice, tone, and style.

Design with words.

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Which brings me to my portfolio, which are 100% always honest and true. Well, mine is, probably to a fault -- I have photos in there of me doing dangerous yoga pose at an arts festival I was communications director for, and also eating sushi with co-researchers in Japan. But within this portfolio is my storytelling process shown not only my samples, but how I present a consistent voice in CAPTIONS and STRUCTURE -- familiar, informative, with a slice of my own humor. But when it comes to matching voice with client, that’s my #1 talent in both writing and design -- and to an extent marketing and project management. I think the best example where I handled new and challenging content and managed the visuals and quizzes around it is my work at Salesforce as a UX and Technical Writer from May to November 2020. Let’s check that out.

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Lesson in UX: Give People the Power to Choose

Or 15+ years in branding work history?

Should I focus on a key market?

Or my recent work history?

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OK, Let’s Start Here: 5+ Years of Enterprise UX Experience

Portfolio Link: �davidshuey.space

Roles: UX Writer, Content Strategist & Advocate for User

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Portfolio Link: https://www.davidshuey.space/#/google-ibm-ix-ux-writer/

GM: UX Writer, Google’s Privacy, Safety & Security

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Keep honest, evidence-based work in workspaces, not private docs.��Bird’s eye view at Internal Identity and Access Management (IIAM) product area at Google.� https://www.davidshuey.space/#/google-ibm-ix-ux-writer/

GM: Figma Pro – and Pro on Proprietary UX

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Portfolio Link: https://www.davidshuey.space/#/general-motors-ux-writer/

GM: Lead UX Writer, Ecommerce (PDPs & UXR Testing)

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Screenshot from Portfolio says it straight: Replaced “Needs Fitment” with “Needs Vehicle Details” in Q4 2023
Steps to replace a confusing industry term like “Fitment”:

Tested 20+ lines of copy with UX team
Collaborated with UX Research team to ask questions for user test focused on top 5 results
Implement results with ecommerce UX designers and devs

GM: Key UX Win With UXR Testing: Fix ‘Fitment’

https://www.davidshuey.space/#/general-motors-ux-writer/

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Led UX Content Writing Efforts for Product Detail Page 2.0 Update (“Run State”)
My key contributions:

Collecting 100+ resources and knowledge sharing (internally at GM, competitors, Apple One, etc.)
Conducting interviews with product leaders of Super Cruise (self-driving) and OnStar (digital)
Shape direction and content builds for 12+ unique PDPs (Product Detail Pages)

Present to: Sid Jarta, Global Vice President, Commerce & Service Transformation, and Kristie Bidlake, Director of Ecommerce

GM: Collaborate with Leadership, Make a Better Product

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Goal: Create a UX pattern for ecomm Product Detail Pages
Worked with Ecommerce Director on content strategy and she had a “Aha” moment when I wrote “Get it, Enjoy It.”
Customer-focused language that is consistent: Standard template for all PDPs to “close the sale”

GM: UX Writing Win: “How to Buy” Component

https://www.cadillac.com/ownercenter/onstar/shop/velocity (authenticated link)

https://www.chevrolet.com/ownercenter/onstar/shop/super-cruise

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Click through on the Department Landing Page increased 31% after I worked as lead UX writer with the UX architect for ecomm
Responsible for headlines and all copy (UX microcopy, too)
KISS – Keep It Super Simple

GM: UX and Ecomm Success: 31% Increase in Traffic

https://www.chevrolet.com/ownercenter/onstar/learn

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GM: Additional Work: A11Y, Wallet, Checkout & Rewards

Slide Deck of Accessibility (A11Y) Work for GM

Wallet work with Rewards: �6+ months experience

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Aetna: Work with Customer Service to Build Rich Content

Portfolio Link: https://www.davidshuey.space/#/aetna-cvs-content-strategist-ux-writer/

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Aetna Ecommerce Content: Instilling Confidence + Security

Portfolio screenshot

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MSK: Lead UX Content Strategist

Portfolio Link: https://www.davidshuey.space/#/msk-ux-content-strategy/

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MyMSK Mobile App Content with UX Designers & Editorial

UX writing & project management: Organize in Sharepoint & coordinate final review of Mobile App content strategy with 2 UX designers + my UX writer colleague in marketing/editorial + his editorial senior-level director
Add all mobile screens & review:

