By Nabilah Yusnasri Edited by Maizatul
Photo credited to Sr. Alia Azwa
GOMBAK, 3 November 2023: A week after TNNBA 9.0, ELITS conducted TNNBA 10.0, which focuses on UX Writing. Mr Afham Adnan, currently a UX writer at Maybank, was invited as the guest speaker. He started off the talk by explaining what UX writing is.
UX is an abbreviation of user experience. People who work as UX writers play a significant role in designing texts that are scannable, allowing users to skim through the material on screen.
Photo credited to Sr. Alia Azwa
There are three basic rules of UX writing, according to Mr Afham. The first rule is to make it clear by stating the intention of the message in the headlines. The message should be jargon-free and written within the user's context because clarity is a priority for UX writers.
Secondly, make it concise by practising, editing, and coming up with different ideas for saying the same thing. Choose the simplest idea that has fewer words. The Z-pattern and F-pattern reading styles are famous among users, so frontloading is the most effective way to allow scannability.
Lastly, make it useful by directing the user to the next action. Think about the user's needs and provide the solution. It is important to ensure that the user is able to complete the task instead of closing the app.
Mr Afham added that there’s only 10% of writing when getting into UX writing. The remaining 90%, which primarily consists of problem-solving, goes beyond writing. It requires a lot of discovery, which involves a lot of brainstorming sessions to align the direction of work.
Photo credited to Sr. Alia Azwa
UX writers learn a lot by reading and researching the project and past research. Discussions among every single person involved in the project are necessary because the design process has a lot of obstacles to overcome.
Besides, UX writers assist the team in determining the best solution to the problem. Regardless of their position, all team members are working towards the same goal, which is advocating for better UX. Only once a decision has been reached will UX writers begin writing. The last step to completing the task is to test it out in a real-life situation using the A/B testing method and refine it to get the best outcome.
Mr Afham also shared how to get the first UX writing job.
It is essential to never stop learning and practising in order to be ready for the UX Skill Assessment. To produce the greatest UX Writing Portfolio, be sure to document the thinking, crafting, and research process. Along the way, providing freelance services would be quite beneficial.
Moreover, connect with the UX writing community. UX writing is just a luxury for companies, so having a lot of connections can ease the journey in this field. One must constantly practise presenting the portfolio and get comfortable talking about UX with others.
Last but not least, nail the interview!
Photo credited to Sr. Alia Azwa
A Q&A session was allocated for the participants to direct their questions to Mr Afham. Some questions were about deeper preparations to start offering freelance services as first-timers, how to document a portfolio and Mr Afham’s perspective on user manuals.
The programme successfully ended with an appreciation ceremony and a photography session capturing the big smiles of the participants, the committees, and Mr Afham. ***
Photo credited to Sr. Alia Azwa
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