Podcast appearances and mentions of andy welfle

Presenting Part 3 of our Dungeons & Dragons campaign with Dungeon Master Monica Corwin! If you'd like to see a video of this adventure, episodes 200 201, 202, and our other D&D episodes, support us at any level on Patreon.Join our band of travelers — Ralph, Sam, and Andrøs — as they worm their way out of the wormling fight in the (literal) dungeon for the third and final installment of our D&D campaign! Who are the metal dragons? How do they defeat them? Will they save Graphia and their (quite literally) erasable world?Your Dungeon MasterMonica CorwinWebsite | Amazon | InstagramOur AdventurersRalph Rexas portrayed by Johnny GamberSamik Stonebackas portrayed by Tim WasemAndrøs Goldenbearas portrayed by Andy Welfle

Presenting the second part of our Dungeons & Dragons campaign with Dungeon Master Monica Corwin! If you'd like to see a video of this adventure, episodes 200 and 201, and our other D&D episodes, support us at any level on Patreon.Our intrepid heroes are back! Ralph Rex, Samik Stoneback, and Andrøs Goldenbear officially enter the mysterious forests of Graphia, and try to solve puzzles, fight golems, and understand which dice to roll, under the fearless tutelage of Dungeon Master Monica Corwin! Tune in for the second part of The Erasable Spellcast, our celebration of 200 episodes and more than 9 years of podcasting.Your Dungeon MasterMonica CorwinWebsite | Amazon | InstagramOur AdventurersRalph Rexas portrayed by Johnny GamberSamik Stonebackas portrayed by Tim WasemAndrøs Goldenbearas portrayed by Andy Welfle

The first part of our Dungeons & Dragons campaign with Dungeon Master Monica Corwin gets underway! If you'd like to see a video of this adventure, episode 200, and our other D&D episodes, support us at any level on Patreon. Embark on an epic journey in the enshrouded realm of Graphia, a land veiled in ancient curses and enigma. As darkness threatens to engulf this mystic plane, a brave band of adventurers rallies together, fueled by an unbreakable bond of friendship and a collective intellect that defies all odds. In a race against time, they forge ahead, relying on synergy and wit to navigate through veils of mystery and danger. Their ultimate quest: to unearth the legendary Eternal Quill and salvage not only the doomed land but their own fates as well. Will their camaraderie and ingenuity prevail, or will the shadows of Graphia consume all? Step into this thrilling saga and find out.And coffee. Your Dungeon MasterMonica CorwinWebsite | Amazon | InstagramOur AdventurersRalph Rexas portrayed by Johnny GamberSamik Stonebackas portrayed by Tim WasemAndrøs Goldenbearas portrayed by Andy Welfle

Find us online: Andy: https://www.erasable.us/   @awelfle You can find the podcast at : RVSPstationerypodcast.com Less: ComfortableShoesStudio.com instagram originallcharper @originalLCharper  

Okay, not really! But for tonight it's just Johnny and Andy, talking about just the Fresh Points. We have some new Field Notes, new Blackwings, a new Squire, and other cool things, including one (or two) last orders from our friends at CW Pencil Enterprise.Show Notes & Links:Erasable PatreonWoodclinched on EtsyPencil Revolution on EtsyField Notes HarvestBlackwing 651Ted LassoNo Time to DieIn Praise of WalkingThe IckabogUnforgottenCW Pencils | Commemorative CWPE Advertising PencilCW Pencils | 2021 Shop Sticker by Meredith MiotkeCW Pencils | Grand Finale Emilio Braga A5 notebookCW Pencils | Natural Baseball Scoring PencilYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

This week, Tim throws us a curveball. Last week, he asked us what our least favorite pencils are, and then he told us that we should only use that pencil for a couple weeks. In this episode, we discuss our experiences. Plus: a set of bummer fresh points, from a friend who lost his stash in a flood, to our favorite pencil store closing.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonGoFundMe for Harry MarksOn Closing | CW Pencil Enterprise blogDungeons and DaddiesTelegraph AvenueThe DefeatedMost Unwanted ZineThe Magic of WalkingLulaRichZine Reviews in Broken Pencil Magazine: Depression and OCDTarget Up&Up PencilBic Xtra FunTombow 2558Your HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem(Download)

Paper is paper, right? Well, only if you think that pencils are pencils. In this week's episode, your hosts talk about Unicorn Paper — that special formulation that works well with both pencils and fountain pens. Plus: we discuss our LEAST favorite pencil, and Tim makes us write with them all week to discuss in our next episode.Show Notes & LinksErasable PatreonBullet Journal 2.0The People of PaperSchmigadoonOnly Murders in the BuildingMable John Franny and ZooeyMusgrave Tennessee Round Musgrave GreenbeltPencil Revolution #20Plotter systemSouthworth “Fine Paper” -- 25% cotton, 24lb (wove finish)Southworth “Fine Paper” -- 100% cotton, 24lb (wove finish)Southworth Parchment, 24lb (ivory)HP Premium, 32lbWrite Notepads Leuchtturm 1917Rhoda GoalbookRhodia WebnotebookBaron Fig ConfidantMaruman classic spiralYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Minute 24 opens on Master Sgt. Farrell spouting some orders and ends with Private Cage finally figuring out his Safety. Our esteemed guest is Andy Welfle.  Andy is a thoughtful person about the design of User Experiences. He's written a book about it: https://www.writingisdesigning.com/ He's also a host of the #2 Pencil Podcast (that's a pencil joke): http://erasable.us/ A Zine Poet: http://plumbago.xyz/ and http://404.computer/ We talk again about the audiophile reaction to the 13hz bass tone at the beginning of the movie.   More info here  Video of the effects here  We discuss the user interface of the Jacket's HUD and Weapons system and talk about the book (and blog): Make it So: Interface Design Lessons from Sci-Fi See the blog here: https://scifiinterfaces.com/ We give a short overview of the User Interface of Rita's Sword and the Mimic's fighting tactics. And of course, we talk about Aliens again.

Join us for a chat about the pencils that we each used during elementary school. With a 9 year age gap between our hosts, coming during the crucial years of a trade agreement with China and the onset of the shrinking of the American pencil industry, we're sure to have a variety of pencils to talk about! Plus: Olympics, new Field Notes, and many, many green ink samples.Show Notes & LinksErasable PatreonThe Whole Love (Wilco)Day TripperUnderlandThe Night ManagerThe TunnelChanging PlaneField Notes: TrailheadBlackwing Lab .7.29.21Pencil Revolution #19The Pen Post #1J. Herbin “Lierre Sauvage” PlaydatePapermate SharpwriterYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Well, we inadvertently took a summer break so after a month off, we're back to talk through our collected Fresh Points: from the new Blackwing 64 to an update from Tim about how it's going with his new electric sharpener.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonThe Nickel BoysThings Fall Apart GrantchesterKevin can F HimselfKillers of the Flower MoonMausThe Wood BrothersAlone404 Magazine #3Pencil Revolution #18Blackwing X Timeless MugSan Francisco Pen Show Pencil SeminarIranian Pencil StoreJessica DrenkBlackwing 64Your HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

When Andy Welfle joined Adobe four years ago he got to work founding and building their content design practice. He now manages a growing team and talks about the relationship between content design and UX writing, content as part of a design system and equitable terminology in tech.

