In today’s world, we use concepts like ‘average’ to market products and services. But what if we told you there is no average? What if we told you the average consumer doesn’t exist?

While you sit there slightly baffled, read on because what we want to tell you is this. The average consumer doesn’t exist but a consumer in need of your product or service does.

A little history gives us some interesting insights. In the year of 1950, Lieutenant Gilbert Daniels was tasked with redesigning the cockpits for the US Air Force Researchers at Wright Air Force Base. After measuring pilots to determine an ‘average’ for the dimensions, Lieutenant Daniels was at a loss, “Out of 4,063 pilots, not a single airman fit within the average range on all ten dimensions.”

It was then apparent that designing a cockpit to fit the ‘average’ pilot actually meant it would fit no one.

Similarly, when you start to write and deliver content for an ‘average’ consumer, you may not target the right consumer at all.

Your consumer may have the readability of an English language scholar or they may have a cognitive learning disability or they may require assistance from a screen reader. Nevertheless, they are your consumer and you need to capture their attention.

Accessibility copy means as many people as possible will be able to read your digital content. You promote inclusion and in doing so, enhance engagement within your target audience, who in fact may have sign language as their mother ‘tongue’.

Whenever you start looking at digital content, make it a practice to ensure any copy is written in such a way that it will be accessible to the masses.

Do away with the notion that we cannot write for everybody. Let’s instead write for anyone who would be interested in our product or service.

If you are overwhelmed, don’t be. We have the accessible copy checklist for you right here! And if you can write to as many of these guidelines as possible, you will be well on your way to writing for everyone.

This is your starting point. Write your copy in plain English so it can be read by anyone. If you do have to use several complex or technical words, provide a glossary of terms.

Format long content into digestible chunks

No one likes to read words upon words. You will lose engagement very quickly. There is something to be said about being turned off by too many words on a page. In particular, people with cognitive disabilities like dyslexia, find it difficult to consume content in that manner.

Having a structure that is consistent helps everyone digest information. Something as simple as ensuring your H1 is followed by H2 and then H3 provides your audience with structure and an understanding of how the copy flows.

Headings are also a great tool to quickly scan the page to find the desired content. Especially for assistive technology users, correct use of headings makes navigation through the page seamless.

Chat to your UI experts! Designing for diversity ensures accommodation of all different disabilities. Visual aids assist consumers with cognitive and learning disabilities. Collaboration between content and design teams brings visual aids that brilliantly complement the copy on the page.

While visual aids and video make copy accessible, they also introduce hurdles for audiences with other disabilities. To write for everybody, ensure your visual aids or video content also have subtitles or transcripts.

For instance, text alternative (aka. alt text) does wonders for visual aids by increasing accessibility. However, don’t overdo it as it can become repetitive.

Ask these questions before introducing alt text:

What is the purpose of the image? (if the image is there for decoration, alt text may clutter rather than make accessible)

Is the information conveyed without the image?

Are the contents of the image reflected in the copy already?

Inclusivity is key to our accessible copy checklist.

There is of course a level of technicality required in many businesses. Take a law firm for instance. It is a profession full of countless jargon and mysterious legalities, a jungle of copy. But, instead of writing technically, if we write with inclusivity in mind, imagine the increase in conversions!

Chat to our in-house copy specialists and find out how you can effectively capture your audience with accessible copy.

Write for everybody with our accessible copy checklist. Read more.

Capture your Consumer with Accessible Copy

In today's fast-paced digital landscape, chatbots and voice assistants have emerged as invaluable allies, simplifying tasks and enhancing our daily experiences.

These conversational wonders are not only functional but also bring a warm and friendly touch to the user experience. In this blog, we'll explore how deliberate content design plays a pivotal role in making these virtual companions delightful and engaging.

Crafting greetings: stay true to your brand’s personality

Picture being greeted by a friendly "Hello! How can I assist you today?" when interacting with a chatbot or voice assistant. The tone sets the stage for a positive and engaging interaction with your digital product, app, platform or website. Content design is the driving force behind crafting these greetings, ensuring they align with the brand's personality and set the scene for an enjoyable user experience.

