Yuval Keshtcher

Yuval Keshtcher is building a community around the new field of UX writing. 

He first discovered the need for UX writing as a product designer. Since then, Yuval has convened product writers in discussion forums and classes. He studies the field constantly and hosts a podcast on Writers in Tech. This fall, he'll host a UX writing conference.

Yuval and I talked about:

his background as a graphic designer, a soldier, a product designer, and an entrepreneur

how he discovered the need for UX writing in his work as a product designer

the growth in the interest in topics like microcopy, UI content, etc.

how his work developing a community around UX writing led to him launching courses on the subject

his ongoing work to keep his course content updated

the diverse backgrounds of UX writers: "if you put the ten UX writers in a room, all of them would probably have different backgrounds"

the skills set that you need to succeed as a UX writer: curiosity, research skills, empathy, and other UX skills

how the digital revolution has brought the need for UX writing skills to the fore

the arrival and growth of the UX profession

the difference between experience design and visual design

the business benefits of UX design

the importance of collaboration in UX work and how UX writers are often the bridge between teams and products

how the communication skills that UX writers bring to a team can improve the team experience

his new UX writing conference, UX Salon WORDS, happening in Tel Aviv November 2020

Links to resources that Yuval mentions in the interview:

Don Norman's book, The Design of Everyday Things

Don Norman's TED Talks

Steve Jobs' iPhone announcement presentation

Yuval's Bio

Yuval Keshtcher is the founder of the UX Writing Hub, an education platform for writers in tech from all over the world. Yuval and his team are working these days on a UX Writing conference in Tel Aviv.

Video

Here’s the video version of our conversation:

https://youtu.be/CdHI8mztVuc

Podcast Intro Transcript

The field of UX writing - sometimes called content design or product content strategy - has emerged over the past decade or so. As often happens with a new discipline, folks getting into the field can feel a bit lost as they look for resources and expertise. Yuval Keshtcher is building a community to help folks navigate this new profession. He runs discussion forums, offers online courses, hosts a UX writing podcast, and is organizing a new conference. If you want to understand this new field, Yuval can help.

Interview Transcript

Larry:

Hi everyone. Welcome to episode number 62 of the content strategy insights podcast. I'm really happy today to say that I have with us Yuval and I'm going to let Yuval pronounce his last name because I'm not a native Hebrew speaker. Yuval Welcome to the show. Tell the folks how to pronounce your last name . . .

Yuval:

The name is Yuval Keshtcher and thank you for having me. I must say that I'm a big fan and I'm really excited to be here.

Larry:

I'm super excited. It's very mutual because I think you're in the most exciting part of this field right now. My podcast courses about content strategy in general, but I think the hottest most interesting part of that field is this whole field of UX writing. The first thing I always like to ask people is how did you end up here? We all have different pathways into this field. How did you come to be interested in UX writing?

Yuval:

Okay. I started as a graphic designer. I was playing around with Photoshop when I was a teenager and went to the army when I was 18 because in Israel it's mandatory to g...