Do you write in your books? Tonight, our special guest Caitlin Elgin joins us to talk about marginalia — why you might want to write them, and how you might want to write them. In fact, one of use does not write in his books, and maybe we can convince him to start. Or not.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonWoodclinched on EtsyPencil Revolution on EtsyI'll Be Gone in the DarkJCS Criminal Psychology - The Wrath of JodiThe Moss and Green / Corner Shop (High Tide)Online shop Pentel PulamanMad at the WorldTed LassoTrack Changes: A literary history of word processingThe Electric PencilHalston UnforgivenThe marginal obsession with marginalia | The New YorkerOur GuestCaitlin Elgin@cait.elgin on InstagramYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

"The best term to use to call what I was doing was UX writing" says UX Writer MJ Babic on this episode of the Content Content podcast. MJ's had a diverse career, from marketing, feature articles, science journals, and some tech writing. But her plan is "helping people complete their tasks with digital products", and to "bring good writing to whatever corner I'm working in at the moment". Mentioned during this episode: MJ on LinkedIn usertesting.com  A List Apart Smashing Magazine Boswords UX Writing Hub  Streeteries MJ on Medium Strategic Writing for UX, Torrey Podmajersky Writing Is Designing: Words and the User Experience, Michael J. Metts and Andy Welfle

Michael Metts and Andy Welfie are the authors of "Writing is Designing," a must-read book on content strategy and UX writing that fits right in with the principles of OOUX. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia, Michael, and Andy discuss why team clarity brings user clarity, how new UX writers should go about developing a company voice, and why communicating trade-offs is a killer skill. Enjoy! LINKS: Register for Design at Scale and use code: PRATER-DAS2021: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/design-at-scale-2021/register/ Follow Michael on Twitter: @mjmetts Follow Andy on Twitter: @awelfle Buy "Writing is Designing," sign up for their newsletter, or attend their upcoming workshops: https://www.writingisdesigning.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ooux/support

Tonight, we're celebrating Field Notes's fiftieth Colors edition — uh, Fifty — with a pocket notebook retrospective: How did we first encounter Field Notes? What's our favorite editions for aesthetics? Color? Writing experience? Plus: an amazing new sampler pack from Musgrave.Show Notes & LinksErasable PatreonField Notes: FiftyList of Field Notes Limited EditionsName of the WindSteal Like an Artist1973 Grateful Dead (Dick's Picks Vol. 14)Keep GoingThoreau, A Life of the MindHacksThe EffortThe Musgrave sampler 404 #3Pencil Revolution #17Fountain Pen accessory Kit from JetpensYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Today we're keeping it simple with just a Fresh Points episode, covering everything from Blackwing's rerelease of a pencil they're still selling, Bob Dylan's pocket notebooks, pencil t-shirts, and a bevy of recommendations for what Andy should pick up after he finishes his current notebook.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonSteal Like an ArtistShow Your WorkWorld of WondersMare of EasttownShrill Season 3Rutherford FallsThe Effort (novel)YellowstoneRon Rash: New and Selected PoemsBrood X notebooksThe Comfort of a PencilHow to Break in a SharpieBlackwing PalominoPeriwinkle ConfidantsDeploy ConfidantBrand Name Pencils EtsyiQuinix keyboardBob Dylan's pocket notebooksYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Today we talk about vintage notebooks, yet another new Blackwing, and mechanical keyboards. But also much to our delight, our friend and creative polymath Tiffany Babb joins the show to talk comics, literary criticism and creativity.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonWoodclinched on EtsyPencil Revolution on EtsyTiffany's WebsiteTwitterInstagramEtsyNewsletterPenelope ScottSidney Lumet Essays on EB White Braided Creek by Ted Kooser and Jim HarrisonParker MillsapAnother RoundVictories Greater Than DeathPlease Like MeThe Night Train to LisbonRequiemJulien BakerNotebook TherapyLost Notebooks of Hank WilliamsIndependent Bookstore Day BlackwingsBrood X NotebooksOur GuestTiffany BabbTiffanyBabb.com@explodingarrow on TwitterYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Andy and Tim have wrested control of the show back away from the devious (yet iconic) duo of Johnny and Charlotte, and we're talking once again to Noah Bier from Makers Cabinet about their brand new Kickstarter project, a pencil extender called The Ferrule.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonEpisode 111: Eiffel Tower PointsThe Ferrule on KickstarterMaker's CabinetStriaIrisThe SympathizerThe Best of Everly BrothersHemingway DocumentaryOn Earth We're Briefly GorgeousBurning the BooksHow to Make a Journal of Your LifeFour Lost CitiesMediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male AmericaIndependent Bookstore BlackwingBlackwing 223PR CompendiumOur GuestNoah Bier, Co-founderMakers CabinetYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Since our recording schedule and the Blackwing and Field Notes quarterly release schedule didn't line up, we're keeping it short today to talk about fresh points: zines, old city street guides, and an exciting announcement about the 8th issue of Plumbago Magazine.Show Notes & Links:Erasable PatreonPlumbago 8T-ShirtsWarlightThe Poets & Writers Complete Guide to Being a WriterCat Party zines  Taco ChroniclesCurious Incident of a Dog in the NighttimeBand of JoyRaya and the Last DragonPencil Revolution #15404 Magazine #2Scrawlrbox BlackwingYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Let's get to the point: what good are pencils that aren't sharp? Tonight, we take another look at sharpeners, the ones we love, the ones we recommend, the ones you might want to avoid.Also, check out our 2021 Erasable Podcast t-shirt campaign!Show Notes & LinksErasable PatreonWoodclinched on EtsyPencil Revolution on EtsySomebody Feed PhilFor All MankindHayes CarllA Swim in a Pond in the RainThe Flight AttendantI Expect You to DieSpirits of San FranciscoBarb and Star Go to Vista Del MarThe Walker: On Losing and Finding Yourself in the Modern CityADHD 2.0: New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction--from Childhood through AdulthoodAmazing paper airplane siteJohnny's Parker “51” review Mitsubishi Uni KH-20Blackwing SharpenerSonic RachettaClassroom Friendly SharpenerX-acto School ProJohnny's review of the sameM&R keyhole sharpenerKUM single hole longpoint sharpenerOn sanding them smoothYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Sometimes there are pencils that you almost love. Almost. Something holds you back, and you just can't get these pencils to work out for you. Tonight, we examine the pencils that almost make it to our best-of lists but which we nonetheless loathe.Show Notes & LinksErasable PatreonA Swim In a Pond in the RainNathaniel RateliffSNLMudlarkingMiss Scarlet and the DukeThe SinnerThe Flight AttendantFrank Herbert: Unpublished StoriesPhoebe BridgersWrite Notepads Engineer's NotebookBlackwing X Tribe7Pencil Revolution #14Home Work Podcast X ErasableWell-Appointed Desk Vintage Writing Paper PadTim's listMusgrave BugleViking Rollo XLBLACKWING 211Musgrave HarvestFaber-Castell “Castell” 9000Johnny's listStaedtler NoricaGolden BearBlackwing PearlTombow 2558Field NotesAndy's listFaber-Castell Grip 2001Camlin Supreme HDEberhard Faber MongolGeneral's Semi-hexRhodia pencilYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem(Download)

Harry and Dave conduct the first annual 2021 Pencil Draft with Andy Welfle, Tim Wasem, and Johnny Gamber of the Erasable Podcast. 24 Pencils. 3 teams. 2 contestants. Who will win?

Harry and Dave conduct the first annual 2021 Pencil Draft with Andy Welfle, Tim Wasem, and Johnny Gamber of the Erasable Podcast. 24 Pencils. 3 teams. 2 contestants. Who will win?

Harry and Dave conduct the first annual 2021 Pencil Draft with Andy Welfle, Tim Wasem, and Johnny Gamber of the Erasable Podcast. 24 Pencils. 3 teams. 2 contestants. Who will win?

Tonight's guest is someone we've wanted to have on the podcast since the beginning. Working from home has made the impossible (because of time zones) possible! Luke Sinclair joins us all the way from Australia to talk about his wonderful art and a little about sharpening pencils with a knife.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonLuke's blogCreative classes with Luke SinclairBridgertonAll Creatures Great and SmallWhite TeethStar Trek DiscoveryThe Collected AngersTed LassoLord of the RingsLed Zeppelin Houses of the HolyCaran d'Ache Luminance color pencilsStaedtler Mars Plastic stick eraserBob Dylan BlackwingsMitsubishi drawing pencilsHigonokami No. 4 folding knifeOpinel Carbon steelOur GuestLuke SinclairLukeSinclairArtist.comPencilsm.netYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Happy New Year! It's been a few weeks, and we're dipping into 2021 tonight with a non-topical episode featuring updates, zines, and predictions for the New Year.Show Notes and LinksErasable Patreon404 Magazine on EtsyPencil Revolution on EtsySteve Earle's J.T.Ken Burns' Civil WarMarie Howe, What the Living DoMaggie Smith, Good BonesZen and the Art of ArcheryMaggie Smith the poet on TwitterFrom a Certain Point of ViewHalt and Catch Fire)Whatcha Mean, What's a ZineDogs of BerlinParker Jotter XL Brand Name PencilsAnother Evening at HomeBullet Journal 2.0Your HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

For our first episode of December, we talked with artist and vintage pencil collector Ali Serra about his work, and about how — and why — he finds cool, old pencils and accessories.Show Notes & LinksErasable PatreonAli Serra on EtsyMandalorianTed LassoBlackwing Volume 6Chronicle Books NotebookField Notes Snowy EveningChristmas VacationMayor of Macdougal StreetRamsey Lewis Trio Sound of ChristmasUncle FrankPaterson (again))Make a ZineColumboPiranesiPencil of the Week/NAME Collab postcardsPilgrim Soul NotebookBullet Journal Version 2.0Pencil Revolution Zine #10-11Pencil Revolution Sticker #1Linton Rancho 444Our GuestAli SerraErnest Theodore Vintage Pencils • Art • WoodworkingYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

In this episode, we talk to Writing Is Designing authors Michael J. Metts and Andy Welfe about inclusive language, how salary negotiations are problematic, and founding of one of the most welcoming UX and content communities on the planet.

