Writing
Writing the words first
I write the headline, button labels and error messages before I draw a single box. Here is why it works.
4 min read
Layouts are easy to argue about and hard to judge. Words are the opposite: a sentence either says the thing or it doesn’t.
So every project starts with a plain text document: the page headline, the three things a visitor must understand, every button label and the two most likely error messages.
By the time I open a design tool, half the decisions are already made, and the client has approved them in a format they are comfortable with.
Written at the desk on the penthouse floor. Reply to any issue of Small Batch Notes and it comes straight to me.