What is Content Design?

Why content design sits at the heart of every digital experience

At ako labs, we draw on a range of disciplines including content design, governance and operating model design, service design and change management.

Every client engagement requires drawing on each of these disciplines to get the job done right. However, our core end-to-end methodology is known as content design, and every employee experience we support is powered by our content design methodology.

Whether an employee is searching for a policy, completing a business process, using a digital service, adopting a new platform or interacting with an AI assistant, content helps them understand what to do next.

When content is difficult to find, difficult to understand or poorly governed, employee experiences suffer. Support requests increase, trust declines and the value of digital investments is reduced.

For this reason, content design remains a foundational discipline across much of our work.

Many organisations invest heavily in digital platforms, self-service capabilities and technology solutions.

However, these investments often fail to deliver their full value because the information supporting them has not been designed effectively.

Employees may struggle to find answers, understand policies, complete tasks. access services or navigate digital platforms.

When this happens, people stop using digital channels and return to email, Teams messages, phone calls and informal support networks.

Good content design helps organisations:

  • Improve employee self-service

  • Reduce support effort

  • Improve search experiences

  • Increase trust in information

  • Improve digital adoption

  • Support governance outcomes

  • Prepare content for AI-powered search and discovery.

What is Content Design?

Content design is the practice of using evidence backed user-needs to create content that helps people complete tasks, solve problems and make decisions.

Rather than starting with what an organisation wants to say, content design starts by understanding what users need and designing content around those needs.

Good content design helps people:

  • Find information

  • Understand information

  • Trust information

  • Apply information successfully

  • Complete tasks independently

Content design is not simply writing. It combines research, analysis, information architecture, governance and user-centred design to improve how information works for people.

The Content Design Process

At ako labs, we follow a structured content design process that aligns with established industry practice and many of the principles championed by Content Design London.

The process provides a practical framework for creating content that is easier to find, understand, trust and maintain.

Audit → Discovery → Architecture → Design → Governance

1. Audit

Before improving content, it is important to understand the current state.

Many organisations have accumulated years of content, documents, intranet pages and digital assets that have been created by different teams for different purposes.

An audit establishes a baseline and identifies opportunities for improvement.

Typical activities

  • Content inventories

  • Content audits

  • Search assessments

  • Digital workplace reviews

  • Governance reviews

  • SharePoint and Microsoft 365 reviews

  • Analytics analysis

Outcomes

  • Understanding of current content quality

  • Identification of duplication and gaps

  • Search and discoverability insights

  • Governance findings

  • Prioritised recommendations

2. Discovery

Understand user needs and business requirements

Content should be informed by evidence rather than assumptions.

Discovery helps uncover what users are trying to achieve, what information they need and where existing experiences are falling short.

It also helps balance user needs with business requirements and organisational constraints.

Typical activities

  • User interviews

  • Stakeholder interviews

  • Workshops

  • Employee journey mapping

  • Search analysis

  • Support request analysis

  • Review of existing research

Outcomes

  • User needs (user stories)

  • Priority tasks and journeys (journey maps)

  • Stakeholder requirements

  • Pain points and opportunities

  • Clear definition of success.

3. Information architecture

Design the structure behind the experience

Once user needs are understood, information must be organised in a way that helps people find and use it.

Architecture focuses on the structure of information rather than the content itself.

This is often the difference between an experience that feels intuitive and one that feels frustrating.

Typical activities

  • Site structure design

  • Navigation design

  • Taxonomy development

  • Metadata processes

  • Content modelling

Outcomes

  • Improved findability

  • Clear information structure

  • Better search experience

  • Sustainable governance foundations

  • Scalable content ecosystem

4. Design

Create content around user needs

Design is where research, insights and structures are translated into practical content solutions. It’s a co-design process that takes all interested stakeholders on the journey.

We focus on developing new content that helps people complete tasks, solve problems and make decisions.

Typical activities

  • Working with subject matter experts to transform service information into user-centred content

  • User-centred writing with a focus on plain language

  • Page design

  • Accessibility improvements

  • Mapping content to journeys and user stories developed in discovery phase

Outcomes

  • Easier-to-use content

  • Improved self-service outcomes

  • Reduced support effort

  • Greater trust in digital channels

5. Governance

Create sustainable content practices

Without governance, even the best-designed content will deteriorate over time.

Governance helps ensure information remains accurate, relevant and trustworthy long after a project has been completed.

It provides clarity around ownership, accountability and maintenance.

Typical activities

  • Governance framework design

  • Content ownership models

  • Publishing standards

  • Review processes

  • Content lifecycle management

  • Publisher capability development

  • Operating model alignment: Value Chain, RACI and ways of working

Outcomes

  • Clear accountability

  • Sustainable publishing practices

  • Improved content quality

  • Stronger compliance

  • Long-term maintainability