In this episode, Johnny, Tim and Andy recorded their episode live on a Zoom call with dozens of Erasable listeners. They discussed things for which they are thankful, and some listeners shared their gratitude as this difficult year winds down.Show Notes & LinksErasable PatreonIDLESIn the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise BrownThe CrownBaronfig Letters to the FuturePencil Revolution Etsy ShopMinistry for Uncivilized BehaviorErasable Discord inviteThe Word DistributionYour HostsJohnny  GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

It's time for our annual discussion of NaNoWriMo. This year, Johnny is joined by Harry Marks and Less Harper (while Andy and Tim are away) for a good long chat about this annual writing extravaganza.Show Notes & LinksErasable PatreonComfortable Shoe StudioHarry Marks on LinkTreeRSVP PodcastHow To: Fitting an Energel Refill into a Baronfig Squire | Comfortable Shoes StudioUseful Journaling, Issue 1 | Less on Ko-fiWork/Life Task System | Curious RatBuy Johnny's zines!National Novel Writing MonthHarrow the NinthThe Ten Day OutlineExpert Card TechniqueThe Expert at the Card TableDracula (TV series)Baronfig Guardian ProOur GuestsLess HarperComfortable Shoes StudioRSVP Stationery Podcast@OriginalLCHarper on Twitter and InstagramHarry MarksHome Work PodcastThe Shelf Life Sitcom@HCMarks on Twitter and InstagramYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

It's the time of year that a lot of us enjoy scary stories, spooky films, and morbid poetry. Tune in tonight as Andy, Johnny, and Tim help you to get on your fright.Pencil Revolution is now a zine! Shop the first few issues on Etsy.Show notes and linksErasable PatreonKeep MovingGreat British Baking Show“Wildflowers” home demoThe Fall)Stolen Sharpie RevolutionIDLESEscape to the ChateauLast Tango in HalifaxStar Trek Lower DecksThe Invisible LibraryMusgrave debate pencilsMusgrave HatBaronfig LibertyPencil Revolution, The ZineCoralineThe Mist)If It Bleeds“The Tell-Tale Heart”“The Raven”House of Leaves11.22.63Her Fearful SymmetryBruce Coville's Book of Monsters/Aliens/etcGet OutA Quiet PlaceSunset BoulevardSleepy HollowI Am The Pretty Thing that Lives in the HouseCommunionDon't look now (1973)The Changeling (1980)Black ChristmasDoctor Who, “Blink”Eerie, IndianaStranger ThingsThe RoadThe Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert FordThe Downward SpiralUndertowAntichrist SuperstarYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Journaling is good for us. All of us. Tune in tonight as your three favorite journalers chat with journaling teacher and expert Abraham, writer and illustrator of the blog La Vie Graphite.Show Notes & LinksLa Vie Graphiteairwavessongs in the nightgraphite archiveErasable PatreonMan of SpainPortrait de saint Jean de la CroixWherever You Go There You AreLiving in the Material WorldBraving the Wilderness by Brené BrownLittle Fires EverywhereThe MandalorianWokeThe Young and Prestigious T. S. SpivetThe Right to WriteThe Body Keeps the ScoreThe StrangerWriting Down the Bones by Natalie GoldbergOur GuestAbraham, editor of La Vie GraphiteYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

It's a short, just-the-Fresh-Points episode this week and our three intrepid hosts dive into the newest Volumes release from Blackwing.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonJustin Townes EarleBest American Essays 2013The AmericansMusgrave HBRadioactivePhantom ThreadMe Talk Pretty One DayWatchmen)Not Best Seller | TwitchBlackwing Volume XIXBaron Fig Bloom Meditation JournalHemingway Library of America edition (Use offer code SUM2020)Rhodia GoalbookYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

We're giving you, our faithful listeners, a special preview of something we're trying out for our Patreon supporters — an episode of our inky offshoot show, The Indelible Podcast. After our tools of the trade and fresh points, vintage fountain pen restorer Jesi Raine of Vintage Pen Shop will be joining us to talk about the history of Esterbrook pens, and how she rehabs them.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonVintage Pen ShopJesi at The Well-Appointed DeskThe Writing DietThe CollectionMe Talk Pretty One DayOn Becoming a God in Central FloridaThe Hardest Job in the WorldIf All I Was Was BlackTheft By FindingFolkloreBlackwing EraThe new Parker 51!Poe Theatre on the AirMetaphor DiceOur GuestJesi RaineVintage Pen Shop@jesi_raine on Twitter and InstagramYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Tonight, we are time traveling: through three times zones and far into the past. Dave Tubman from Pencil Fodder joins us for a discussion of vintage pencils and maybe even how modern pencil manufacturers can learn from what older makers got right.This episode is sponsored by Notegeist, an online purveyor of fine stationery. Through August 5, use the coupon code ERASABLE146 to save 10% off your order. For your order of $30 or more, you'll get a free Unemployed Philosopher's Guild notecard.Show notes and linksNotegeist Online Stationery ShopErasable PatreonPencil FodderWork Notes - Endless RecorderWrite Notepads LenoreTombow Mono 100 ‘fashion' blue cap model (HB)Pentel Black Polymer 999 Alpha (HB)Montblanc Meisterstück Le Petit Prince LeGrand Fountain Pen - Medium nibMontblanc Royal Blue inkDublinersAnton Chekhov - Five PlaysBroadchurch season 1 (rewatching)Lenox Hill1984Ahmad Jamal Trio (street food, taste the nation)Blackwing EraMoleskine Two-GoThe CrownA Beautifully Foolish EndeavorThe Poetry Home Repair ManualBirds, Beasts and Relatives (Corfu trilogy #2)The English GameUSCO 486 No. 2Our GuestDave TubmanPencil FodderYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Maybe you've seen artists walking around your city, sketchbooks in hand, drawing what they see — perhaps even drawing you! Our friend Tina Koyama is a veteran urban sketcher, and she's here to give us the rundown on this growing movement in contemporary art.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonFueled by Clouds & CoffeeTina Koyama on InstagramUrban Sketchers ManifestoGabi Campanario (founder of Urban Sketchers)Suhita Shirodkar (an urban sketcher who can sketch anything under any circumstance)Eduardo Bajzek (whose urban sketching workshop changed the way I use graphite)Well-Appointed DeskTina's sketch kitCaran d'Ache Museum AquarelleViarco ArtGraf water-soluble graphiteBlackwing “MMX” MatteMitsubishi Hi-UniTombow Mono KM-KKS 6BStaedtler Mars Lumograph 12BWhite Gelly RollUni Pin brush penM+R sharpenerStillman & Birn sketchbookJurassic Park)Koshien: Japan's Field of DreamsThe English GameThe Red NotebookFreud (TV series))Broken BreadNew Waves: a novelThe CrownHamilton)Billy Collins' NotebooksBlueline NotebookFrench-ruled paperBlackwing Eraser Hack-A-ThonOur GuestTina KoyamaFueled by Clouds and Coffee@miatagrrl on InstagramYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem(Download)

