Content First Philosophy
On letting content shape the systems, structures and experiences around it.
When one wants to create a digital platform, be it a website or an app, what is the first question one asks themselves?
In my experience, priorities may vary, but one thing stands out. Many ask: how will their platform actually get highly ranked on search? How will people find them? How can their site or app look nice? How… All good questions.
I reiterate: content, content… But how?
In hindsight, what one should be asking is what?
Before even designing anything, one should probably take a walk up a hill in a secluded area, or whatever brings one peace. In that peaceful state of mind, one can freely explore ideas on what the content would actually have to offer the audience.
Then comes the question of how to create authentic content which actually resonates and strengthens the idea your service or product is offering.
Ensuing, one is now able to properly structure the content system according to the type of content, what unique features each article, video, audio etc. has.
Case in point, the drafts of said content can then be used to come up with organic categories, rather than using blueprint categories and structures found on other platforms.
Crafting the categories around your actual content creates an unmatched experience while one explores the content.
Further in, the design ethos will then emanate from said organic structure, giving way to a user-centric approach.
Where now one asks: how best can the user experience the content? What combination of types of content go together? At this point, the design direction becomes much clearer.
Remember, one might think they know what they want, but until the actual thought process has been implemented, it is only a guess.
The content evolves, and so the structure should be easily extensible and configurable.
The design should fit to the content; rather, the content should not be forced into a design.
In short, content dictates design.