Content Rookie

Episode 77: Humanized agents, deceptive patterns, and honest design (feat. Caleb Sponheim) I recently spoke at a conference in Italy, and one talk stuck with me: Caleb Sponheim from Nielsen Norman Group arguing that we have to stop designing AI agents that fool humans. It's a topic close to my heart, so I invited him on for a longer-than-usual, wonderfully opinionated conversation. Caleb comes...

Episode 76: Creating and maintaining Writer.md A candid episode about how I built Writer.md. What I started off with, who I involved, how I tested, how it works, and how we govern it. A general reflection on building for and with agents, and what that means for (content) designers. Things I learned and things I recommend. Writer.md was built for Claude, but the same approach can be used in other A...

Episode 75: How Content Designers are impacting AI (and vice versa) Wow, things are moving fast right now. Some content designers are developing totally new skills, while others are trying out different tools or just trying to hang in there. But no matter where you currently are in your journey with "AI", you're not alone. We're all going through it and having different takeaways...

Episode 74: Develop tone and voice that stick How do you do tone and voice work in the age of AI? While there are some differences in how I approached TOV work early in my career, the core remains the same. Just now there are more tools to help you conclude faster! Learning outcomes: - What do tone and voice guidelines look like nowadays - How to kick off research - What every TOV should be backed...

Episode 73: Psst, content design is about to have a major moment In 2025’s final episode of Content Rookie, I introduce you to what I have coined the ”roguessance” of content design. I truly believe content design is about to have a major moment, thanks to developments like Google Disco redefining how we design and build experiences and interfaces as a whole. What are suddenly the most valuable sk...

Episode 72: 10+ years into a content career Between the three of us, we've spent almost 40 years working in content so in this episode of Content Rookie, we talk about all things landing a job in content design, growing your career, leading vs IC work, what skills are most useful to hone right now, and how we're handling the constant shift of prios for content and design work. Learning out...

Episode 71: How a content design team works - Meet Miro's content designers Welcome to a very special episode of Content Rookie with an entire content design team: Rachel, Lene, and Roana from Miro! I'm excited to talk to them about all things content design at Miro. Learning outcomes: - How to scale content design to maximize impact - How work is divided - What small teams are hiring for...

Episode 70: Content Design with care - for users and ourselves In this special episode of Content Rookie I talk to my friend Mario Ferrer about how content design has changed over the past decade or so, how we recharge, where we find those special creative moments, how we can make greater impact without compromising our time and values, and what the upsides of AI might be. Learning outcomes: Caree...

Episode 69: Leading content design and a look at the job market In today's episode, my guest Rachel McConnell and I chat about content design careers in general and, more specifically, getting into leadership. Rachel shares her thoughts on what skills are needed to manage both content design and design teams successfully. We also talk about her current approach to finding her next leadership role....

Episode 68: Getting into Content Design and UX writing + Generalists vs Specialists In today's episode, Andrew Stein shares his journey into the field from a background in copywriting. He also dives into what helped him figure out writing for UX before the job was really popular, plus tips on doing good work as a solo UX writer dedicated to a large team. *** Learning outcomes: - Transitioning...

Episode 67: Don't let Content Design gaslight you In today's episode, the brilliant Sara Wachter-Boettcher shares parts of her Lead with Tempo talk in a discussion with me about all things lifting the weight of content design off our shoulders . How can we stop overidentifying with work? How do we set clear boundaries? And what can we do to take a step away from how we ideally want content...

Episode 66: Get unstuck: Growing content design beyond the trivial (online and at work) How many times should we really debate our title, serial commas, or the future of AI on social media? My guest Bill Kurland and I believe it's probably time to move on from some of the most evergreen content design and UX writing topics - both online and when talking about what we do at work. Why? Because t...

Episode 65: Content design and UX writing tactics that move the needle What are some content design and UX writing tactics and processes that actually move the needle for solo writers or smaller teams? In this episode, I share some of my top tactics that I like to bring into my day-to-day work to help with change management, workload management, and general content design improvements. Especially...

