The Dash: Apple sued over the word “buy” 🍎 💵

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It isn’t every day that UX writing gets a look-in from the mainstream media, so be sure to check out the Wall Street Journal discussing some cool wording choices at Netflix (featuring friend and Principal Content Designer Ben Barone-Nugent). By the way, Confab is NEXT WEEK…so now’s your last chance to get 15% off. We’ll be there. Will you? We hope so!

Uber UX writers become content designers. First Facebook, then Shopify, now Uber. In this piece, Mike Stumpo highlights why the UX Writing team at Uber have pivoted to become the Content Design team. “Content Designer is a name that helps our co-workers understand our role, but who knows when an even better term will come along? If it does, we’ll welcome it.” More on the future of content design at Uber.

Apple’s ‘buy’ button dilemma. The tech giant is currently being sued over its allegedly deceptive use of the ‘buy’ button in its iTunes store. According to the lead plaintiff, Apple can “terminate access” to purchased content at will, and “has done so on numerous occasions”. Big yikes. See how the case explores what digital ownership really means.

The WSJ talks about UX writing. With Netflix’s new “Play Something” feature, users can tap a button and get randomized content based on their preferences. Kinda like turning on the tv and having something playing in the background while you browse. Shout out to our friend Ben Barone-Nugent, content designer and lead user experience writer at Netflix, for this WSJ feature.

Keep it simple. It turns out, humans tend to solve problems by adding complexity, even when it’s against our best interests. Why’s that, you ask? We see additions as positive and taking things away as negative. This has big implications for everything from the way we build our products to complex public policy. Super interesting read from the Washington Post.

Hyperautomation is the Next Big Thing. In this article for UX magazine, Jordan Ratner outlines the problems with how orgs currently think about conversational AI. Instead of thinking of it as some fancy concept, he argues that it should be a commonplace practice embedded in every aspect of business. From there, Experiential AI (XAI) is born.

Understanding visual hierarchy. Do your users tend to follow a Z of F scanning pattern while browsing your site? How can you design your content to naturally fit their searching behaviors? Thanks to Interaction Design Foundation for outlining how visual hierarchy helps keep our content organized and following natural eye patterns.

Designing for the good ol’ search funnel. If you’ve been searching for where to start with search, you’re in the right place. Sorry, we had to. Get started with this super comprehensive guide from Shashank Sahay!

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