Pyramid of the highs of food text
Why do some texts work and others don't?
Text is rarely seen as a tool for solving problems, and editors are not seen as specialists who improve the user experience. More often they want him to “do it beautifully” – pour out sophisticated words, witty jokes, write “tasty” and “with a spark.”
In fact, the main mission of any text in the interface is to help the user solve some problem. And the applied aspects are much more important than its beauty and emotionality. Therefore, the pyramid has the following layers:
Benefit
Literacy
Convenience and clarity
Beauty and accessibility
Emotionality
It is in this order that it is important to evaluate the text. Don’t try to immediately make it fun and beautiful, but first cover the basic needs in the form of usefulness, literacy and clarity. Next – about each level separately.
Benefit
First of all, the text fulfills the task that is assigned to it. If it is not solved, then all other levels are meaningless. If you have a food delivery app, you need to help a person order food. If a taxi – take you from point A to point B. And all your text should help solve basic problems, and not exist in a beauty application.
Even if it’s written “cool,” but it’s not clear why this text is needed here at all—the editor couldn’t handle it. From this we can conclude that the main task of the one who writes is to understand the situation and ask questions. What is the purpose of the screen? Who is the audience? What should the user do after reading? What tips are needed to help him?
It may turn out that text is not needed at all and the task is better accomplished with visual techniques. For example, replace words with icons or rebuild the screen structure without changing the text. It’s also a great skill for an editor to know when to go without words.
Literacy
It's okay to make mistakes. One or two errors in a large layer of text do not make it bad. But if there are more errors, this is negligence and negligence. You wouldn’t buy something in a store that was lying on the floor, covered in dirt and torn in three places, would you? Even if it is a very stylish thing and matches your look. Same with text.
If there are too many errors and typos, no one will read its meaning. Remember how often ridiculous typos are ridiculed in public pages. Yes, sometimes brands deliberately make mistakes in communications for the sake of virality. But these are cases that work once and mainly in the advertising market. In interfaces, it is important to show that we are careful and attentive: from texts to the services we provide.
Convenience and clarity
The text in the interface is navigation. When we have decided on the task and understand which end point the user needs to go to, we have one more thing left to do: plot the optimal route for him. Every step in the interface should be logical and understandable. Remember if you ever had situations when you saw a button in an application, but were afraid to press it because you didn’t understand what would happen next. For example, if you click “Exit” Will the changes be saved or will I have to re-enter them later? And everything like that.
To prevent this from happening, the text must fully disclose the details of the route and not conceal any mysteries. The editor makes sure that a person follows the path without thinking or stumbling over obstacles.
Beauty and accessibility
Here we are talking not about artistic, but about food text. Therefore, beauty is not about metaphors, stylistically complex techniques and long sentences. The beauty of product text is its simplicity and accessibility. More and more companies on the market are moving away from bureaucracy and officialdom and are coming to a simple and understandable Tone of Voice. When a brand communicates with a person in his language and does not keep a kilometer distance.
Editors are increasingly arguing for changing gerunds to verbs, speaking in the first person rather than in the passive voice. After all, “make a purchase» can be easily replaced with “buy”»and “10 paintings were sold» to “sold 10 paintings». And the text already looks much better and more concise. After all, simply does not mean primitive. Writing simply requires talent and skill. You can develop them, first of all, by observation: follow the texts of different companies, read specialized TG channels, listen to philological podcasts. At a minimum, read “Write, Cut.”
Emotionality
We don't need words without purpose. But when all the previous levels are completed, you can think about high text.
Remember which apps we especially love and highlight? Those that, in addition to all other utilitarian functions, give us pleasure. They joke, communicate caringly, speak the same language with us. A push with a line from your favorite song or a reference to a familiar meme is a small, but joyful thing. And it’s these little things that make up a great user experience. Of course, not every inscription in the interface should evoke an emotion, but the overall impression should be left pleasant and warm.
Use the pyramid as a checklist to check product text
Go step by step from the lower levels to the upper ones and at each one ask yourself the question: “Does my text correspond to it?” Remember that the goal of any text in a product is to make the user’s life better. Swipe through the interface, show cool features of the product. Great writing should at least help along the way and not create any obstacles. And at the very least, it will also lift your spirits.
Yes, interfaces are not books. People don't come to apps to read. But if they encounter a cool text, then their mood becomes a little better. And a client who leaves in a good mood is a big win for the business.
