Content strategy seems to be one of the big trends in experience design. And for good reason. No matter how well a web page is laid out or how interesting an iPhone app is, the words and pictures will make or break the experience.
Karen McGrane does a great job of describing some of the problems that happen when content design is not included as part of the overall design of an interactive product. Check out her slideshow and a video of her presentation.
I recently encountered an example where content did not match my expectations and I thought it might be interesting to share. If you have been reading my blog, you know that I respect the job Disney does at delivering great experiences. However, in this story, you will see that they may have applied a general content template to their site that impacts the experience for a specific user audience.
My family and I have done quite a bit of camping in the last year. We went out West to see the National Parks last summer. We camped at many parks and campgrounds during that trip. We have also been to Disney World several times over the last few years – always staying in their resorts. After hearing great things about the Fort Wilderness Campground at Disney World, we decided that would make a great Spring Break trip.
I went to the campground reservations site to book a campsite. The site has a lot of useful information and pictures about Fort Wilderness. However, there are a few things that are odd. In the overview text, it describes the types of campsites that are available. But, if you want to know pricing, you have to click on a button labeled Room Types and Pricing. To see a picture of a campsite, you click on a button labeled Rooms. And, when you try to reserve your site, you are offered the options of Packages or Hotels. So, even though you want to book a campsite at a campground, you have to select a room at a hotel.
Well, it might be a little strange, but it didn’t stop me from making a reservation. It did, however, affect how I felt while making the reservation. It seems as though maybe campers are the forgotten ones – not important enough to ensure the site uses my language.
Wording and language impacts the experience after you arrive, too. I was given a room key which is used as a park pass, enabled me to return to the campground, and to pay for items at stores and restaurants. Each time I used the card to pay for things, I had to specify that it is a ‘room charge’ even though I wasn’t staying in a room. This is understandable. There are many more rooms that cabins or campsites. However, it still feels a bit odd.
In experience design, we often discuss how important it is to understand the user and what they are trying to accomplish. We try to use language that is appropriate for the user and their context. It turns out that this can be very challenging – especially when you try to create interaction templates that can apply to similar items across a very large site. At Disney, they have a team of content strategists and information architects working to ensure their sites work well. Even with all of those resources, doing content strategy and experience design can still be a challenge.
Have you ever encountered an experience where the language broke the magic? What are you doing in your work to try to ensure content is included as part of the experience design process? Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.
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