Maybe you've heard of the incredibly popular notebook brand Field Notes. Maybe you've heard us mention them a few times over the last six years. Tune in as we get to chat with Aaron Draplin, graphic designer extraordinaire, Field Notes inventor, and all-around awesome guy.Warning: this episode has several R-rated words that we decided not to bleep out, due to the color and richness it lends to the conversation. You may not want to listen to this with kids.Show Notes and LinksDraplin Design CompanyField Notes BrandField Notes Heavy DutyThird Man Field NotesLeah's Note To SelfBaronfig Simple ObservationsBlackwing Volume 3Walt Whitman, Song of HimselfPadma Lakshmi's “Taste the Nation” on HuluHow to be an Anti-RacistWhite FragilityJason Isbell Live at the Brooklyn BowlTalking to StrangersHello from the Magic TavernOutstanding in a FieldPencil Sharpener SumulatorAaron on Pencil Revolution (2011): Part 1Part 2Our GuestAaron James DraplinDraplin Design Company website@draplin on Twitter and InstagramYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem(Download)

Today's episode is a short one, but don't equate that with being light on subject material! We have a chat with Steven Lawson, the creator of a notebook organizational system called Monk Manual. He tells us about his holistic approach to helping people organize their lives and themselves — professionally, personally, and philosophically.Show Notes & LinksErasable PatreonMonk ManualBroadchurchSalt Fat Acid HeatReunions by Jason IsbellThe Wander SocietyAmerican Experience: George W. BushStopping the Noise in Your HeadStopping the Noise in Your Head videosAnimal Crossing: New HorizonsMarvelous Mrs. MaiselRick Steves on HuluThe Membership PodcastWorld-Ending FireField Notes Deader PrintsBaron Fig AdriftBaron Fig FanaticsOur GuestSteven LawsonMonk Manual website@monkmanual on InstagramYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Perhaps this year more than in years past, poetry can help to sustain us spiritually and intellectually during the COVID-19 pandemic. To help us wrap-up National Poetry Month, renowned poet and teacher Kiki Petrosino was kind enough to join us to talk poetry, writing, pencils, and how literature heals the soul.Kiki's new book, White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia comes out May 5! Order it from her publisher, Sarabande Books.Show Notes & LinksKiki Petrosino (official site)Kiki Petrosino at the Academy of American PoetsKiki Petrosino at the Poetry FoundationPre-order White BloodPencil of the Month: The Viking SkoleblyantenStar Trek: PicardYacht Rock “channel” on PandoraThe Happiness TrapLight the DarkMidsomer MurdersMrs. AmericaJohn Prine: John Prine, The Missing Years, and The Tree of ForgivenessAnimal Crossing: New HorizonsAmerican SongwriterThe Show and Tell ShowHuge box of Arrowhead erasersBaron Fig Do WorkBaron Fig AdriftBaron Fig face masksMusgrave Harvest Pro“Thigh Gap” by Kiki PetrosinoOur GuestKiki PetrosinoWebsiteNew bookYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Special guests Andy Welfle and Michael Metts join the program. They're the co-authors of the book “[Writing is Designing](https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/writing-is-designing/)” and we discuss how words are the core of good design, and what you can do to improve the quality of language in your work.

The COVID-19 pandemic is still gripping the globe, and most of us are quarantined to some degree in our homes. To be human is to be connected with other humans, no matter how introverted we are. And letters are the natural way to reach out to other people for the Stationery Inclined. Join the Erasable hosts for a chat with Courtney Cochran, founder of the Snail Mail Social Club — all about letter-writing!This episode is sponsored by Notegeist, an independent, one-stop stationery shop online. Use code ERASABLEFUN on your order of $30 or more to get a special goodie bag and 15% off Blackwing products. Limited to the first 50 orders or April 30, whichever is reached first.Show Notes and LinksNotegeistSnail Mail Social ClubSnail Mail Social Club PatreonCourtney's past Erasable EpisodeBuy stamps onlinePencil of the MonthAnimal Crossing: New HorizonsHow to Change Your MindOne Hundred Years of SolitudeCounterpartParker 98r safety razorLa Berlue pencil caseReview of the sameBulsa BagsJohnny's favorite Airmail envelopesOur GuestCourtney CochranSnail Mail Social ClubInstagramFacebookPatreonYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Designing with words – writing is designing. We talk to Andy Welfle and Michael Metts about how you can go about applying a design methodology to your words. In a conversation based around the content in their Rosenfeld Media book Writing is designing, we learn how to be intentional about content, to have the courage... The post #231 Writing is designing with Michael Metts and Andy Welfle appeared first on UX Podcast.

We have been talking about the exciting new brand and marketing efforts of Musgrave for a few months now. Tonight, we are lucky to have creative directors Nicole and Tim Delger on the show with us, to chat about rebranding an American pencil icon.Show Notes and LinksNicole DelgerTim DelgerMusgrave Pencil CompanyErasable Episode 106Baltimore Washington International Pen ShowErasable PatreonThe Body Keeps the ScoreStar Trek: PicardAnd It's Still AlrightNathan CoulterThe MiniaturistThe Year of Magical ThinkingDecomposition BooksWrite Notepads & Co Open HouseHipster Logo Design GuideOur GuestsNicole Delgernicoledelger.com@nicoledelger on InstagramTim Delgertimdelger.com@tdelger on InstagramYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

If you are like me, you think of design as primarily what something looks like and secondarily how something works. But you probably don’t think about all the words used in a product as part of the design. This episode will change your perspective.    I interview Michael Metts and Andy Welfle, co-authors of “Writing is Designing: Words and the User Experience about how a lack of good word design in products can get users into trouble. In just one simple example, you know those error messages you get that don’t help you get out of the error or explain what to do next? Someone didn’t design that experience.    This is what Michael and Andy do in their book…show you how to design for that experience…among many others.    Learn more about Michael and Andy: Michael is the senior UX architect manager (Conversation Design) at Allstate…you know…chatbots. And Andy is the UX content strategy manager at Adobe. The Book: https://www.writingisdesigning.com/ Michael on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljmetts/ Andy on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/awelfle/ Get on the email list at helpingsells.substack.com

Power of Ten is a podcast about design operating at many levels hosted by design consultant, educator, writer, Andy Polaine. In this episode Michael J. Metts and Andy Welfle discuss their new book, Writing Is Designing, and how important words are in making software human-centered and inclusive, requiring just as much thought as the visual design, branding and code. Power of Ten listeners can get 15% off Writing is Design by using the discount code HCDWRITING when ordering direct from Rosenfeld Media. Show Links Writing is Designing on Rosenfeld Media Writing is Designing book site Michael's website Michael J Metts on Twitter and Instagram Andy Welfle's website with the best domain name ever Andy Welfle on Twitter Andy Polaine on Twitter Andy Polaine's website and newsletter This is HCD This is HCD newsletter Have feedback on this episode? Click here to leave us a voice mail. This is HCD is brought to you by Humana Design and The Academy.ie - Design Training and Education We are hosting our first conference in Dublin - March 30, March 31 2020. Stay up to date by joining our newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/thisishcd/2020-dublin-hcd-conference Support the show.

Power of Ten is a podcast about design operating at many levels hosted by design consultant, educator, writer, Andy Polaine. In this episode Michael J. Metts and Andy Welfle discuss their new book, Writing Is Designing, and how important words are in making software human-centered and inclusive, requiring just as much thought as the visual design, branding and code. Power of Ten listeners can get 15% off Writing is Design by using the discount code HCDWRITING when ordering direct from Rosenfeld Media. Show Links Writing is Designing on Rosenfeld Media Writing is Designing book site Michael's website Michael J Metts on Twitter and Instagram Andy Welfle's website with the best domain name ever Andy Welfle on Twitter Andy Polaine on Twitter Andy Polaine's website and newsletter This is HCD This is HCD newsletter Have feedback on this episode? Click here to leave us a voice mail. This is HCD is brought to you by Humana Design and The Academy.ie - Design Training and Education We are hosting our first conference in Dublin - March 30, March 31 2020. Stay up to date by joining our newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/thisishcd/2020-dublin-hcd-conference Support the show.

