Hi friends,
It’s officially fall here. Hope you’re all enjoying the swing of the seasons, wherever you are. In the U.S., we’re fast approaching midterm elections. Please vote.
In celebration of our democratic institutions, we’re taking inspiration and guidance from those working to build trust in government with Plain Language. A site dedicated to making it easier for the public to read, understand, and use government communications, it’s an excellent example of good work that can also help all of us do good work.
As we wrote:
Communication is the foundation of any interface or interaction. It’s how we convey value and meaning. It’s how we begin to build trust and connect with each other, our customers, clients, and users.
Recent updates and a redesign make Plain Language an incredibly useful reference for everyone working on the web. With guidelines, examples, and more resources, the site delivers on Katherine Spivey’s promise that, “it will make your life easier, and it will make your users’ lives easier. People will trust you more.”
If you’ve seen or created other examples of good work on the web as of late, please send them our way , so we can keep sharing them here.
* Plain language is not to be confused with “simple language” or “plain style,” which, generally, do not build trust.
On technology, design, and business
- A rich collection of recipes for service workers
- The cost of JavaScript
- Women who design, a directory
- Designing for addiction vs. loyalty
- A Hall of Shame for companies that use dark patterns
On anything and everything else
- The joy of running
- Wonderful links on the notorious RBG
- How to combine writing and art to say a lot with few words
- Open source blueprints for dream homes
- The generative art prodigy
In parting
“Just write—write down what you learned, no matter how big or small.” — Sara Soueidan