UI/UX Writing
Error messages | Ghost text (Shepherd) | Ghost text (Utrip) | Microcopy | Tooltips
Error Messages
Shepherd
problem
Error messages need tell users two things:
What’s wrong
How to fix it
For the hundreds of error messages in our system, almost all did only step one—and some barely made it that far.
solution
I created different error messages that informed the user of the issue and next steps to resolve it.
For the most part, these were pretty straightforward—but when there’s a fetch error in vet software, I had to throw dog emoji in. 🐶
Result
More clear expectations and information for users.
Who I worked with
Product owner and devs
What I’d change
I’d have liked to have done a bit of a deeper dive with some of the more obscure errors so I could give users even more explicit instructions on how to resolve issues.
Ghost text
Shepherd
problem
For the most part, our ghost text matched the section titles and/or provided no education to users.
Solution
Provide users with information about specific fields, as well as best practice and functionality information within the ghost text across the app.
Result
A more informative, delightful, and robust user experience without tooltips or much visual weight/cognitive burden.
Who I worked with
Product manager, developers, account managers/customer success
What I’d change
Advocating for this sooner. Ghost text, empty states, etc. are such good ways to educate users.
Ghost Text
Utrip
problem
We needed to set clear expectations for users who wanted to share a personalized trip with someone.
solution
An informative, mildly witty way to set expectations—as well as encourage users to share their trip.
Result
A more clear—and slightly entertaining—trip sharing experience.
Who I worked with
Design team
What I’d change
Remove “Share Trip Via” from “Share Trip Via Email”
Nix the “My” in the name/email fields under “My Info”
Update the second section to be “Recipient Info”
Add more spacing between sections
Change the button text to “Share” to be consistent with “Share This Trip”
Microcopy
Utrip
problem
After migrating databases, Utrip existed in two places at once. This posed several problems to users. First: What if the place they wanted to research didn’t appear? Second: what they had trips they couldn’t find?
solution
A bit of text informing users about the changes when they signed in.
Result
A pithy login modal that informed users of the situation.
Who I worked with
The design team
What I’d change
It’s a little too casual for something that could likely be stressful for a user. I’d nix the first sentence and “we get it” and then let users know their trips were still saved on Utrip Classic.
I’d also change “Create Free Account” to “Make A Free Account.”
Tooltips
Shepherd
Problem
There was a lot of functionality built into the app that wasn’t immediately apparent to users.
Solution
I created tooltips that would appear on the training site and provide additional information for specific fields.
Result
More information to users who wanted it and fewer steps in interactive product tours.
Who I worked with
Account managers, product owners, and developers
What I’d change
These were a temporary solution; it would have been better for me to make these permanent and updated other designs earlier.