When crafting a greeting for a chatbot, keep in mind the tone of voice of your brand as this will determine how the chatbot will interact with your audience. A fun quirky brand will be a lot more playful and casual on their first message whereas a more sophisticated, professional tone of voice is more appropriate when speaking with an audience that will be expecting that from your brand.

Conversational language: the art of natural dialogue

The best conversations flow naturally and that's precisely what content design aims to achieve in the realm of chatbots and voice assistants. By employing user-friendly language and avoiding jargon, we ensure users feel comfortable and at ease when engaging with our virtual allies.

Personalised experiences are also cherished and chatbots can deliver just that. Content design allows us to tailor responses based on a user's past interactions, creating a sense of familiarity. For instance, if a user seeks local restaurant recommendations, our witty chatbot might say, "Looking for a yummy spot in town, [User's Name]? You're in for a treat!" This personal approach adds a delightful touch to the conversation.

Keep it concise: the power of microcopy and emojis

Small messages can pack a punch and bring smiles to the face of your users. That's the magic of microcopy! Content design focuses on crafting short and sweet responses that convey meaningful information. From a delightful "Ta-da!" when a task is completed to an encouraging "You're almost there!" During a multi-step process, microcopy keeps the conversation upbeat and enjoyable.

Who says chatbots can't have emotions? Emojis are the secret sauce to infuse emotions into our virtual allies. 😊 An enthusiastic "Yay!" for success, a 🙁 for empathy or a 😉 for a playful twist - emojis make interactions come to life and ensure our chatbots resonate with users on a human level.

Chatbots and voice assistants have evolved into much more than mere virtual tools, they've become friendly digital pals that brighten our days. Behind the charm and wit lies content design, creating warm, fun and engaging conversations. By understanding users, speaking their language and infusing personality into responses, content design transforms interactions into delightful experiences.

The next time you engage in a chat with a chatbot or voice assistant, remember the creative minds behind the content that brings joy and personality to your digital journey. Here's to a future filled with even more laughter and enjoyable conversations with our virtual pals.

Discover how our content designers can craft language for your chatbots - get in touch today!

 In this blog, we'll explore how content design plays a pivotal role in making chatbots delightful and engaging.

Content Design for Chatbots and Voice Assistants

With any website, knowing whether it’s working for your user is critical. A website left alone is a lonely website indeed. Because no one is converting!

The good news is there are many tools around to help make sense of how user friendly your website is. In fact, heatmaps is one such tool that will keep you talking about the user experience all day long.

Heatmaps provide the opportunity to gain visual insights into how your users are interacting with your website. You can see where they’re clicking, how far down they’re scrolling and even take a look at how users are moving their mouse on the webpage.

Heatmaps provide valuable insights to optimise your website and improve the user experience. After all, effective user experience is the big stepping stone to successful conversions.

Depending on the software you use, you’ll be able to access a selection of heatmaps. Different heatmaps will tell you different things. Using a combination of heatmaps allows you to have an understanding of how your user experience is going.

At Exo Digital, we use Hotjar for our heatmaps. Hotjar offers three key approaches to understanding the experience of our users. Let’s take a look!

The all clicks heatmap shows you where your users are clicking. With an all clicks map, you can use the learnings to improve your CTAs (Calls to Action) and see whether there are any bugs or product pain points. For instance, if your users are clicking in areas which are not clickable, that may show that your website is not in sync with user expectations or the visual design may be misleading.

In Hotjar, the all clicks map is colour coded, with the most popular clicks marked in red, then orange, yellow and so on. When you hover over the different areas of the webpage, you can also see the number of clicks and the click percentage.

The move map provides you insights into where and how your users are navigating through your webpages. The learnings from this heatmap are based on the general consensus that users move their mouse according to where they are looking. With the move map, you can get a picture of the way in which your user is consuming content and interacting with your webpages.

In Hotjar, the areas marked in red get the most movement. This gives you an idea of the most used areas on your webpages and provides the data to optimise your webpage. So, your users can see what you actually want them to see.

