For the first lecture back we were introduced to content design, we looked at what content is, the different types of content, different forms of content etc. This class was preparation for the content that we will use in our Smartwatch apps.
Content is anything that can be read, watched, consumed, experienced, or listened to. This means that content can come in all different forms such as text, images, videos, audio, and graphics found on websites, social media, blogs, and other platforms. Contents purpose includes educating, entertaining, promoting and informing. We all produce content, for example, we create things like posts on social media, videos on YouTube, visuals with photographs etc. We also consume content all the time without meaning to, listening to podcasts, being alerted by a notification, reading a newspaper and much more.
Below is a breakdown of content.
I had a look at an article that has a process called content first approach, founded by Jeff Zeldman.
Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, its decoration - Jeffery Zeldman
This philosophy in short terms is as follows, “content-first design is all about knowing what your design’s purpose is, and how it’ll achieve that purpose, before you start designing.” This was a great insight into the basics of content design, and the importance of knowing the purpose of the project and having the content prepared before designing. This process ensures that you are not in the middle of designing and are suddenly stuck with what to do next. This really makes the design process smoother.
Why your design process should start with content | Webflow Blog
Content Design is figuring out what your user actually needs, and from then creating content that meets this. Content design focuses on the users experience, making sure that the content is clear and easy to understand. Content needs to be created, structured and delivered, this can be done through push and pull content. These are different marketing strategies that get content across to the user.
Push content is content that is provided to the user without them needing to look or search for it. It is content that is pushed out to users. This can be notifications, alerts, emails, advertisements. This content is in front of the user without them seeking it.
Pull content is designed for the user to search for it. It is the complete opposite to push content. This content is usually informing, engaging and important enough for the user to actively seek it out on their own without any encouragement. Pull content can be social media, case studies, podcasts, videos etc.
Overall, this lecture was really informative. I was not aware of how broad content could be. I had previously thought that content was merely digital information and entertainment. I was not aware of the broadness of content, ranging from novels to physical art paintings, even these examples highlight the range I discovered.