Tag

cognitive load

5 posts

02TuesdayMain Essay·August 23, 2026
For years, I ended my copy with 'SIGN UP NOW' or 'BUY NOW' in all caps. I thought shouting at people would make them listen; in reality, I was only raising their defense shields.
Unclickable Commands: The Craft of Turning CTA Verbs into Value
Demanding imperative verbs kill engagement; a successful call to action does not demand effort from the user, but promises the value waiting on the other side of the click.
Read the piece →
04ThursdayCase Study·August 16, 2026
For years, I believed so firmly in the rule that 'passive voice is lazy' that I ended up pointing fingers at the user in every interface message I wrote.
The Art of Not Blaming the User: Mailchimp's Tactical Use of Passive Voice
For years, I blindly followed the rule that 'writing in the passive voice is lazy.' Yet in moments of error, passive voice becomes a tactical tool of empathy that reduces friction.
Read the piece →
06SaturdayDifferent Angle·August 11, 2026
For years, I treated bullet points as magic whitespace to let text breathe—until I realized readers were constantly hitting invisible speed bumps along the way.
The Bullet Point Trap: How Artificial Variety Breaks Reading Rhythm
While bullet points visually break up dense text, failing to maintain grammatical parallelism creates hidden cognitive friction in the reader's mind.
Read the piece →
04ThursdayCase Study·August 11, 2026
For years, I broke complex paragraphs into bullet points to make them readable—only to realize I was placing mental speed bumps that forced readers to shift gears on every single line.
The Cost of Asymmetric Lists: Stripe's Craft of Parallel Bullet Points
Moving beyond treating bullet points as a dumping ground for random sentences, we break down the parallel grammar architecture Stripe uses on its product pages.
Read the piece →
01MondayOpening·August 1, 2026
For years, I believed stringing together adjectives like 'effective, impactful, and innovative' elevated copy; in reality, what convinces readers isn't the paint job, but the engine.
Ditching Adjective Vanity: Why Verbs Are the Engine of Copy
Adjectives meant to polish copy often erode credibility; what persuades readers isn't the paint job, but specific verbs driving the action.
Read the piece →

For years, I ended my copy with 'SIGN UP NOW' or 'BUY NOW' in all caps. I thought shouting at people would make them listen; in reality, I was only raising their defense shields.

For years, I believed so firmly in the rule that 'passive voice is lazy' that I ended up pointing fingers at the user in every interface message I wrote.

For years, I treated bullet points as magic whitespace to let text breathe—until I realized readers were constantly hitting invisible speed bumps along the way.

For years, I broke complex paragraphs into bullet points to make them readable—only to realize I was placing mental speed bumps that forced readers to shift gears on every single line.

For years, I believed stringing together adjectives like 'effective, impactful, and innovative' elevated copy; in reality, what convinces readers isn't the paint job, but the engine.