In this Tent Talks session, Sabina Leybold dives deep into the world of content modeling, illuminating its critical role in UX design and content strategy. Sabina, a hybrid UX designer and content strategist, unpacks the complexity behind structuring content within digital systems and why this often-overlooked discipline matters so much to user experience and operational scalability. She offers real-world examples, particularly from her agency work with web content and CMS implementation, to show how thoughtful content modeling supports better design, consistency, and reuse.
Throughout the session, Sabina balances technical insights with thoughtful critiques—particularly around AI in content creation. She offers practical advice for UX professionals looking to bridge the gap between design and content strategy, advocating for better collaboration, more exposure to CMS environments, and a healthy respect for the behind-the-scenes work of structuring information for both users and editors.
What is content modeling and why it matters to UX:
• Content modeling defines and documents content structure, from high-level types and relationships to detailed CMS fields and attributes.
• UX designers benefit from understanding content structures because design and content are tightly linked—good layout depends on knowing what will populate it.
• A key driver of content modeling is enabling content reuse across platforms, saving time and creating more scalable, consistent systems.
• Sabina argues that while visuals matter, content is the core of user experience—people return to sites for meaningful, quality content.
Designing authoring experiences and structuring content in a CMS:
• Sabina’s approach starts with discovery workshops—goals, tech stacks, IA reviews, and current vs. ideal states.
• She uses concept models (e.g., Scott Kubie-style ecosystem maps) to define relationships in content systems.
• Workshops refine CMS field structures—granular questions like character limits, required fields, free text vs. taxonomy.
• Key considerations include source of content, structured reuse, hidden data (metadata, status, SEO), and translation needs.
• Good content models account for technical constraints and editorial realities—designers benefit from understanding both.
AI in content creation and authoring:
• Sabina is skeptical of AI’s current role, especially in chatbots—often seen as a shortcut rather than part of a strong content strategy.
• She argues that better content upfront might eliminate the need for AI-powered customer service.
• AI tools are only as good as the content they’re trained on—bad inputs yield bad results.
• There are some promising but nuanced uses, like AI-generated alt text or teaser copy, but risks of inaccuracy, bias, or generic outputs remain high.
• Sabina supports AI for note-taking and low-stakes productivity tasks but warns against AI replacing the essential thinking that writing fosters.
Common misconceptions about content reuse and scaling in design systems:
• Reuse takes serious effort—granular breakdowns and political alignment, especially in large orgs like hospitals.
• Not all content should be reusable; trying to force reuse can lead to unnecessary complexity.
• Content reuse systems evolve—don’t try to build everything at once.
• Effective reuse depends on clarity, consistency, and knowing what content works across contexts.
• UX writers often attempt smart reuse through content strings tied to behavior, but this requires robust testing to get right.
Advice for UX designers working with content strategists and CMS developers:
• Always ask: “How will the author enter or control this content?” and “How can we make this easier to edit?”
• Limit free text where possible; controlled vocabularies improve design and consistency.
• Get hands-on with CMS platforms—test environments, screen shares, trainings help build empathy and understanding.
• Ask to review content models and taxonomy work—showing interest in this often-invisible work builds stronger collaboration.
• Partner closely with designers and strategists—connect CMS fields to visual components for better developer implementation.
• Lastly, embrace a beginner’s mindset—UXers aren’t expected to know it all. Ask questions and learn as you go.
Notable Quotes
• “The content is everything.”
• “Trying to do AI without structured content is like wanting to be a bodybuilder without lifting weights.”
• “Designers should ask: how might the author have to enter this content?”
• “Good systems allow for consistency, not just in the front end, but in how they’re managed on the back end.”
• “So much of my work is spreadsheets and whiteboards—it’s invisible, but essential.”
Reference Materials
• Scott Kubie – Ecosystem Mapping and Concept Modeling approaches
• Jobs to Be Done – Workshop framework
• axe-con Talk on AI for Alt Text – Conference session on accessibility implications of AI
• Contentful and Drupal – CMS platforms mentioned for content modeling
• WordPress – CMS experience referenced
• Miro – Tool used for collaborative modeling
• JSON, APIs – Technologies referenced for content sourcing
About Tent Talks
Chicago Camps hosts irregularly scheduled Tent Talks with people from all across the User Experience Design community, and beyond. Who really likes limits, anyway--If it's a cool idea, we'd love to hear about it and share it!
What is a Tent Talk? That's a great question, we'd love to tell you.
Tent Talks are short-form in nature, generally lasting from 10-20 minutes (ish) in a recorded format--we like to think of them as "S'mores-sized content" because that's pretty on-brand. Tent Talks can be a presentation on a topic, a live Q&A session about the work we do, or the work around the work we do, or really just about anything--we don't want to limit ourselves, or you.
You should send along an idea or topic of your own so we can learn from you, as well! You don't have to be a published author or a professional speaker on a circuit to be good at your job, so please, put yourself forward, and let's have some fun, talk, and share your experience with others!