It's nearly a month into the new year. How is your organization system working out? Tonight, we are joined by our friend Caitlin Elgin, to talk about getting our crap together for 2020.Plumbago Magazine, Issue 7 is now available for pre-order! Order your copy of this tiny issue now in the Erasable shop.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonJanuary 2020 Pencil of the Month: Musgrave Tennessee RedKiller InsidePermanent Record (Edward Snowden)I Am Dynamite (Nietzsche bio)Frontline (“America's Great Divide”)The New PopeI Heart HuckabeesAll American BoysThe Serpent KingUntitled Goose GamePencil Things Palomino pencilsGrow Daily Journal | BaronfigMonk ManualErin Condren PlannersClear Habit Journal | BaronfigPoketo Project PlannerStalogy Washi Tape dotsMoleskine sticky notesPencil page flagsOur GuestCaitlin Elgin@cait.elgin on InstagramYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem(Download audio file)

There have been a few books on UX writing published, all of them very good, but I think this one might take the cake. Andy Welfle and Michael J Metts have written "Writing is Designing". I think it advances the conversation as it approaches writing as a design tool, and builds on the great work that has already been published by other UX writers. Listen to our conversation and you'll see why.  A few things: 1. Buy Writing is Designing from Rosenfeld Media 2. Andy and Michael are hosting a launch event in San Francisco on January 27. You should go.  3. Follow Andy and Michael on Twitter. 4. The UX Writers Collective and San Francisco UX Writers Meetup are hosting a conference: The UX Writing and Content Design Summit 2020. Check it out and propose your talk!  5. As always, listeners get 20% off the UX Writing Fundamentals course and the Content Testing & Research course at the UX Writers Collective with the code "PODCAST20". 

We talk to Michael Metts and Andy Welfle, authors of Writing is Designing.

Order Writing Is Designing: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/writing-is-designing/ Michael Metts and Andy Welfle, authors of the new Rosenfeld Media book Writing Is Designing, get meta and discuss writing about UX writing with Lou Rosenfeld. They also stress the importance of looking through the “lens of language,” when solving problems – reworking your existing language to make things clear from the outset, rather than fixing problems by adding more copy later. Their book will help those responsible for digital copy communicate more effectively—from designers to marketers who might never have considered themselves “UX people.” Andy Welfle and Michael J. Metts are the co-authors of the upcoming Rosenfeld Media title, Writing Is Designing, available January 14, 2020. Order Writing Is Designing: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/writing-is-designing/ What Andy’s reading: Strategic Writing for UX https://www.amazon.com/Strategic-Writing-Engagement-Conversion-Retention/dp/1492049395 What Michael’s reading: Content Strategy is Boring (and that’s okay) https://www.braintraffic.com/blog/content-strategy-is-boring-and-thats-ok

