Content Teatime is an informal meet-up for anyone interested in design, content and content strategy.

Join us to for talks about:

• 'How to ask questions nobody wants to be asked', Simon Bramble, GOV.UK
• 'This content isn't for you', Amy Hupe, BT and EE
• 'Fight bias with content strategy', David Dylan Thomas, author of the book 'Design for Cognitive Bias'
• 'Making users feel valued and supported', Sara Wilcox and Karin Mochan, NHS

About these talks

How to ask questions nobody wants to be asked, Simon Bramble

How do you ask someone to tell you about one of the lowest points in their life? It’s hard enough face to face. It’s even harder when that question is an extra-large heading on GOV.UK.

Government design services for some of the most vulnerable people in the UK. It’s our job as content designers to give people the information they need and ask questions as empathetically as possible.

This session will cover how we designed content for people who:

• have been affected by death
• have experienced domestic abuse
• are trying to get financial support for their children after the breakdown of a relationship

We’ll look at how we got around some of our biggest content challenges. How we worked with stakeholders to make meaningful changes. And, ultimately, how we asked questions nobody would ever want to be asked.

This content isn't for you, Amy Hupe

In this talk, Amy will explore the ways in which we exclude people from content with assumptions we make about them and choices we make for them.

Whether it’s important public information, technical documentation or editorial content, who are we leaving out of the narrative?

And more importantly, what can we do about it?

Fight bias with content strategy, David Dylan Thomas

Users' minds take shortcuts to get through the day. Usually they’re harmless. Even helpful.

But what happens when they’re not?

In this talk David will use real-world examples to identify some particularly nasty biases that frequently lead users to make bad decisions. He'll talk about some content strategy and design choices we can use in our apps, designs, and platforms to redirect or eliminate the impact of those biases. Finally, David will explore our own biases as practitioners and some methods to prevent our own blind spots from hurting users.

Making users feel valued and supported, Sara Wilcox and Karin Mochan

Sara and Karin will talk about creating respectful, caring content for the NHS website. They will introduce some of the standards and guidance they work to, with examples from their work.

About our speakers

Simon Bramble

Simon is a Lead Content Designer at the Department for Work and Pensions. It's his job to create content that helps vulnerable people get the support they're entitled to, which means asking "why do we need this?" and "how does this meet user needs?". A lot.

Simon has been creating content in various forms for more than 15 years, with stints as a journalist and a copywriter leading him to his current role at DWP.

Amy Hupe

Amy is a self-employed content designer and design systems expert, currently working as product owner for the BT and EE design system.

She spent the first half of the year managing Babylon Health's design system and prior to that, Amy 3 years working as content lead for the GOV.UK Design System at GDS.

David Dylan Thomas

David Dylan Thomas, author of the book Design for Cognitive Bias from A Book Apart, serves as Content Strategy Advocate at Think Company and is the creator and host of the Cognitive Bias Podcast. He has developed digital strategies for major clients in entertainment, healthcare, publishing, finance, and retail. He has presented at TEDNYC, SXSW Interactive, Confab, LavaCon, UX Copenhagen, Artifact, IA Conference, Design and Content Conference, and the Wharton Web Conference on topics at the intersection of bias, design, and social justice.

Sara Wilcox and Karin Mochan

Sara is the content designer in the NHS digital service manual team, where she co-ordinates work on the content style guide and the A to Z of NHS health writing. She's currently working on the coronavirus testing service. Before joining the NHS, she worked in health charities and elsewhere in the public sector, delivering digital services and heading up digital, communications and information teams.

Karin is a content designer on the NHS.UK medicines information pages and has previously worked on public health campaigns such as Be Clear on Cancer and Stay Well This Winter. She is a member of the Guild of Health Writers.