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Millions of Americans are voting today, and every single ballot in a given state is legally required to list the exact same candidates, in the exact same races, with the exact same instructions.
And yet researchers have spent two decades proving that identical information produces wildly different error rates depending on how it's laid out. After the 2000 election, the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project started measuring something nobody had bothered to measure before: how many people's ballots registered no valid vote in a race they clearly meant to vote in. Line spacing, candidate order, a checkbox instead of filling in an oval, each one moved that number on its own, with the actual content held constant.
Nobody blamed the voters. They fixed the form.
I think about that every time a client insists a form's copy is "basically the same" after I tweak the layout. The words can be identical. The error rate isn't.
What's the last form you redesigned where nothing in the copy changed, but the completion rate did?
The network for creativity
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I fixed a logo in 10 minutes.
A client sent me an MS logo that looked cheap.
Problem: letters were too far apart, no overlap, wrong gold.
Fix: Interlocked the M + S, tightened the spacing, used metallic gold #D4AF37.
Same letters. Luxury feel.
Interlocking the M and S also gives the embroidery one continuous shape to stitch, which tends to hold up better than two separate letters. Did you test how the overlap reads at chest-logo size, around 3 cm?
Getting the open isn't the finish line. What happens after that?
Someone opens your email. Great. But then… nothing. No click, no sign-up, no action.
And here's the thing: a compelling subject line can get someone to open an email, but it unfortunately can't carry the entire message.
The real work starts inside the email.
Is the content relevant to the reader? Does the offer actually connect to what the subject line promised? Is the value clear enough to make someone care? And, perhaps most importantly, does the CTA tell them exactly what to do next?
Email copywriting isn't just about getting attention. It's about turning attention into action.
A vague CTA, an irrelevant offer, or a disconnect between the subject line and the email body can make even a well-opened campaign fall flat.
That's why open rates alone don't tell the whole story. Click-through rates, conversions, and the action your email was designed to encourage matter, too. Opens can be affected by email privacy features and tracking limitations, so they aren't a reliable measure of success on their own.
The goal isn't simply to get someone to open your email. It's to give them a reason to keep reading and a clear reason to click.
When you write an email, what do you focus on most: the subject line, the message, or the CTA?
UX Microcopy: Turning Confusing Error Messages into Helpful Guidance
Project type: Independent speculative UX writing sample
Small interface messages can make a big difference to how easily someone uses a digital product.
For this sample, I reworked a few common messages for a fictional appointment booking app.
1. Form error
Before: “Invalid input.”
After: “Please enter a valid email address so we can send your booking confirmation.”
2. Empty booking page
Before: “No data available.”
After: “You haven’t booked an appointment yet. Explore available services to get started.”
3. Successful booking
Before: “Request processed.”
After: “Your appointment is confirmed. We’ll send the details to your email.”
The goal is to make interface messages clear, useful and human not just technically correct.
This is a small demonstration of how UX writing can improve the experience of using a digital product.