My guest today is Michael J. Metts. Michael designs digital products and services, with a focus on the impact of writing on the user's experience. He and co-author Andy Welfle have written a new book on this subject. In this conversation, Michael and I discuss the relationship between writing and design, and how being more aware of how we use language can make us more effective. Listen to the full conversation https://theinformeddotlife.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/the-informed-life-episode-24-michael-j-metts.mp3   Show notes Michael J. Metts on Twitter Michael J. Metts on LinkedIn Michael J. Metts on Instagram Michael's blog Writing is Designing: Words and the User Experience, by Michael J. Metts & Andy Welfle Card sorting Tree testing The Informed Life Episode 11: Lisa Welchman on Governance Microsoft Word GOV.UK highlighter method IA Writer Ulysses Markdown Slack Microsoft Teams Read the full transcript Jorge: So, Michael, welcome to the show. Michael: Thanks, it's great to be here. Jorge: Well, it's great to have you. For folks who don't know you, why don't you tell us about yourself. Michael: Well, I have spent the better part of my career now designing digital experiences of different kinds. I initially began in that field as a writer, in terms of what people called me, my title and that kind of thing. And now I have titles like designer, but there's been a lot of crossover between those two worlds throughout my career. Jorge: So, you and your coauthor Andy Welfle have written a book called Writing is Designing, which addresses this subject. How do design and writing relate to each other? Michael: Yeah, I think It's hard for a lot of people to make that connection because you run into a lot of people who tend to be wired one way or the other or feel like they're more capable in one area than the other. But really, if you think about any sort of experience that you interact with, like a mobile app, that's the one we use as an example right in the beginning of the book. Your mobile app, if you open it up and you start tapping through it, you start looking at it, you start to see words everywhere. You're interacting with language just as much as you're interacting with visual elements like menu items and buttons and all those other things. So, our thesis really is just that you should treat those words as part of the design and that you should apply design techniques and practices to those words and how you get there, and not treat them as something that's inconsequential or after the fact. So, we've done that in our own careers, and we've seen how vital it is to building a good experience, and we just want to share that with others. Jorge: I think that the word design for a lot of folks evokes visual artifacts like drawings and sketches and stuff like that. And when you say that you apply design techniques, can you tell us a bit more about what that looks like? Michael: Yeah. So, design, it took me a while in my own career to make that shift from thinking of design as something that was inherently visual. I think the first type of design people interact with usually is graphic design, if you've come across designs of signs and brochures and handouts and different things like that. And you can kind of tell inherently if one is designed well or if it's designed poorly. But you know, the, the thing about it is that the words that make up those artifacts are typically the same, whether it's designed well or designed poorly. So, I think that's why people tend to think of design is like the polish that comes at the end. But the way I think of design, and I think the way a lot of my field thinks about design, is that you design the experience someone has with a thing. And when you frame it that way, then you begin to think of it more broadly, and you begin to think of all the things that impact it. So, it's not just words, it's not just visuals, it's maybe even the business policies that affect how that thing works, or maybe it's the number of steps involved. All those things are critical pieces of the design that you can't even see as the person using it. So that's why, when I talk about design techniques when I'm talking about is thinking of prototyping the language you use and testing it with people to see how they respond. So, a prototype of language can just be some written sentences on a piece of paper that you go and ask people about, you ask them to read through it and ask how they perceive it. Those are all valid ways to design the language we're using rather than just writing it and going forward with it without really thinking about the impact it has or actually getting information about the impact it has on the people who interact with Jorge: You talked about an example of a mobile app and the words that you see in the screen, and that is one way of encountering language. You also have just talked about a sentence, and that strikes me as a very different way of encountering language. The former is within the realm of what I understand of as information architecture, right? Like this notion that you create these structures of language that allow you to understand and move about an information environment. Are you more of a writer of sentences or a writer of user interfaces?  Michael: Even in interfaces, there's always a tension between what the experience is trying to do and how people feel about the language you're working in, whether it's English or any other language. Maybe you feel like those error messages should be sentences, right? And maybe you're applying all the same thoughts that you would when coming up with a sentence for an essay or something to the way you write that error message. But the important thing is that you unpack it and think about why you're thinking that way. Think about what's appropriate for that particular use case and be intentional. Like that's what I mean by designing with words. So, a sentence could be part of that information architecture you're describing, and there's nothing wrong with that, but the important thing is unpacking why and being clear about it. This is something Andy and I do for a living every day, and then we wrote a book about it, which was a very different way of writing and a very different way of expressing our ideas than the type of writing we'd done for these digital products. And so I think we saw a lot of things creep in to our writing that we didn't see every day in our work. So, in trying to string all these sentences together into a book, that was a really interesting exercise and it was very, very different. So, the writing definitely is different. You know, you're writing in a digital product, you're writing to help someone move through a situation, your writing started to be invisible. You're not trying to draw attention to yourself, to talk about the merit of your ideas. I mean, those things. So that to me is where the line is, you know, it's more about your intention and about what you're trying to do with it. Jorge: When you used the mobile app image, the image that it evoked in my mind had to do with things like heading labels and navigation links. But you talked about the error messages. Error messages to me are more prose-like in that you have to give the user a little bit more context of what's going on. Whereas with things like labels, you're peppering words around the thing. You have a little bit less of that kind of sentence structure to play with. And I'm wondering if there's a difference in writing for the one versus the other. Michael: That's interesting. I think people who have jobs like mine are asked to drift in and out of those spaces without thinking about the boundaries. Because it's interesting that, in your mind, there's a very clear boundary between the two, but one of the challenges as someone who writes for a digital product, you have to figure out how to make it seem like there isn't, you have to make it feel like this is a cohesive experience where all this language works together and fits together. So, obviously there are big differences. Like you may have fewer iterations of that structural stuff, like if you think of the items in a navigation, you may do testing — you know, there are really specific testing techniques in the world of information architecture, like cards sorts or tree testing to help you figure out what those things should be. And you're not really trying to mess with them a whole lot after that or iterate on them a whole lot, unless you have reason to believe that they're not working that well, or unless there are changes in the organization. So those are like really big structural things. The rest of the language though, it really has to fit into everything else the user's experiencing. So, examples of the types of writing, you have the error message, you have the push notification, you have onboarding messages, you have a little tips and helpful hints that pop up throughout the experience. That's very specific to the mobile app experience. So then if you have something like a voice experience or a chat bot, then you have dialogue that has to accomplish all those things just as text, as language. So, there are definitely different ways to think about it, different techniques you use when you're working with those things. But they do all have to work together. And that to me is the exciting thing about seeing it come together and practicing this type of work, is that you can start to build a whole ecosystem of language within whenever you're working on. Jorge: How is that ecosystem of language managed? Michael: I think it's different for everyone, you know, every organization. There's a really encouraging trend in design systems recently. I think design systems originally began as pattern libraries where people would put like their front-end code in a place where it was manageable. And then it became a place where you could talk about design standards and visual specs and things like that. And now the latest trend, which is really cool, is that you're describing patterns that are more structural. So, things like the language we use and how we write for certain situations and how you keep it consistent and how you may have a clear voice for your product that comes across. So to me, that's one of the more common ways I've seen it happen. There's also style guides many companies are using and then adapting style guides to their own means. Those tend to be more at the individual word level, word choice or an abbreviation or things like that. I think this trend of design systems is a really neat one. Jorge: Are there any tools that you've seen or used to help do that? Michael: It's an interesting thing, because in websites you have the sort of foregone conclusion is that you have a CMS, right? You have this content management system. Products usually don't, or if they do, it's nothing like their website CMS, which is designed to run an author experience. Okay. So that is interesting. I think it's a space we'll see a lot more, and I think are a few startups and companies that are experimenting with things like that. But honestly, a lot of times when I'm trying to manage content for our product, I will partner with the engineering team and we'll work directly in the code, so they might do some sort of a markup language that makes it easier for me to write and contributing. But that helps us look at like, okay, here's everything that's in the system, and maybe we could just reuse this over again in this situation, or maybe this necessitates a new variation that we haven't thought of before. So, I think it's really an emerging space, which is kind of surprising to me, but at the same time, I guess you're moving so quickly, you're not really thinking about how to control that language. It's easy enough to just put it, to use the code to manage it.  Jorge: And beyond tools, I'm also wondering what is the role in the organization who has the ultimate responsibility for managing language? Michael: That's a really interesting question. I know you had Lisa Welchman on your show a while back, and she was talking about how organizations manage the content governance and the types of things they go through. And I think it's interesting because I don't know how many organizations are thinking of governance, in terms of what shows up in a product, in terms of what shows up in an interactive experience. I feel like it's usually thought of in terms of the static web content. So, I think there's a need for that. And I think what makes it complex is that there's no clear owner and there's no clear role. You know, everyone is capable of writing. Like if you have a job working on one of these digital products, chances are you're fairly competent as a writer, or at least you think so. So, if someone asks you, ” Hey, can you write this?” You'll do your best and you'll get it out there. And all you need is a word processor. You know, you fire up Microsoft Word and get something down. And that's really different from the way design in the traditional sense is practiced now, where you have a tool that's very difficult to learn and has a lot of quirks to it, and you've invested a lot of time in learning that tool, and you can use that tool as a governance mechanism in itself. You can say, “Well, I'm the one who uses the tool. So, I decided the designs.” And I think that's why designers of words have a harder time. In a sense because they're going to have to rely on building relationships and building trust and making a case for why we should use this particular language because it feels so accessible and malleable by just about anyone. If you're a designer with words, you don't have a tool to fall back on and say, “Yeah, this is my complex thing that only I understand that only I can use.” Jorge: So, I'm wondering how you… Like, I would like to hear an example of how you go about designing with words. Like what are the tools that you're using? What is the process? How do you put it in front of people? How do you test it? Michael: So let's walk through an example. So going back to the example of an error message that I talked to at the beginning, if you were asked to write an error message, you could take the scenario that someone gave to you and say, “Well, here's my best effort at what that error message should be.” There's actually a story about this in the book. Someone named Lauren Lucchese, she's a design manager here in Chicago. She talks about the first time that she was asked to dive into writing some error messages for a login screen. And she was given this spreadsheet of 50 error codes and told to write something general that would work for most of the situations, if not all of them. And she started this project just trying to respond to the need that was given to her and trying to make her best effort to write the right error message. But there were a lot of different things in that spreadsheet. There were things like a code for when the user of the account, when records showed that that person was deceased, for example, or when there was a notice of fraudulent activity on their account. So, there could be all sorts of reasons that this person can't get into their account, and some of those merited some unique handling. So, while she started to just write, she realized that that wouldn't meet the needs of the users. And in fact, when some of those initial flows were tested with users, they saw that it wasn't working that well. So, what she did was she started asking questions about these different scenarios and how it would be resolved on the business side. So, for example, if there's fraudulent activity, they could give a phone number that would go directly to the fraud department, then this person could get the help they needed quickly and they wouldn't have to go through a phone tree because they already had identified the person's problem via that error code. So that's an example of how Lauren was able to identify unique needs by asking questions, by being curious. And that's applying… that's an example of applying the design mindset to this. And then when you think of testing, like the tools that you're using for this, a lot of times it's just a text editor. I use a plain text editor for my first passes when I'm designing an interface like this. We're having a conversation as a team about a new feature we want to build out, I'll offer to share my screen and start writing just in big text what we think that feature would be or what we think it will say. And getting it in front of people tends to get some really good reactions that are helpful for the team to process that. It's sort of akin to what you might get by sketching on a piece of paper what the interface might look like. Doing that same thing for the words you write, treating them not as precious, but as something to just to get out there and try to express, is a really practical way to apply design to writing. So, put three options out there that are wildly different, and see where they take you and see what conversations the team has about them. And then beyond that, I use paper a lot for testing. Testing can be pretty complex when you're dealing with a visual interface, but I find there's a lot of value in abstracting the words from an interface and testing them on the run and seeing how people respond to them. So, you can give enough of a setup that people understand the scenario that they'd be facing and then get their reaction. So, one of the methods we talk about in the book was popularized by GOV.UK, they call it the highlighter method. They print off the content just by itself outside of any sort of screen and then they ask people to highlight in green the things that work especially well, and they highlight in red the things that don't work as well. Then they're able to ask follow-up questions about why. You know, why is that working very well? Why is that? Maybe it's confusing, you know. Maybe people didn't understand the language, maybe there was jargon involved. And so that's how you actually make a case for your design decisions using words, by getting it in front of people and getting data from your users. Otherwise, you're just going to have a lot of discussions back and forth with decision-makers and say, “Well, I think it should be this way.” And they say, “I think it should be this way.” Again, that's kind of the. beauty of what a design practice brings to writing: you can start to think about it more objectively and apply some rigor to it that you wouldn't be able to if you just kept writing the way you normally do. Jorge: I can see how that is a more designerly approach to writing. I want to come back to the text editor. You said that that's a tool that you use to do this, and I'm wondering if you have a favorite text editor, and if so, why? Michael: Yeah. I've tried a lot of them. I guess it's like a hobby when you're a writer, you're just downloading text editors constantly. The one that I use as a scratch pad at work is called IA Writer, and I just like it because it gets out of the way pretty easily. You can get the type nice and big for when you're sharing your screen, and that one, it's just simple. And of course, writing the book, I used a different one: I used Ulysses for just because it was easier to organize things. And that's what I use when I'm writing on my own, just to get things down and in an organized way. So, it does nice things there. But IA writer as my favorite just scratch pad with the team, I'm sharing my screen, kind of a text editor. Jorge: Can you talk a little bit more about how you choose one versus the other? When you say scratch pad, does that imply that it's for shorter-form texts? Michael: Yeah, I mean like there's no organization, right? You're just opening individual documents, so it's easy to just open one and then they're automatically saved to a certain folder on my computer so I can just open it, open a new document, and I know it's there, saved to the cloud as soon as I open it. So that's a nice thing about it. And then there's just the simplicity. I think a big trend in those texts editors is that they're like a distraction-free environment. And that's what I look for as well. I don't want anything but the words on the screen when we're looking at it. In full screen in IA Writer, that's all you can see. It does support Markdown as well, which I'm a big fan of. I use that all the time to give hierarchy to the things that I'm working on. That's a nice thing too you can borrow from the design world because you know, there's this idea of hierarchy. How do we apply that to language as well? And that translates pretty well to Markdown. Jorge: Can you speak more, for folks who may not be familiar with Markdown? Can you tell us the elevator pitch for Markdown? Michael: Sure. Yeah. I mean, I don't know if anyone needs to be burdened with it, but… the reason I like it is because you can really easily apply some formatting without going overboard. You know? So, like, if you think of the Word document that you may have received from a coworker with all sorts of different colors and fun fonts, that's not the type of formatting I looked for. Markdown, you just put for example, a pound sign in front of a line of text, and that is your largest heading. So, if you put two pound signs, then it's one size smaller, and you can use that to break it up. In this section, you can do italics, you can do underlying, you can do bolding. But it's really minimal formatting that you can easily remove. So that's what I like about it. Jorge: When you were talking about creating variations that you would put in front of people, you used the phrase, “abstracting the words from the interface.” And I'm wondering about the relationship between this designerly way of writing and typography; the actual rendering of the letterforms and words when people encounter them. So, a resignation letter reads very differently if it's set in Times New Roman than if it's set in Comic Sans, right? Michael: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think that applies to like the importance of… I don't know, sometimes I worry people hear me talking about how writing is designing, and they think like, “Oh, well you don't care about the visual side of things.” That couldn't be further from the truth. I think that the best design happens when someone whose core skill is language teams up with someone who's core skill is visual design and they work together to build an experience. If you could find both those skills in one person, that's incredible as well, but that's really difficult to do. But I think that's a reason why you have to be in partnership with people. Again, like visual design is another part that dramatically affects the experience people are going to have. So, when you're abstracting from the interface, you've gotta be careful with that. You're not saying this is the final ruling on how this should be. What it does give you is, it gives users a chance to interact with the or language without being burdened by the usability issues of a form, for example. So, you can get information that you know is about the language itself. So that's what's really powerful. You don't want to use it in isolation. You don't want to over rely on a technique like that. my question is, how often do teams actually try that, right? Like how often do they actually get the message in front of people by itself so that they can understand how people in processing it?  Jorge: So, I have one final question for you, just to try to make it actionable for folks who might not be designers using writing as their day-to-day work. All of us have to communicate using language. And I was wondering if you have any tools, tips, techniques to help folks be better writers. Michael: Yeah. So, I think you could still think of writing as designing, even if you're never making it an interface. And what I mean by that is when you write something, when you write an email to a friend, take a step back before you send it. This is common and advice that, that seasoned writers will give people all the time. Take a step back, read it out loud to yourself. Think about the effect it will have on that, that person. And try to put yourself in the place of the reader as often as possible. That's, that's such a good exercise. Think about the effect that the words you have written will have on the audience. And, you can even test it too. That's another neat thing you see it happening where people will be like, they'll come up to you with something like, can you read this? Does this doesn't make sense? Apply those types of thinking to your everyday writing. And, and don't be afraid to get those other perspectives involved. I think what's beneficial about design especially, is this idea of being clear about what you want to learn. So, when you show that to someone else, don't come at it trying to answer, “Is this any good?” You know, like come at it with, “I want to see how this person perceives the way I wrote the greeting.” Or, “I want to learn more about what they think I was trying to get across here.” And make sure that you're really clear about that at every step of the way. I think it's very rare that we take a step back in our own lives and try to look at what we're trying to accomplish with the little things we write every day. Even something as simple as like an instant message to someone on Slack. I see frequently people complaining on Twitter about coworkers who just say, “Hi!” on Slack or Teams or whatever, and then wait 10 minutes for the person to respond before saying whatever they needed. So, there's this emerging idea of having some IM etiquette and saying what you want along with your greeting so that you're not wasting people's time and aren't breaking their concentration, all those things. So, you can do that just by being intentional and being thoughtful and not being so reactionary, right? Like the reason people type “Hi” and just hit send and then go away is because it's really easy. But what would happen if you started to think about the people on the other end more whenever you're writing. I think that's the, that's the direction we want to move in. Jorge: Fantastic, that is great advice. Thank you. The book is available now for preorder, right? It's Writing is Designing. Michael: Yeah. Jorge: It's available in the Rosenfeld Media website. Where can folks follow up with you other than by buying the book? Michael: Well, they could follow on Twitter, LinkedIn — I'll accept connections from people in the field. And I also have Instagram, if you're interested in photography. That's how I began this journey. I think that that side of me is a lot more fun than the writing sides. But yeah, any of those venues. I'm also trying to write a little bit more. The book got me interested in writing outside of work. So, you can follow my blog at mjmetts.com. And I write there just a lot about the methods that I use to help teams work together effectively, how I help people understand my work, and those kinds of things. Jorge: Well, great. I will include all of those in the show notes. Michael, thank you so much for being on the show. Michael: Thanks for having me. It's been great.