As the name suggests, the scroll map shows how far your users are scrolling down your website. This particular heatmap is useful when you want to find out where you’re losing their engagement. The heatmap can also confirm whether your content prioritisation is working hand in hand with user engagement.

In Hotjar, areas in red show that users are scrolling through while blue highlights little or no interaction. With the rise of the smartphone, mobile is a popular medium for users. The scroll map also assists in providing learnings to optimise content across multiple devices.

Heatmaps offer page by page analysis of your website so you can offer the best user experience and continually iterate!

At Exo Digital, our user-centric approach holds success metrics in high regard. Even the most high traffic websites need to be monitored closely. Optimal user experience changes constantly with trends and preferences. The best digital interactions are the websites that keep up with the user.

Chat to one of our consultants today and find out how heatmaps can improve your user experience.

Heatmaps are a great tool to help make sense of how user friendly your website is. Learn about using heatmaps to help optimise your website.

How do Heatmaps help Understand the User Experience?

In the wonderful world of digital experiences, content strategy takes centre stage in creating a seamless experience across your website or digital product. It's like the secret ingredient that adds a sprinkle of magic to the whole design process. Imagine it as a strategic dance of planning, creating, delivering and governing content to meet user needs and business goals. With a clear content strategy in place, content designers make sure the right content reaches the right users at the right time. It's all about nailing that perfect timing.

The content strategy process involves several key components from understanding user needs, content mapping, content governance to seamless integration into the design process and measuring metrics of success. Now, let's dive into the nitty-gritty of content strategy and explore how its key components interconnect to create an experience that's as smooth as butter.

At the heart of content strategy lies a deep understanding of what makes your users tick. Through comprehensive user research, content specialists gain invaluable insights into user preferences, behaviours and pain points. This research process involves various techniques such as interviews, surveys and usability testing to gather data directly from your target audience. By analysing this data, content designers can uncover patterns, identify user goals and understand the challenges your users face.

To bring user needs to life, content designers unleash the power of personas. Think of personas as imaginary friends, they're fictional representations of the target audience based on research findings. These personas embody the characteristics, goals, motivations and preferences of different user segments. Armed with these personas, content designers can step into your users' shoes and make informed decisions about what content to create and how to deliver it.

By integrating these user-centric approaches into the content strategy, content designers can create compelling content that speaks directly to their target audience. They can address user pain points, anticipate user questions and provide relevant information that guides users towards their goals. Understanding user needs serves as the foundation for effective content creation and ensures that the content resonates with users, enhances their experience and ultimately contributes to a seamless user journey.

Content mapping is like a treasure hunt where content designers align their content with user needs, goals and touchpoints throughout the user journey. It's all about strategically placing relevant content at various stages, so users can find what they're looking for without going on a wild goose chase. Effective content mapping is like having a GPS that guides users effortlessly through their journey, making their interactions seamless.

To create a killer content map, content designers first identify the key touchpoints in the user journey. These touchpoints are like little Xs that mark the spots that represent the moments of interaction between the user and the product or service. By understanding the user's needs and goals at each touchpoint, content designers can figure out what type of content is needed to satisfy those needs.

By mapping content to the user journey, content designers create a cohesive and guided experience for users. Users effortlessly find the information they need at each stage, resulting in increased engagement, satisfaction and the feeling of having their wishes granted. Effective content mapping ensures that users stay engaged throughout their journey and feel supported in their decision-making process.

Content governance plays a vital role in maintaining consistency and quality in the content delivered to users. It establishes guidelines, standards and workflows for managing and maintaining content across various channels and touchpoints. Content governance ensures that the tone, style and voice of the content remain consistent, reinforcing the overall user experience.

One of the key aspects of content governance is establishing a clear content strategy and style guide. The content strategy outlines the objectives, target audience and key messaging for the content. It sets the foundation for all content creation efforts, ensuring that the content aligns with the overarching business goals and user needs. The style guide, on the other hand, provides guidelines on tone of voice, writing style, grammar, formatting and visual elements. It serves as a reference for content creators, ensuring consistency and coherence across all content pieces.

