January 2010

Workhorse Strategy for Workhorse Content
Speaker(s): Rahel Bailie, Intentional Design
Location: Macquarium

Content strategy has opened up a new paradigm for considering user experience: in the online search for information, the user experience is the treasure hunt; the content is the treasure being hunted. UX professionals are starting to shift design methods from pouring content into decorative boxes to designing for optimum delivery of content. However, designing for instructive content can be quite different than designing for persuasive content, with an set of priorities that differs, though overlaps, those generally considered in the UX world. Each genre of content has its unique challenges for design and delivery. This presentation looks at how the medium affects the message, and how to deal with the thornier ways of designing for content re-use and single-sourcing for the content genres beyond the marketing messages.

Presenter: Rahel Bailie
A self-identified geek, presenter Rahel Anne Bailie is drawn to technology like moth to flame, and embraces tools and methods to manage content with more efficiency and effectiveness. She tracks industry trends and has been an early adopter of single-sourcing, content management, and social media. She employs principles from a range of disciplines to develop content strategies that focus on the ultimate ability of the intermediate and end users to successfully complete the tasks that further the organization's intended goals. Her experience gives her an intimate understanding of end-to-end processes, from requirements-gathering to implementation. She is an STC Fellow, and holds memberships in various associations such as IAI, UPA, and CM Pros to stay current in pertinent practice areas.