CRyder Design

Introduction

Content is all around us. It’s constantly changing, and adapting to new trends, processes, and times. But also, there are so many different types of content. Have you ever stopped to think about what kind of content you create?

What is My Content?

As a user experience designer, I produce a lot of content. The content that I create comes in all different shapes and sizes from heuristic evaluation documents to personas, to full user interface designs. For my entire undergraduate, graduate, and professional career I have been consistently creating all types of content. One of the types of content that I have the most of is blog posts. Each course that I took throughout my undergraduate and graduate experience required a blog post for each assignment that I submitted. So, as you can imagine, I’ve developed a lot over the years.

How Do I Decide What Content to Keep?

Deciding what content to keep isn’t always easy. Sometimes it’s a challenge to part ways with something that you spent so much time on and put so much effort into. However, not all content should be kept. Personally, when I am in the process of deciding what content to keep I ask myself three questions: 

1. Is it relevant to my audience?
2. Is it relevant to my line of work?
3. Is it high-quality or does it need work?

Usually, these three questions help me decide whether or not to keep my content or let it go. 

How Do I Organize My Content?

I like to think of myself as a fairly organized individual. Especially when it comes to my desktop. It is so easy (almost too easy) to let your desktop fall into disorganization. I tend to separate my work into categories of current or archived. Current work can be defined as something that I am actively working on is will be relevant in the near future. Archive work can be designed as something that I have not recently worked on, and will not be relevant to my work in the near future. From there, I usually separate my work into different folders according to what exactly it is. And please don’t forget how important it is to properly name your documents. This will make your life so much easier when looking back on your work and trying to figure out what everything is without having to open each and every document. Trust me (been there done that).

Do I Have a Strategy to Manage My Content?

As I previously mentioned, I organize my content into current or archived categories. Every so often (I don’t have a hard set schedule), I go through my current document and decide what is no longer current and can be moved to my archive folder. This keeps my work organized so I can easily find exactly what I am looking for in my day-to-day work. Furthermore, I have to decide what content isn’t worth keeping anymore. As you can imagine, my archive folder gets very full, very fast. Because of this, there comes a point where I need to take care of my documents there, spring cleaning style. Sort of an “out with the old, in with the new” type of mindset. This is where I ask myself those three questions that I mentioned earlier. I usually do this quarterly, to make sure that I have enough time to cut those emotional ties that one develops with their work.

How Long is Content Worth Keeping?

The answer to this question is likely to vary depending on your line of work. Some people tend to keep their content for very short periods of time, and constantly cycle in new work while getting rid of the old. However, in my line of work I have to document each and every step of my process. So holding onto multiple documents can be beneficial to me. However, there is a certain period of time that will pass when content is no longer relevant. Such as keeping high school work in your portfolio after finishing graduate school, it’s not necessarily going to be relevant anymore. Your style, process, and skills have changed with time, and your content should reflect that. So I guess my answer to this question would be, as long as it is relevant to you, your process, and your line of work.

Moving Forward

Relationships with content will widely vary depending on your area of expertise and the type of content that you create! There is no real one-size-fits-all answer to any of these questions, so be sure to take the time to really think about how they relate to you and your work to answer them for yourself.