Apply all designs systems updates (sentences case, button styles)
Adjust and finalize content to simplify flow

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MyMSK Mobile App Content with UX Designers & Editorial

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Copy Editing & UX Guidelines for MyMSK Mobile App

UX Design and Copy Collaboration: Worked closely with UX product designers to add copy and adopt new UX guidelines, including appropriately titled buttons and headers to instruct new users how to use mobile app.
The app was being updated in 2021 for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center patients and caregivers to support them in achieving better health outcomes.
Learn more about the MyMSK app:�https://www.mskcc.org/experience/become-patient/mymsk-patient-portal-mymsk-app

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Screenshot of 360 Review from MSK: Content Strategist

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Leaving MSK: Half of the Goodbye Card

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UX Content Strategist at Aetna and Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK), and university content/web management work before that. �
Products at MSK: Content strategy methodologies and technical writing focused end-to-end experiences on all digital products, from mobile to tablet to desktop.�
Key MSK Accomplishment: Building bridges to Marketing and Communications, as well as Strategy and Innovation team. Leading the design system UX style guide build around MSK’s voice & tone.

David’s Key Strength: Content Smarts, Not Know-it-all

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David’s Key Strength: Content Smarts, Not Know-it-all

First things first: Research and ask lots of questions. Organize work on Miro boards for people to review. Utilize Figma or Sketch if needed for higher-level concepts.
Research: Dovetail and User Zoom experience in UX research
Manage content tools: CMS experience in Drupal. At Salesforce, worked in Lightning Design System and GUS for deployment. Wordpress and Typepad experience.
Why? This helps inform the microcopy, UX style guides, business rules for developers and UX designers, and more.

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Presentation on MSK Voice, Language & UX Style

4 random slides, a.k.a. Work Sample from Oct. 2021 Presentation to UX Design Team *

Result: Implementation of Content Style Guide in the new Design System (“Oxygen” based on IBM’s Carbon DSM)

* Based on a lot of feedback from key stakeholders, including � Marketing & Communications

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Worked with Marketing department collaborator to outline and begin a style guide to be used in our Design System

MSK: Created Proof of Concept for UX Style Guide

Click here for slide deck on�UX Style Guide: Proof of Concept

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MSK: Created Proof of Concept for UX Style Guide

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Unity of Language & Voice at MSK: Speak to Audience

Patient-centered�
Easy-to-understand�(6^th grade level)

Helping people �understand & act

(don’t get �stuck on �digital �journey!)

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Philosophy of Design System: Copywriting Sample

Scaling Growth. Saving Time.

Simplicity is our objective. By making your work life easier, this leads to more profound outcomes and manageable solutions for people battling cancer on all touchpoints.

�

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At End of Day: We Keep Words & Design Simple For…

… Those that are stressed out and busy making a difference at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

i.e. Nurses! �(An audience I served for �15+ years.)

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MSK Presentation Questions

On a scale of 1 to 10, how painful was it?

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Salesforce: UX Technical Writer

Portfolio Link: https://www.davidshuey.space/#/salesforce-ux/

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Q: How did the CREATIVE WRITING concepts get developed?� ��

A: By a lot of seemingly boring (but actually fun)

PLANNING. ��

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And here’s a different tab, focused mostly on helping me manage this project. I am a journalist at heart, and I document everything so I can back everything up later. I want to focus here for a moment to talk about team structure and independence. At Salesforce I was hired by two Salesforce Lightning Design System developers because I’m a self-motivated thinker with years of experience as an all-in-one creator -- both in design and writing. That was the main appeal on both our parts when diving into the content of Systems Design. They knew, as you will now, that I spent years developing the brand strategy, taglines, headlines, and digital and print content in areas focused on health: cancer care, palliative care, end-of-life nursing. This was both in the university setting, and for a private healthcare technology company. All of this was done proudly working for a professor and nationally renowned pain expert, Diana Wilkie, who tapped me for a very long time across two universities as the go-to creative for her (and also shared with the College of Nursing itself for 5 years as their web manager and art director). She did this because, I believe, she knew I could empathetically work as an instructional and UX designer, which she saw early on as her videographer with dying cancer patients, and also as a script writer for end-of-life scenarios that we filmed for a $1.5 million Robert Wood Johnson grant that transformed healthcare nationally by sharing FREE software to every nursing and healthcare institution. (I lined up the actors via Craigslist and co-directed the scripts I wrote for the multimedia content.) Jumping into different challenges, both creatively and technically, was what I loved about the university life. And I love the mission, which keeps me around.