Let's not forget about content maintenance and updates! Websites and digital platforms need regular content updates to stay fresh and provide users with up-to-date information. Content governance establishes protocols for content maintenance, including identifying outdated or irrelevant content, reviewing and refreshing existing content and archiving or removing outdated materials.

By implementing robust content governance practices, content designers ensure that the content aligns with the overall user experience and meets user expectations. It establishes a framework that supports consistent content creation, management and delivery. Effective content governance fosters trust, credibility and a cohesive brand experience for users. It's like having a butler who keeps everything running smoothly behind the scenes.

Measuring the effectiveness of content strategy is essential for continuous improvement and optimising the user experience. By defining key performance indicators (KPIs) and tracking relevant metrics, content designers can evaluate the impact of their content decisions on the user experience and make data-driven decisions for improvement.

One of the primary metrics to measure content success is user engagement. Engagement metrics provide insights into how users interact with the content, indicating their level of interest, involvement and interaction. Metrics such as time on page, scroll depth and click-through rates can help determine whether the content is capturing and retaining user attention. By analysing engagement metrics, content designers can identify areas where the content may need improvement to increase user engagement.

Conversion metrics are also crucial for measuring the success of content strategy. Conversion metrics track the actions users take after interacting with the content, such as signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase or submitting a form. These metrics help evaluate the effectiveness of the content in driving desired user behaviours and achieving business goals. By analysing conversion rates and identifying any bottlenecks or drop-off points, content designers can optimise the content to improve conversion rates and enhance the user journey.

Measuring success is an ongoing quest and the insights gained inform iterative refinements that enhance the seamless user experience. By consistently monitoring and evaluating content performance, content designers can make informed decisions to optimise content, align it with user needs and deliver optimal user satisfaction.

Is your business looking to develop a content strategy to enhance the user experience of your customers? Reach out to our team for a free consultation.

In the world of digital design, content strategy plays a pivotal role in shaping a seamless user experience. It involves strategic planning, creation, delivery and governance of content to meet user needs and business goals. Learn more.

The Content Strategy Process

Being able to decouple your frontend and backend is useful as it allows for changes to either the data or your frontend without the other being affected. Headless CMS with Sanity is great for websites that have content which is added to, or updated frequently.

So, what is a headless CMS? And how will it help your business? Let's dive in.

Headless CMS is a backend content management system which acts as a central repository for all the content for your website. The data is then delivered to the frontend by API, where it can then be used.

Sanity is one examples of headless CMS and was the one we chose to refresh the Exo Digital website. 

There were several reasons for choosing Sanity that made it a great fit for what we wanted as a company:

Text editor: Sanity uses the text editor to save and structure content in a versatile way, enabling users to adapt the way the data is used across different platforms.

Live preview: Sanity can integrate with Next.js to offer a live preview service which is great for designers and content creators to see how what they are producing will look on final completion.

Versioning: Sanity offers access to versioning on content created and stored in the studio. You can see when content was created, edited and deleted, as well as being able to restore if necessary.

Creating a Sanity project is very simple and the Sanity documentation is fairly comprehensive on this, along with a supportive Slack channel that can be joined for any help that is needed.

We used a combination of Next.js, Tailwind CSS and Sanity for our website, whilst also using TypeScript instead of vanilla JavaScript. The website was then hosted on Netlify as this combines with Sanity very nicely.

One of the reasons Next.js works so well with Sanity is the live editing feature of Next.js working in conjunction with the Sanity preview feature. This means you can see how your content is going to look whilst it is being worked on and before publishing.

Tailwind allows for consistent, responsive design throughout your development and links well with React and Next.js to use components for the website as opposed to repeating CSS and code.

Sanity is a great example of a seamless headless CMS. The ease of integration with Next.js and Tailwind allows for a great developer experience in creating fast, production ready websites.

If your business needs CMS support, our consultants can help. Reach out to the Exo Digital team for a complimentary consultation!

What is a headless CMS? Headless CMS is a backend content management system which acts as a central repository for all the content for your website. Read more about it in our blog. 

Using Headless CMS with Sanity

Colour is everywhere, but you might not realise how much of an influence colour has in the decisions you make, the information you absorb and the emotions you experience.

