Week 2 Page 4: Step 3
STEP #3: Gather and analyze the content
In the design world, content is king!! What do we mean by that? Basically, many design decisions are determined by what information needs to be displayed and communicated. Many designers follow a "content first" design process. This means that before they begin the specifics of page structure/layout, interface or navigation, they need to assess what type and quantity of content they are working with.
So What Do We Mean by Content Anyway?
Content may include: text (sometimes called copy), visuals, animation, video, and sound. As a designer, one of your first steps in a project is to gather and analyze the content (sometimes called a content audit). Your goal is to create a content strategy. This allows you to better understand the scope of the project and to communicate this to other team members.
Text (copy):
- How much text does this project have?
- How should the text content be organized and structured?
- Who is writing the text and what format is it in?
- Can they be relied upon to deliver the text on time? (This is an important question when gathering content... many projects stall because of lack of copy!)
Images:
- Are there numerous images to include?
- If there are existing images, what format are they in?
- What is the quality of the images? What about resolution?
- Do they need to be scanned or worked on in Photoshop?
- How might images be displayed: carousel, slide show, thumbnails etc.?
Video/animation/sound:
- How much video/animation/sound content is there?
- Is it essential to the project?
- Is it existing or does it need to be developed?
- What format?
- Where can it be hosted?
Once you have assessed the content situation, you can then move on to step #4.