9 eye-scanning patterns, 10 ways to adapt the text for max readability. — We write texts for different purposes, but there’s one thing we all have in common—we write online. On the web, things work a little bit awkwardly. You may have already learned from companies’ writing style guides or articles here on Medium that the following factors help retain readers’ attention: Keeping…

Tricks for not-so-serious but effective content design. — There are 2 things about humor I’m exceptionally skeptical about: live standup comedy (very awkward) …

Why you should at least try to read it, without spoilers. — This book left me devasted. I’m not used to writing book reviews, and this is sure to be messy. But I want to share everything I feel and researched about this masterpiece. Yes, a masterpiece! The overview Buddenbrooks is a 1901 novel by Thomas Mann, chronicling the decline of a wealthy north…

Want to make sure someone sees this? Reply anyway. — “I can’t understand what they want from me,” — says Ed, pensively sipping on his smoothie (yes, we have smoothies at work, but it’s not the point). By “they,” he means Slack, a widely-known corporate messenger with maybe the best UX writing in the world. They specialize in a clear…

Be more like Deloitte and Adobe and less like Walmart. — If you’ve never had an annual or bi-yearly performance review (A/BPRs), count yourself lucky. The painting “Death in the Sickroom” by Edvard Munch perfectly reflects how it feels. What’s an annual performance review You, your lead, someone from the HR team (it can be a random person you’ve never met before), and the manager gather…

Here’s a resume that got me hired. A year later, it can be so much better. — Dear Hiring Team! I’m a professional UX writer with 5+ years of experience… Yeah, whatever. It’s 9 AM and the recruiter, trying to stifle a yawn by covering her mouth, turns from your generic cover letter to your CV. What does she see? The resume above was enough to get…

With eye-tracking patterns and readability studies. — A hyperlink is a cute little thing, a magic word that takes you to another place on the internet, like a different website or a different page on the same site. Who knew there was science to it? I sure didn’t. We see hyperlinks first Nielsen Norman Group (NNG), one of the best UX…

I tried Netflix for the first time in 2023 and I’m not amused. — Don’t judge: I’ve never used Netflix before. Double-don’t-judge: I write for a popular streaming service, and I’ve never used Netflix before. I wanted to see the MH370 documentary (not worth googling — it’s no good), so I bought a subscription. Three weeks of daily use later, it’s time for a…

How to stop getting attached to your texts and designs, and stay sane amid the chaos and critique. — The goal of this article is to share my experience: of an almost-burnout at work of getting over it of finding the balance, and becoming a better UX writer (although to some it might seem as simply becoming a b*tch) How writing for mental health made me depressed About 4 years ago, I received a task for my…