The content design playbook: Rules, moves & wins - How to gamify UX content to make stakeholders play and have everyone win
Content teams struggle daily: they lack stakeholder buy-in, face decision fatigue, and must constantly advocate for their work. Stakeholders challenge copy without context, last-minute changes derail thoughtful content, and content designers burn out trying to prove their value.
This talk introduces the Content Design Playbook— my own self-created living breathing artefact that makes content decisions structured, scalable, and engaging for content teams, designers, PMs, and leadership alike.
At its core, the playbook features Content Rule Strength, a framework that transforms content decision-making into an engaging game for stakeholders. Drawing inspiration from The Three Little Pigs, this framework categorises content decisions like the houses in the story—some are fragile like straw, others more durable like sticks, and the strongest built to last, like stone. Rather than letting decisions be driven by opinions or arbitrary changes, this framework:
✅ Clarifies the reasoning behind content decisions.
✅ Provides stakeholders with a structured approach to challenge and improve content.
✅ Guides teams toward stronger, research-backed decisions.
We'll explore supporting frameworks that make content structured, scalable, and sustainable—demonstrating how the Playbook elevates content design from an afterthought to an integral system that serves everyone. This framework isn't theoretical—it's been field-tested with real teams and products, earning positive reception in UX and content design forums, including last year's Growing in Content breakout session.
Participants will walk away with a battle-tested framework they can implement immediately to document, strengthen, and defend their content decisions—ensuring their work drives real impact.