Andy Welfle and Michael J. Metts are on a mission to empower word people. Specifically the people who craft words as part of product-design teams. Their new book, Writing Is Designing: Words and the User Experience, shows UX content creators how to apply design principles to their writing craft. https://ellessmedia.com/csi/writing-is-designing/

Andy Welfle and Michael J. Metts are on a mission to empower word people. Specifically the people who craft words as part of product design teams. Their new book, Writing Is Designing: Words and the User Experience, shows UX content creators how to apply design principles to their writing craft. Andy Welfle Michael J. Metts We talked about: their backgrounds at Facebook, Adobe, and Allstate how their collaborations on workshops at Confab and other conferences led to their book the book's origins as a voice-and-tone project and its quick evolution to a comprehensive UX writing book their mission to to empower content people no matter where they come from to become accomplished UX writers the importance of going beyond UX writing tasks to a broader interest in the user experience the importance of having an owner of the content in any product or project companies' tendency to underestimate the need for UX writing talent the challenges of creating a smooth, consistent user experience when so many people are contributing writing to digital products the need to be more intentional about the words in products, to not think of them as inconsequential things that anyone can write how to work with teams by building relationships and contributing along with everyone else the importance of seeing problems that arise as teaching moments, not errors to be fixed or an opportunity for rules to be applied the use of words as design material how pushing to integrate writers as early and as deeply as possible in design projects is a worthy struggle how writers can contribute to design teams, but also how hard it is for writers who are new to the design world to feel like they can jump in how older companies with legacy staffing issues may have more trouble adopting new practices like integrating writers in their design teams than newer startups how writing can be practiced by anyone on a design team, not necessarily a dedicated writer how writing is an important skill for any designer to develop the importance of integrating writing into the design process, not treating it as an add-on the benefits of valuing writing skills as much as visual design skills when hiring UX designers how UX writing is a distinct type of writing, different from business correspondence how the current role of the UX writer, while challenging, is uniquely rewarding the importance of highlighting the differences between writing interface copy and other types of copy (marketing, advertising, technical, etc.) Andy's Bio When Andy was eight, he wanted to be a poet and a paleontologist. Twenty-seven years later, he is neither, but he uses those skills in his day job as a content strategist on Adobe's product design team — writing under huge constraints, and uncovering artifacts from big, old software interfaces. When he's not working, he's creating podcasts and zines about one of his favorite topics: wooden pencils. Find him in San Francisco with his wife and two large cats, or online at andy.wtf. Michael's Bio Michael J. Metts helps teams build great products and services by putting people first. With a background in journalism, he frequently finds himself talking about the role words play in designing useful, usable experiences. He has given talks and taught workshops on the topic at industry conferences around the world. He lives with his wife, two children, and a very small dog just outside Chicago. Video Here's the video version of our conversation: https://youtu.be/C5u1GDOrcyU Podcast Intro Transcript We are finally coming to a point in the evolution of product design where writing skills are appreciated right alongside research and visual design skills. Andy Welfle and Michael Metts are on a mission to accelerate this evolution. Their new book - Writing Is Designing - gives writers and product managers tools that will help them integrate writing into user-focuse...

