UX Writing Challenges

the scenario

Kate is in an airport waiting for the last leg of a flight home when her flight gets abruptly canceled due to bad weather.

the challenge

Write a message from the airline app notifying them of the cancellation and what they need to do next.

Headline: 45 characters max

Body: 175 characters max

Button(s): 25 characters max

the solution

content

In this scenario, the Kate will want to know two things about her flight:

  1. What happened
  2. What she can do about it

These two points should be absolutely clear.

tone

This news is presumably bad news. The average user’s emotions will likely range from frustrated and disappointed to furious and devastated.

The copy should be sympathetic without inviting in ambiguity.

the scenario

Kate is in an airport waiting for the last leg of a flight home when her flight gets abruptly canceled due to bad weather.

the challenge

Write a message from the airline app notifying them of the cancellation and what they need to do next.

Headline: 45 characters max

Body: 175 characters max

Button(s): 25 characters max

the solution

content

In this scenario, the Kate will want to know two things about her flight:

  1. What happened
  2. What she can do about it

These two points should be absolutely clear.

tone

This news is presumably bad news. The average user’s emotions will likely range from frustrated and disappointed to furious and devastated.

The copy should be sympathetic without inviting in ambiguity.

the scenario

David works in graphic design. While critiquing a design in a mobile app, his phone abruptly turns off. When he restarts the phone, he reopens the app.

the challenge

Write a message that the user will read immediately upon opening the app. What do they need to know? What steps (if any) do they need to take to recover their content? What if they can’t recover the content?

Headline: 40 characters max

Body: 140 characters max

Button(s): 20 characters max

the solution

content

In this scenario, the David will want to know immediately if his work was lost, and what to do if the problem continues. While he may be interested in the details of the technical problem, his first priority is his graphic design work.

Here, David’s work was recovered.

tone

As David’s work was saved, this news is presumably good news, but it follows a stressful event. The average user’s emotions will likely range from relieved to excited, with some frustration mixed in.

The copy should be clear and comforting, but need not be excessively positive as individuals may still be stressed.

the scenario

Kay is creating an account. When they come to the step where they are asked to enter their name, they get an error message. A fraud detection software thinks their name is fake — but it’s wrong 5% of the time.

the challenge

Write an error message that prompts them to fix the error without shaming them for having a fake-sounding name.

Body: 45 characters max

the solution

content

In this scenario, Kay will want to immediately know what happened and the available options to continue with the sign up process.

tone

This notification is of an error — and one that could feel personal. The average user’s emotions may range across the board from defensive and aggressive to confused and frustrated. As this may be a “false alarm” error, it’s especially important that any level of ‘blame’ be placed upon the software, not the user.

Some brands — like the playful Brunch — could include a bit of humor at their own expense.

the scenario

Kay is creating an account. When they come to the step where they are asked to enter their name, they get an error message. A fraud detection software thinks their name is fake — but it’s wrong 5% of the time.

the challenge

Write an error message that prompts them to fix the error without shaming them for having a fake-sounding name.

Body: 45 characters max

the solution

content

In this scenario, Kay will want to immediately know what happened and the available options to continue with the sign up process.

tone

This notification is of an error — and one that could feel personal. The average user’s emotions may range across the board from defensive and aggressive to confused and frustrated. As this may be a “false alarm” error, it’s especially important that any level of ‘blame’ be placed upon the software, not the user.

Some brands — like the playful Brunch — could include a bit of humor at their own expense.