How to stop being the one who fills in the words

In one of my first UX writing contract jobs, I had a coworker who would come to me whenever it was time to create the localization keys that identified a string of text in our app's code.

Being a people-pleas—erm, a cooperative type and a translator at heart, I was always happy to oblige as quickly as I could.

The conversation would go more or less like this:

"Hey, we need a new key for this 'Track your expenses' header in the Italian onboarding flow. Can you take care of it?"

"Yes, sure—let me take a look."

Then I'd carefully start my due diligence to make sure everything looked good from both a localization and a technical standpoint.

I thought this was the right approach.

Until, one day, it hit me:

Basically, I was at the end of the line—the last person to be brought in, even when the project fell right under my specialty.

I don't blame my coworker. As a developer at a small operation, she had a lot on her plate. I didn't expect her to understand the intricacies of content design, just like I didn't know the ins and outs of her most complex, most urgent tasks.

We were both spread thin, and I had mistaken speed for efficiency. By jumping straight to execution, I was reinforcing the idea that it was OK to bring me in when everything was already said and done—just to check the last item off the list.

There are ways to prevent this from happening. In some cases, a polite reminder will work. But you don't want to risk coming across as passive-aggressive or damaging your relationship with that person (and their team lead—don't forget office politics). Also, you don't want to fall into the trap of re-educating your peers at every turn.

If you want to take a more effective approach, lead by example.

(Yes—you can lead as a junior, too!)

You're a content designer. You define the what, the how, and, most importantly, the why.

So breathe. Take a step back and ask yourself:

Because this is the question that sets everything in motion.

It's the question that sparks all the questions.

"Which data are we working with? Let me check with our analyst. I'll involve a product manager, too."

There you are, rationalizing design decisions with insights from UX research. Like a pro.

"Is this the best way to go? Can we take a closer look at this old flow? Let me have a quick huddle with the UX designers."

The quick huddle turns into two meetings and a sprint goal. You're reassessing business and user requirements to improve the experience.

"Are these changes technically feasible? Let’s see what frontend has to say. Actually, both frontend and backend. And of course, it needs to make sense on mobile devices as well."

Finding allies in the dev team is a good idea, and it pays off. Checking upfront and providing options they can work with lets them know you respect their time and understand their needs.

"Is the copy in line with our guidelines? By the way, are the guidelines up to date and usable? I'll check what the content marketing and localization teams think."

Now, back to our favorite part: ✨creating with words.✨

You have the bigger picture, so you can zoom back in and focus on what you do best.

"This brand-new flow is about to go into production. As we start testing, let’s also have a demo session with sales and customer service so they're ready to address any customer questions."

Now you're showing—not telling—your coworkers what content design is actually about, while at the same time reinforcing partnerships left and right. You might not realize it yet, but you could be inspiring someone else to do the same.

You don't need to reinvent the wheel for every microcopy string you add to the code. But you can always apply critical thinking and solid UX frameworks to make work more meaningful. Open your toolbox, and pick as many tools as you need for the job at hand.

To doing great things 🥂

Read more from me:

Elisa Trippetti

I’m Elisa, a content designer from Italy with experience in customer service and localization. This is where I navigate and document my work life in UX and writing.

Elisa Trippetti