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That PLANNING comes from RESEARCHING 100s of docs, websites, stories, PDFs, and slide decks.��This screenshot of my spreadsheet I used to write is non-proprietary, of course, but this is the tool I USED and shared with my managers and for me to manage the development of Trailhead e-learning content. Behind this single multi-tabbed tool are meticulously organized Google Folders and Quip Documents I used to study the high-level and sometimes nerdy-abstract concept of Systems Design. Systems Design I guess can be summarized simply as understanding how whole matters more than the sum of its parts. When creating a scalable system, such as a cohesive communications strategy delivered over a myriad of digital platforms, you have to think #1 from the end users perspective -- and be smart in how the user technology works, such as the interfaces of both audience and those delivering it within your company come into contact with that language. ��That’s a different spreadsheet.

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Main Thing Learned at Salesforce: Systems Thinking

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15+ years of Healthcare/Academia: Content Polymath

Portfolio Link: https://www.davidshuey.space/

Roles: Art Director, Designer, Writer, Video/Audio Media Specialist, Branding

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It Started with a Partnership of Trust with Global Leader

Dr. Diana Wilkie

Globally and nationally renowned researcher in nursing & healthcare
3 résumé touchpoints where I led content builds (from writing to design to architecture to multimedia) for tech products in healthcare:�▸ eNURSING (Dr. Wilkie’s � private company) �▸ University of Washington (UW)�▸ University of Illinois at � Chicago (UIC)
18-year work partnership
Dr. Wilkie also remains my top reference
$100+ million in NIH and other federal and private grant projects
Wikipedia bio

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Collaborate: UIC Dean from Canada, Developers (3) from China, etc.

Collaborators & Daily Partners

Front end developer partners at UW, Alan and Dave - 2 years
Software developer at UW, Daniella - 2 years
Software engineers at UW & UIC:�Sam, Han, and Zhongsheng - 15+ years
IT Department at UIC Nursing (led by Bala, one of my closest work friends) - 15+ years
Stakeholders:

Dean of College of Nursing who I worked closely with to lead rebranding efforts & website build (my role: art director & designer)
UIC Marketing (branding guidance)

Co-managed software engineer, “Z”

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PAINRelieveIt Brand Product Launch

Portfolio Link:�https://www.davidshuey.space/#/painreportit-software-branding-uw-uic/

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PAINRelieveIt Brand Product Launch

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PAINRelieveIt Brand Product Launch

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TNEEL: Premier End-of-Life User Friendly Teaching Tool

Executing UX content, design and strategy before the universe coined the term “UX”
UX Development Steps for TNEEL: Research, Analyze, and Design (then Implement, Test, and Maintain)

Portfolio Link: https://www.davidshuey.space/#/tneel-branding-ux-design/

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TNEEL: Premier End-of-Life User Friendly Teaching Tool

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TNEEL: Premier End-of-Life User Friendly Teaching Tool

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TNEEL: Converting Same Content for APA (Psychologists)

These user experience concepts were groundbreaking in digital-based education
Utilized evidence-based Kolb model of learning, subjective to four different types of users

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TNEEL: Converting Same Content for APA (Psychologist)

Audience: �Psychologists
Goal: Keep it “light”
Brand Visual: Balloons, kites, skies
Consistency: Skies was jumping off point from earlier TNEEL branding for doctors and nurses

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TNEEL: Converting Same Content for APA (Psychologist)

Wireframing
Developing user flows & journey maps

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Branding: In My Blood Since Digital Age Began!

Key Link:�Google Drive��(pre-portfolio because it took a hot minute to leave the Google gutter)

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Consistency in Style & Tone Helped Me Take Flight!

Key Link:�Writing Samples in portfolio, too

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Take Flight: With Great Copy FOR Your Audience!

Recall lesson of great content strategy and writing from beginning of slide deck: ��The story matters first.��Not the creators. ��Not the origin. ��But the story and how it reaches people at all touchpoints of the journey.

⬅️ Stop the !!!

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Decent Copy for a 22-year-old. Now Let’s Leave the 1990s.

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