15 days of ux writing
the Daily UX Writing Challenge is a famous challenge that proposes 15 situations to be solved with UXW. the idea is to solve the challenge within 10 minutes, respecting the size of the phrases and buttons.
​​scenario: A traveller is in an airport waiting for the last leg of a flight home when their flight gets abruptly cancelled due to bad weather.
challenge: Write a message from the airline app notifying them of the cancellation and what they need to do next.
headline: 45 characters
body: 175 characters max
button(s): 25 characters max
​
rationale
it's not an easy situation - the user is probably frustrated about not going to their destination when they planned to. that's why the language must be plain and simple, saying what needs to be said directly. the title, "Your flight has been cancelled", does that.
the subtitle explains what happened - bad weather - and what we did about it - rescheduled them to the next available flight. the button, "See details", gives the user the next step, and the second button provides another option, in case they need help. in that way, we show them we're doing everything we can and make sure the user feels embraced.
​
​
scenario: A user is a working parent and a big sports fan in the midst of their favourite sports season, who can no longer attend games.
challenge: Write a promotional screen for an app that lets a user choose teams, sends game reminders, real-time score updates, and highlight videos.
headline: 40 characters max
body: 175 characters max
button(s): 25 characters max
​
rationale
the best thing about going to the stadium is the energy of cheering, seeing everything happening so close to you, vibrating in the same rhythm. so, if you're not in the stadium, it must be nice to have something that makes you feel that way. in the title, "Feel the game", I tried to give that sensation to the user.
the subtitle says what the app can do for them, in a simple and direct way, and the button invites the user to action. it's a common behavior to discharge a pop-up when the app opens. because of that, I suggested the option "Remind me later".
​
scenario: The user entered the wrong email address to sign in to their account.
challenge: Tell the user to enter the right email.
​
40 characters max
​
rationale
sometimes, when we're entering an app we haven't used for ages, we can forget what email we used there. that's especially the case for me, since I have at least 3 e-mail addresses.
in that case, it's helpful when I can sign in using my phone number or other personal information. with that in mind, I suggested we give the user the option to receive an access code, via SMS, for example.
scenario: A user is in their favourite supermarket. They open the supermarket’s app on their phone to see what’s on sale and are greeted by a promotion.
challenge: Write a promotional home screen for a subscription service that delivers groceries to the user once a month for a flat fee.
​
headline: 45 characters max​
body: 175 characters max​
button(s): 25 characters max
​
rationale
in the busy life, we don't always have time to do everything we can, and sometimes we have to sacrifice things we want to do for things we need to do, such as chores. thinking about people who are in this situation, I choose the argument "time" to use in the title. it's a place where we can use a more informal language, and the phrase "no time for groceries" immediately connects the user with what we're trying to say.
in the subtitle, after explaining what the service is, the benefits are highlighted, again focusing on the time for "what really matters" - such as being with family, friends etc.
​
scenario: The user works in graphic design. While critiquing a design in a mobile app, their phone abruptly turns off. When they restart the phone, they reopen the app.
challenge: Write a message that the user will read immediately upon opening the app. What do they need to know? What steps (if any) do they need to take to recover their content? What if they can't recover the content?
headline: 40 characters max​
body: 140 characters max​
button(s): 20 characters max
​
rationale
in situations like this, it's always important to be direct and simple, since the user might be frustrated with what happened. I worked with the possibility that the app saved the project the user was working on and, in this case, a fun and embracing message can be nice.
I also like to see if the user can understand the message by reading just the title and the button - a behaviour very common between app users -, and in this case, they can.
​
​
scenario: It’s Monday. A user has just gotten into their car to drive to work. They plug their phone into the car and start driving.
challenge: How would you let the user know there’s a fire happening in a nearby town that is causing road closures? The effect on their commute is unknown, but there is a definite danger if the fire gets closer. How do you communicate this to them? When? Write it.
​
headline: 30 characters max​
body: 45 characters max​
​
rationale
because the user is driving to work, they have little time to read the message - so it must be straight to the point. but, at the same time, I chose to catch the attention of the driver with the word "careful", since the fire can put their safety at risk.
​
then, I just said what roads are closed and what they can do: click to change the route.
scenario: A sports fan is at a wedding while their favourite team is playing against their arch-rivals. Their team scores.
challenge: How would you, quickly, let the sports fan know about the latest play, the current score, and the key players? Write it.
​
headline: 30 characters max​
body: 45 characters max​
​
rationale
to bring the user as close to the live game as they can be, I chose to announce the goal just as an actual sports commentator would do. also, the name of the player and the score were added to give more context.
