My cookbooks teach me TONS about content design. Here’s another lesson I’ve learned 📝📚 In my last post, I mentioned that when our audience doesn’t trust our instructions, we should focus on its value prop and account for unhappy paths. Unfortunately, that extra info is more content to digest. The extra content, often text, is an issue, especially if you’re staring at your recipe across the table and your pot’s about to boil over and you’re hangry. The solution: solid information architecture and hierarchy. My favorite new cookbook—Start Here by Sohla El-Wayley—is a great example. Sohla’s recipes are a content designer’s dream. Each recipe has distinct sections: a hero image, an intro, ingredients, steps with a bolded subhead and then granular details. At the end of the recipes, there are the sections for readers who’ve mixed things up: substitutions (“Get loose!”) and troubleshooting (“What the hell happened?”). There are even step by step photos for more challenging techniques. Even if you skim or don’t read all the way through the recipe first, you can easily access that extra subject-matter expertise. The consistent format and visual hierarchy make it scannable at a glance too. Plus, the writing’s clear and direct. Feel familiar to your content designer duties yet? Kudos to Chris Cristiano and the team at Knopf Publishing for the well-designed book. Did you use a CMS to manage the piles of well-structured content? I am so curious. Anyways, buy Start Here: https://lnkd.in/gJCp2cj3 #ContentDesign #InformationArchitecture #RecipeDevelopment
Sandie M.
3w
I believe the same thing! I learned so much about structured content optimizing recipes over the years ☺️
Creative Director, Netflix Editorial Publishing Innovation
3wThanks for the love Megan. There was an incredible amount of valuable information that needed to be clearly organized and cleanly designed for ease of use. The challenge is to not only make it look good but also make it approachable and user friendly. We really want people to cook the dishes and the recipe design should do everything it can to make it an enjoyable experience and seamless journey from the page to the plate.