Digital

  • 8 common content design myths that content designers want you to stop believing

    12th November 2019 by

    There are lots of assumptions, misconceptions and myths about content design that just won’t die. Here are just a few and why they’re not true. 1. Content design is about words This is a popular one. Words are one way to present complicated content, but they’re not the only way. Examples of other types of…

    Read more

  • Developing content standards for better public services

    16th August 2018 by

    We’ve produced a set of content standards to help colleagues in the Scottish Government, and our public sector partners, deliver effective content. Our ultimate aim is to help improve public services. Why content standards are helpful Everything that public sector organisations publish should meet their users’ needs. Our standards will: provide tools, techniques and processes you…

    Read more

  • What content designers do when they’re not writing

    13th August 2018 by

    This post was inspired by Leisa Reichelt’s excellent summary of what user researchers do when they’re not researching. Content designers: work as part of cross-functional service teams in the Scottish Government support public sector colleagues who are designing new services, or improving existing ones create and maintain content on mygov.scot People who haven’t worked with content designers…

    Read more

  • The 6 stages of the content lifecycle

    2nd August 2018 by

    This post is by Angela Morrison. Your content isn’t finished once you hit publish. It has a lifecycle which represents the stages each item should pass through, from planning and design right through to publishing and archiving. Sometimes this is called a content delivery workflow, or publishing workflow. Why it’s important Following a consistent content lifecycle helps your organisation create content that: is…

    Read more

  • What the UK Government Interchange is and 3 reasons why you should take part

    15th May 2018 by

    If you’re like most people I’ve spoken to about the UK Government Interchange, your first question probably is, what is it? It’s part of the UK Government’s Devolution and You Campaign, a Civil Service learning campaign that’s been running since 2015, and I took part in it earlier this year. It aims to help the UK…

    Read more

  • The start of my content career

    24th April 2018 by

    This is a blog by Euan McGeechan, former Modern Apprentice and now Associate Content Designer in the Scottish Government’s Digital Directorate. After school I went straight to university, but left when I realised the course wasn’t for me. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do but I definitely had to find a job. When…

    Read more

  • Empathy in user focused design

    5th April 2018 by

    Last month, a member of my family was rushed to hospital and needed heart surgery. (Thankfully, they’re doing well now.) I had to make sure that, once they were home, they had the care and support they needed. So I found myself on the receiving end of the kind of content I produce. In the…

    Read more

  • Designing justice content: subject matter experts’ views

    25th April 2017 by

    We know that effective engagement with subject matter experts plays a huge part in creating content that works. It helps users quickly find easy-to-understand and accurate information, without having to know the ins and outs of Scotland’s public service landscape.

    Read more

  • Improving mygov.scot for businesses

    23rd January 2017 by

    We’d like to explain some of the work we’ve been doing to try and improve mygov.scot for business users. The aim of mygov.scot is to provide joined-up business sector user journeys across public services, based on user need. Over the last 18 months, key business websites have been integrated into mygov.scot. The business portal and…

    Read more

  • Pair writing content with subject matter experts

    25th November 2016 by

    This is a blog post by Reece Cargan, senior content designer on mygov.scot During our work writing content for mygov.scot, the content team use a mixture of different writing methods as part of our content design process. One technique is ‘pair writing’. We have blogged in the past about designing content for mygov.scot, and explained…

    Read more