Feb 02 2025 29 mins 1
Sarah Johnson
Sarah Johnson asks, "If a digital experience is a conversation with a user, how can you have that conversation if you don't know what the words are?"
Sarah addresses the crucial role of content in her new book, "Content-first Design," tackling both the pragmatic aspects of a content-first approach to design as well as how to advocate for content practice.
We talked about:
her new book, "Content-first Design"
her definition of content-first design
her decision to include case studies provided by multiple content experts, part of her efforts to build a community around the "content-first" idea
how she shows the business benefits of a content-first approach to stakeholders
her brilliant observation that "digital experience is a conversation with a user and how can you have a conversation if you don't know what the words are?"
her practice of sitting in on call centers to discover user concerns and language
how working with financial and healthcare products and experiences have shaped her content-first approach
the importance of starting slowly and building good relationships with stakeholders all along the way
her appreciation for the "Search Inside Yourself" leadership program
her desire to create a community around the idea of "moving content forward"
Sarah's bio
Sarah Johnson is Founder and Director of Content-first Design, a strategic content and design consultancy and the author of the 2025 book "Content-first Design."
Connect with Sarah online
LinkedIn
ContentFirstDesign.com
Video
Here’s the video version of our conversation:
https://youtu.be/2OxYts6_n-4
Podcast intro transcript
This is the Content Strategy Insights podcast, episode number 209. Anyone who works with content knows how important and impactful it is. We also know how difficult it can be to convey the value of content to our colleagues and collaborators. Sarah Johnson tackles this dynamic in her new book, "Content-first Design." Along with addressing the practical aspects of a content-first approach, she asks: "if a digital experience is a conversation with a user, how can you have that conversation if you don't know what the words are?"
Interview transcript
Larry:
Hi everyone. Welcome to episode number 209 of the Content Strategy Insights podcast. I am really delighted today to welcome to the show Sarah Johnson. Sarah is the principal and founder and director at content-first design, a company she runs in Provincetown, Massachusetts in the US. Welcome, Sarah, tell the folks a little bit more about what you're doing these days.
Sarah:
Thank you, Larry. Thanks for having me on the show. I'm a big admirer and what I'm doing is I've just written a book called content-first design, which is one methodology and lens through which you can look at this process for developing content and developing digital products. I'm also starting a business called content-first design, which offers all kinds of content services and workshops and content-first design and other content related things including AI. So those two things dovetail nicely together and it's a lot of fun and I'm excited for the book to come out, it comes out February 13th.
Larry:
Which will probably be, I think if I stay on schedule, that'll be about two or three weeks after this episode drops, so people will be able to get it right away. I want to start, I want to read there's, I don't know if this is your official definition, but there was a passage in the introduction to the book that just to me summed up the whole thing that you say, "Content-first design is the process by which research, exploration and evaluation of content requirements and user needs inform the structure,
Sarah Johnson asks, "If a digital experience is a conversation with a user, how can you have that conversation if you don't know what the words are?"
Sarah addresses the crucial role of content in her new book, "Content-first Design," tackling both the pragmatic aspects of a content-first approach to design as well as how to advocate for content practice.
We talked about:
her new book, "Content-first Design"
her definition of content-first design
her decision to include case studies provided by multiple content experts, part of her efforts to build a community around the "content-first" idea
how she shows the business benefits of a content-first approach to stakeholders
her brilliant observation that "digital experience is a conversation with a user and how can you have a conversation if you don't know what the words are?"
her practice of sitting in on call centers to discover user concerns and language
how working with financial and healthcare products and experiences have shaped her content-first approach
the importance of starting slowly and building good relationships with stakeholders all along the way
her appreciation for the "Search Inside Yourself" leadership program
her desire to create a community around the idea of "moving content forward"
Sarah's bio
Sarah Johnson is Founder and Director of Content-first Design, a strategic content and design consultancy and the author of the 2025 book "Content-first Design."
Connect with Sarah online
ContentFirstDesign.com
Video
Here’s the video version of our conversation:
https://youtu.be/2OxYts6_n-4
Podcast intro transcript
This is the Content Strategy Insights podcast, episode number 209. Anyone who works with content knows how important and impactful it is. We also know how difficult it can be to convey the value of content to our colleagues and collaborators. Sarah Johnson tackles this dynamic in her new book, "Content-first Design." Along with addressing the practical aspects of a content-first approach, she asks: "if a digital experience is a conversation with a user, how can you have that conversation if you don't know what the words are?"
Interview transcript
Larry:
Hi everyone. Welcome to episode number 209 of the Content Strategy Insights podcast. I am really delighted today to welcome to the show Sarah Johnson. Sarah is the principal and founder and director at content-first design, a company she runs in Provincetown, Massachusetts in the US. Welcome, Sarah, tell the folks a little bit more about what you're doing these days.
Sarah:
Thank you, Larry. Thanks for having me on the show. I'm a big admirer and what I'm doing is I've just written a book called content-first design, which is one methodology and lens through which you can look at this process for developing content and developing digital products. I'm also starting a business called content-first design, which offers all kinds of content services and workshops and content-first design and other content related things including AI. So those two things dovetail nicely together and it's a lot of fun and I'm excited for the book to come out, it comes out February 13th.
Larry:
Which will probably be, I think if I stay on schedule, that'll be about two or three weeks after this episode drops, so people will be able to get it right away. I want to start, I want to read there's, I don't know if this is your official definition, but there was a passage in the introduction to the book that just to me summed up the whole thing that you say, "Content-first design is the process by which research, exploration and evaluation of content requirements and user needs inform the structure,