From understanding colours and knowing when to use them, your ability to design and brand will improve dramatically. ‍Let's find out.

Basics of colour and the colour wheel ‍

Firstly, understanding the basics of colour and colour theory will help your judgement in choosing what colours to put together and which combinations to definitely avoid.

Let’s start with the foundation colours of the colour wheel – Primary colours. 

Primary colours consist of three colours – Red, Blue and Yellow. These primary colours are mixed together to form secondary colours – Orange, Purple and Green. Together, they form the basic colour wheel. 

Primary colours and secondary colours are mixed together to create six tertiary colours, which include blue-green, red-purple, etc.
‍
Colours can also be referred to as hue. Hues can then be altered with saturation, value, tint and tone. Saturation refers to the intensity of the hue, changing how vibrant or subtle the hue is. Value is the relative darkness or lightness of the hue. Tint is a hue to which white is added. 

Tone alters a hue by adding grey. Colours can be then be sub-categorised into warm colours and cool colours. This is generally separated by drawing a line down the center of a colour wheel. Warm colours are generally associated with brightness, action and energy, whilst cool colours are often used for calm, peace and serenity.

Now that you’ve got the basics of colour down, let’s move to actual formulas that have been tried and tested to help you select colour combinations. ‍

This is the easiest formula and only consists of one colour. Using one colour may seem boring, but playing with saturation, value, tint and tone can produce colour combinations that harmonise with one another and they’re guaranteed to match.

Analogous colours sit next to each other on the wheel. You will find that by using analogous colours, there will always be one colour that dominates, one that accents and one that supports. They can help with creating a visual direction or visual hierarchy for your viewer.

Complementary colours are opposite each other on the wheel. When combined, the drastic contrast between these colours can help them stand out and make an imagery pop. Complementary colours are perfect for when you want to create a clear distinction between two objects.

Split complementary colours use colours on either side of the complement. They give the same level of contrast as complementary colours but gives you the option of working with more colours.‍

Triadic colours are three colours that are evenly spaced on the colour wheel. They tend to be striking and dynamic. When used well, triadic colours can provide a visually pleasing contrast and harmonic aesthetic.

Tetradic colours are four-colour combination which form a rectangle on the colour wheel. There is a strong, vibrant contrast between the four colours. Therefore, when using tetradic colours, be mindful of how you use them in your approach. Tetradic colours can work well if you let one colour dominate and use the others as accents.

Now, let’s talk colour psychology and the emotional ‘baggage’ that each colour comes with!

Colour psychology is the study of colours in relation to human behaviour. It aims to study and determine how colour affects our day-to-day behaviour. Understanding the psychology of colour can help you establish your brand identity, drive sales and maybe even tell people what to do.

Before we start generalising the psychology of colour, we have to be aware that personal experience and cultural differences can affect an individual’s perception of colour. Therefore, when applying colour, the context in which you use certain colours cannot always rely on the generalised colour psychology guide.

A basic standard and yet, legibility and accessibility are still mistakes that designers make. Make sure the colours that you use provide minimum strain on the eyes and is simply readable, specially for someone with reading difficulties. 

Also, don’t forget about designing for dark mode! Neutral colours are your friend – black, white, grey. They help your colours stand out and they’re always a great backup, if nothing is feeling right.

Use the 60%-30%-10% proportion to give balance to your colours. The 60% is for your dominant hue, your secondary colour is 30% and your accent colour is 10%. This formula creates a sense of balance between the colours and is simple to use.

When in doubt, look around! Use nature as your inspiration because it’ll always look natural and somehow always aesthetic. Mother nature, you’re a beaut!

If you’d like to work on fresh, inspiring projects with us in the future, or if you’re keen to join an agency that values continued growth, forward-thinking and innovative behaviours, reach out to our friendly team at Exo Digital! 

 Colour is everywhere, but you might not realise how much of an influence colour has in the decisions you make, the information you absorb and the emotions you experience. From understanding colours and knowing when to use them, your ability to design and brand will improve dramatically. ‍

Innovation Sprint

A faster way to design and build products.

Overview

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