Episode 64: Working in a Growth team In today's episode, my guest Senior Product Designer Ademar Rodrigues and I talk about all things working with growth. We chat about how growth teams are different from other types of design teams, how content design works in a growth setting, and what some of the challenges and opportunities are. ---Learning outcomes: What's a growth team? How is it se...

Episode 63: Can UX Writers manage other designers? In today's episode, I speak with Shannon Leahy (Adobe) about her path into Content Design and becoming a UX Design Manager. Shannon shares how she got her first UX Writing title and what helped her become a successful product design manager. Learning outcomes: From copywriting to UX Writing Becoming a UX Writing manager Becoming a product desi...

In today's episode, we have a casual conversation about content design. Iara shares how she started out and we chat about what we love about our jobs. We talk about storytelling as a content designer and framing problems, as well as how to deal with challenging situations and picking our battles. Learning outcomes: Coming into UX writing from Psychology The career trajectory of a content desig...

Episode 61: My UX Writing and Content Design focus areas this year I'm focusing on 5 main areas this year in my role as a content design lead. I'm sharing them here along with how I came up with them and why. Read my article on the topic: https://medium.com/p/f6cc9983e4dc Learning outcomes:  How to focus your craft and leadership skills What I'm focusing on this year How I view AI What...

Episode 60: How to be creative when the world is on fire Well, I feel like this episode needs no introduction. The world is...strange right now. And as creatives, we tend to put ourselves out there a lot. It can be difficult to produce good work when everything around us seems to be falling apart. Listen in to this open conversation between my friend Anders and me as we try to make sense of it all...

Episode 59: Get started with information architecture Information architecture can elevate lots of content design and UX writing efforts. But how do you get started on it and how do you manage the many stakeholders that need to be involved when working on IA? In this episode I share my experience working with IA and what has worked well for me (and what hasn't) Learning outcomes:  What is Info...

Episode 58: Am I crazy or am I just context-switching? Context switching is one of the leading causes of overwhelm and burnout among content designers and UX writers. But why is it like that and what can you do to help yourself (and others)? In today's episode, I share my best tips for tackling the context overwhelm and managing up! Learning outcomes:  What is context switching? Why are UX Wri...

Episode 57: Why I no longer believe in Content Design v 2.0 A while ago I wrote an article for UX Collective on the above topic. It went viral and started a major debate. In this episode, I talk a little bit more about my points from the article and how we can save Content Design. Link to article: https://medium.com/p/e71aeb5f060c Learning outcomes:  Why is Content Design struggling? How can we he...

Episode 56: How poetry, search intent, and social media can make you a better Content Designer In today's episode, guest Dan Porder from IKEA and I dive into SEO for Content Designers and talk about a couple of other things that are valuable informants for Content Design decisions and strategies. Guaranteed to spark inspiration and give you some new impulses for your UX Writing and writing pra...

Episode 55: Getting promoted as a UX Writer In today's episode, my wonderful guest Anjana Menon and I talk all things promotions. How do you get from entry level all the way up? What do the different levels even mean, and why are titles all over the place, especially in Tech? Learn how Anjana tackled her promotion at Spotify and what you can do in your day-to-day work to aid future promotion p...

Episode 54: Freelance writing is hard but worth it In today's episode, freelance writer and business owner Jenn shares how she started out freelancing and eventually, scaled her business. She doesn't sugarcoat the effort, talks about hustle culture and pricing, and shares what she believes it takes to make it as a freelance writer in the long run. We also dive into how AI is changing the m...

Episode 53: (Content) Design that includes all My guest, Content Accessibility Consultant Lizzie Cass-Maran, and I talk about all things accessibility and how to make sure your Content Design practice is set up to include everyone. Lizzie also talks about her background, how and why she became a consultant, and what her day-to-day as an accessibility consultant looks like. Learning outcomes:  What...