Jeri Hastava — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:09:35 GMT

Thank you! I’ve been a content strategy “looky-loo” for a while now, and your article struck a chord, prompting a response. I especially appreciated the graphic contrasting the approved design with the same design displaying real content.

I would like to add that I believe a piece of the solution is client education. If we agree (tacitly or not) to design web pages in the absence of content, we’re setting ourselves and our clients up for delay and disappointment. Like Travis, this doesn’t mean that I always get 100% of the content prior to design approval, but at the very least, it’s critical to help clients understand the value of content in meeting their goals, and to understand on a visual level, the relationship between the “shape” of the “real ” content and a successful design.

Happily for me, as a one-woman shop, I get to define the process, and set expectations with clients. Like Travis, I also find it helpful to “assume” copy writing as well as other content generation tasks in my proposals.

Thanks again for the article.

Boxes and Arrows: Comments by Jeri Hastava