​
​
​
scenario: The user is a casual music fan and (on occasion) goes to live concerts. They have a music player app on their phone.
challenge: Tell the user that one of their favourite bands is playing live in their town. How would you compel them to want to go?
​
headline: 30 characters max​
body: 45 characters max​
button: 25 characters max
​
rationale
to catch the attention of a Maroon 5's fan, I used a reference of one of their more famous songs, "Sugar" - sugar, yes please - and, in the title, the user already has 2 important pieces of information: who's playing and where (NY).
​
in the subtitle, "write it down" shows that what comes next is important (the date and the place), followed by the opening of the sales. since there's nothing the user can do right now, I gave them the option to be reminded later.
​
​
​
scenario: The user is trying to rent a car using an application but the credit card on file has expired.
challenge: Write them an error message so that they can correct the problem.
​
headline: 30 characters max​
body: 45 characters max​
​
rationale
in this case, it's important to not shame the user for using an expired card, especially because they may think it's a system error and not actually their fault. because of that, I focused on what they must do to complete the rental: choose another payment method.
in the subtitle, I explained the situation, and the button says "Go to wallet", following the rationale that the user can resolve it just by reading the title and the button.
​
​
​
​
scenario: The user is trying to view a website to help them buy a car. But, the content can’t load without the user’s location. They need to enter their ZIP code and first name.
challenge: Ask them where they live and who they are without sounding like you're unnecessarily mining their data.
​
headline: 25 characters max​
body: 45 characters max​
button(s): 15 characters max
​
rationale
giving your ZIP code to a site it's not always an easy decision - especially if it's the first time you visit the website. therefore, I decided to specify what the user will get in this exchange - the opportunity to find the best car deals in their area.
for the button, "Continue" gives the idea of a flow, so that the user feels entering the ZIP code is just another small step in the process of finding a car.
​
​
​
​
​
scenario: An elderly user is doing a Google search to find an easy way to buy contact lenses online.
challenge: Write a title and meta description for a website that sells subscription contact lenses delivered to a user every 30 days—convince them to try it.
​
headline: 60 characters max​
body: 160 characters max​
​
rationale
when we do a Google search, we're trying to solve a problem - either a word we forgot how to spell, how to get to another place by bus, or how to get that wine stain out of the carpet. in this case, the user wants to find their new contact lenses and an easy way to buy them online. so, in the title, I gave them the answer to this, so they don't need to search for it next time.
the subtitle gives more context and the benefits of the subscription, using important keywords.
​
​
​
scenario: A user is creating an account. When they come to the step where they are asked to enter their name, they get an error message. A fraud detection software thinks their name is fake—but it’s wrong 5% of the time.
challenge: Write an error message that prompts them to fix the error without shaming them for having a fake-sounding name.
​
45 characters max​
​
​
rationale
that's a tricky situation, because we couldn't find the name, but there's a 5% chance that we're the ones in the wrong here. that's why I started the message with "We couldn't verify your name", meaning it's our fault.
since there's a big possibility that the user just misspelled the name, the first instruction is to check again. but, if the person is in that small percentage mentioned before, there's nothing we can do at the spot, so I gave them the option to speak with our custom support.
​
​
​
scenario: A short-haul truck driver has a phone app that monitors his route, schedule, fuel & deliveries.
He has 6 more deliveries before stopping for fuel and lunch. Due to unexpected traffic, he’s behind schedule.
He can choose to stay on his planned route for a few more stops, but risk running low on fuel and missing lunch, or he can get fuel and lunch now and finish the deliveries later.
challenge: Write a push notification alerting him of this dilemma and options.
​
headline: 30 characters max​
body: 45 characters max​
button: 25 characters max
​
rationale
the dilemma is clear and, therefore, it's the most important information on the notification. that's why the title reads "Should we take a break?". the subtitle explains the situation better, mentioning the driver is behind schedule. at the same time, the use of the plural "we" can take some of the pressure off of them.
the buttons are self explanatory, and complement the title providing the two possibles answers for the question.
​
​
​
scenario: A user is shopping using a price comparison app that boasts “real-time” pricing on items. As they are checking the price of an item, something goes wrong. The problem is unknown.
challenge: Write a message that informs the user that they cannot access the app right now. You cannot specify "why" the app doesn't work, you also want them to continue using the app.
​
headline: 30 characters max​
body: 120 characters max​
button: 15 characters max
​
rationale
the generic error messages are a classic in the UXW world. what I always try to do is follow the 3 simple rules and say: 1. what happened; 2. why it happened; 3. what the user can do. since we don't have much information, I worked with what we had and explained the "what" - something went wrong -, the "why" - we couldn't load the page - and what the user can do - close the app and open it again.
to avoid a dead end, the button helps the user to close the app and they can try and open it again the next second.
​
​
​
