How content design helps you write for real people
- Ellen Macpherson-Webster
- Jun 4
- 4 min read
What comes to your mind when you hear the word 'design'?
Maybe you pictured an Eames chair or a turtleneck-wearing designer in bold eyewear. Design is often thought of as a visual medium, so it’s rarely applied to words (unless we're considering the dog-eat-dog world of typography).
But it turns out even our words can benefit from some design thinking.
What is content design?
Professionalised by Sarah Winters at GOV.UK, content design is about creating the right information, in the right place, at the right time, for people to easily understand and use. It's taking what your audience needs—not necessarily what your organisation or client wants to say—and delivering it in the clearest possible way.
That doesn't sound especially revolutionary or difficult. And yet, so much of the time, brands get it wrong.
The suffocating effect of ‘jargon monoxide’
Ever been in a meeting where everyone's thinking outside the box to move the needle on strategic delivery, so you've had to circle back to dive under the hood?
Phew. What a word salad.
All large organisations develop an internal language. That language can be hard enough to understand when we’re sitting in a video call, but when the same language leaks into an organisation's external comms, it destroys a reader’s understanding of key messages.
Former Paul Keating speechwriter Don Watson coined the term 'jargon monoxide' for this misuse of language because it slowly suffocates clear communication. In her role as Lead Content Designer at GOV.UK, Sarah Winters told writers there to stop using "delivery" unless they meant pizza.
And yet, government websites still use terms like 'services' and 'service delivery' on pages where people pay parking fines.
When did you last see paying a fine as someone doing you a service? If the answer’s never, you’re not alone.
To understand why jargon-clogged content is so damaging—and how to fix it—let’s dive into the science of reading.
How readers navigate content (and why they get lost)
Letter by letter, word by word, your eyes put the pieces of a sentence together, then a paragraph, then, eventually, a whole chapter or article or book. Right?
Well, not exactly.
Reading isn’t linear
Your brain is built to scan. Instead of reading sequentially, your eyes actually move in patterns called saccades—rapid, jerky movements that skip across pages, landing on key words that help piece together meaning.
In fact, you might not even need complete letters to understand paragraphs.
Complex or unfamiliar words, however, force our eyes to jump back over content we've already scanned. These jumping back movements—called regressive saccades—make up 10-15% of reading time.
In fact, you might have just done it reading that sentence.
Content filled with 'jargon monoxide' increases that reading time. It creates a maze where readers face frustration in retracing their steps. So how do you create content that works with, rather than against, the way people naturally read?
Two words: mental models.
Mental models: The secret to connecting with your audience
A mental model is a set of beliefs and ideas that shape how you understand the world. Think of it as an internal dictionary or map you use to make sense of new information.
Mental models affect everything: the language you understand, the trust you place in messaging, and what you do with information.
Speaking your reader’s language
Sarah Winter’s work at GOV.UK was to write content for everyone. That meant using the language of most everyday conversations, i.e. the simplest language possible.
But there are times when the right words aren't always the most simplified. Instead, they’re the ones that map most directly to your reader's mental model.
Take medical content. For healthcare professionals, precise medical terminology isn't jargon—it's their language. Trying to simplify it might lead to confusion. Whereas, for patients, the same terms become barriers.
To reach and engage your audience, you need to minimise their cognitive load. Even your cleverest readers can get lost if the language needlessly complex. Most people want to understand your content as quickly and easily as possible.
How to find your audience's mental models
So, your audience should inform your content. But how, exactly, do you find out what your audience thinks? Here are a few practical approaches that don't require huge research budgets.
Leverage existing customer research.
Listen to how customers speak about your brand, products and industry. That’s priceless information you can't get from desktop research alone.
Mine social media for authentic conversations.
Jump into Facebook groups and Reddit communities where your readers spend their time. What words do they use when they don’t think anyone from your industry is listening?
Use keyword research as a window into your audience’s minds.
SEO tools aren't just for optimisation. With AI and voice search on the rise, search queries are becoming conversational: "how much should I be paying for car insurance" rather than "car insurance quote." These terms reveal not just what people want to know, but how they frame their questions.
Then, once you understand your audience's mental models, you can create content that works with, rather than against, how people naturally think and read. This means:
Structuring your content for quick and easy scanning
Matching your language to your audience’s mental models
Testing your assumptions by seeking out reader feedback
The goal isn't to speak down to your audience or to eliminate all technical language. It's to make their lives easier by giving them what they’re searching for.
One last slice of wisdom
Every time you choose a familiar word over an impressive one, you're designing content that works. So, next time you’re tempted to email your customers about your “seamless omnichannel solutions”, maybe stop and think: does this make sense in someone else’s brain?
Because an email that uses real human language? That’s a delivery almost as good as pizza.
Image credits: Illustration by pch.vector on Freepik. Custom GIF by 30Rock, RyukoProp, bamaambean, and camcourtny on Tenor.