Andy Welfle and Michael J. Metts are on a mission to empower word people. Specifically the people who craft words as part of product design teams. Their new book, Writing Is Designing: Words and the User Experience, shows UX content creators how to apply design principles to their writing craft. Andy Welfle Michael J. Metts We talked about: their backgrounds at Facebook, Adobe, and Allstate how their collaborations on workshops at Confab and other conferences led to their book the book's origins as a voice-and-tone project and its quick evolution to a comprehensive UX writing book their mission to to empower content people no matter where they come from to become accomplished UX writers the importance of going beyond UX writing tasks to a broader interest in the user experience the importance of having an owner of the content in any product or project companies' tendency to underestimate the need for UX writing talent the challenges of creating a smooth, consistent user experience when so many people are contributing writing to digital products the need to be more intentional about the words in products, to not think of them as inconsequential things that anyone can write how to work with teams by building relationships and contributing along with everyone else the importance of seeing problems that arise as teaching moments, not errors to be fixed or an opportunity for rules to be applied the use of words as design material how pushing to integrate writers as early and as deeply as possible in design projects is a worthy struggle how writers can contribute to design teams, but also how hard it is for writers who are new to the design world to feel like they can jump in how older companies with legacy staffing issues may have more trouble adopting new practices like integrating writers in their design teams than newer startups how writing can be practiced by anyone on a design team, not necessarily a dedicated writer how writing is an important skill for any designer to develop the importance of integrating writing into the design process, not treating it as an add-on the benefits of valuing writing skills as much as visual design skills when hiring UX designers how UX writing is a distinct type of writing, different from business correspondence how the current role of the UX writer, while challenging, is uniquely rewarding the importance of highlighting the differences between writing interface copy and other types of copy (marketing, advertising, technical, etc.) Andy's Bio When Andy was eight, he wanted to be a poet and a paleontologist. Twenty-seven years later, he is neither, but he uses those skills in his day job as a content strategist on Adobe’s product design team — writing under huge constraints, and uncovering artifacts from big, old software interfaces. When he’s not working, he’s creating podcasts and zines about one of his favorite topics: wooden pencils. Find him in San Francisco with his wife and two large cats, or online at andy.wtf. Michael's Bio Michael J. Metts helps teams build great products and services by putting people first. With a background in journalism, he frequently finds himself talking about the role words play in designing useful, usable experiences. He has given talks and taught workshops on the topic at industry conferences around the world. He lives with his wife, two children, and a very small dog just outside Chicago. Video Here’s the video version of our conversation: https://youtu.be/C5u1GDOrcyU Podcast Intro Transcript We are finally coming to a point in the evolution of product design where writing skills are appreciated right alongside research and visual design skills. Andy Welfle and Michael Metts are on a mission to accelerate this evolution. Their new book - Writing Is Designing - gives writers and product managers tools that will help them integrate writing into user-focuse...

Two out of three Erasable hosts joined us to talk about NaNoWriMo. Thanks to Johnny Gamber (the first voice you’ll hear), Tim Wasem, and Andy Welfle (who edited the episode).

Show Notes “Letting Go of the Words” by Janice Redish Robin Sloan “The Sleep Consultant” “The Hazel Wood.” Robert Galbraith “Lethal White” Gary John Bishop “Unf*ck Yourself” Links Etsy Instagram Twitters Facebook Site Ko-fi Spectrum Chat

Andy Welfle Plumbago Zine Erasable Podcast The Durrells Blackwing 530 Baron Fig Metamorphosis Ulysses Metal Shop CT Timber Twist The Erasable Podcast Facebook Group Leuchtturm Copper Leuchtturm Copper Jotbook Blackwing 602 Standard Memorandum 2019 The Marvellous Mrs Maisel All the Birds in the Sky - Charlie Jane Andrews The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin The Bullet Journal Method - Ryder Carroll Shoe Dog - Phil Knight Sightglass Coffee La Croix Yerba Mate RSVP Podcast Tj's appearance on Erasable Podcast Internet Explorer Podcast RAD - Remote Audio Data System Xennial Xenomorph Support Wood & Graphite on Patreon! Want to send us some snail mail? (yes, that means envelopes + stamps, old school!) Stuart Lennon & TJ Cosgrove 1857 Podcast 25 Walworth Enterprise Centre Duke Close, West Way Andover. SP10 5AP England, United Kingdom Nero's Notes (this show's sponsor) Wood & Graphite 1857 Facebook Page 1857 Website { 1857 } The Podcast about making the past, the present, in the future. Are you a US Listener? If you want to try audiobooks and want to help out the show, you can sign up for a 30 day trail, get a free audiobook and we get a commission, just go to http://www.audibletrial.com/1857 I (TJ) suggest American Gods by Neil Gaiman, Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton or Reamde by Neal Stephenson.

More than four years ago, Tim Wasem, Johnny Gamber, and Andy Welfle were just mild-mannered men, until the day they were stabbed with radioactive graphite that turned them into… pencil podcast hosts! Hitting the topics harder than a 4H, interviewing guests with the smoothness of a 6B, no stationery is safe from The Erasables! Special guest host Caitlin Elgin interviews the guys about how the heck they pulled off a centenary of episodes about... pencils?To help us celebrate 100 episodes, buy a limited edition custom Erasable Baron Fig Confidant! With a bright yellow fabric color and a special variant of our logo foil-stamped on the front (designed by our friend TJ Cosgrove), all proceeds will go to support the continued operation of this show. But hurry — we'll stop selling it by the time episode 101 airs on July 25!

28 Today we’re talking about reading and taking notes. Show links: #cockygate: http://legalinspiration.com/?p=503 https://twitter.com/kneupperwriter/status/993359859071381505 https://cassiesharpbooks.wordpress.com/2018/05/07/open-letter-to-faleena-hopkins/ Andy’s Magic Keyboard Case Succulent Studios Redi-Tag Sticky Notes Leslie on GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/186303-leslie Plumbago The notes and HIghlight Page for Your Kindle Chuck Tingle’s Podcast Smart Bitches Trashy Books Podcast Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics Circe Stealing the Show Hailey Edwards The Body Keeps the Score Attachment and Loss The Best Food Writing of 2017 Dictionary Stories Pearson’s Graphite 2015 Good Omens Pen Addict 305 Find us online: You can find the podcast at RVSPstationerypodcast.com Less: ComfortableShoesStudio.com https://www.facebook.com/ComfortableShoesStudio https://www.instagram.com/originallcharper/ Twitter: @originalLCharper Dee: weeklypencil.com https://www.facebook.com/theweeklypencil IG: @theweeklypencil Twitter: @theweeklypencil Lenore: @lenore_hoyt Facebook: Erasable Podcast, RSVP Stationery podcast Andy Welfle @awelfle Andy.coffee Woodclinched.com

Andy Welfle, pencil wizard and content strategist at Adobe, sits down to discuss his journey from quiet Indiana to cutting edge San Francisco.Read more about Andy at andy.coffeeCheck out his pencil podcast at erasable.usRead his pencil blog posts at woodclinched.comAbout EurekaThinker Talk is where we chat with people turning ideas into reality. Hosted by Joey Cofone and Adam Kornfield, co-founders of Baronfig in New York City.More at eureka.baronfig.comEdited and mixed by Eric Silver

Synopsis: It’s our season 2 finale and to celebrate, we’ve got TWO – count ’em, TWO! – special guests. From the Erasable podcast, we welcome Andy Welfle and Johnny Gamber to the show to discuss Mark Kurlansky’s book, Paper: Paging Through History. We discuss whether technology changes society, digital vs. analog, the role of handwriting in today’s society, how paper has been used to spread information and incite dissent, and the future of paper in an increasingly digital world. Links to all books discussed in this episode (where possible) will go to Watchung Booksellers, a wonderful local independent bookstore in my home state of New Jersey. This episode of COVERED is sponsored by: Nacht Sound Engineering: Streamline the process of delivering high-quality shows to your audience and focus on what you love. Feedpress: Blog and podcast analytics starting at $4 a month, podcast hosting starting at just $8 a month. Use promo code COVERED to get 10% off your first year. Duration: 53:55:00 Present: Harry C. Marks, Andy Welfle, Johnny Gamber Episode Links Episode S2E14: COVERED Book Club #2 – PAPER by Mark Kurlansky, feat. Andy Welfle and Johnny Gamber (mp3) Contact your hosts for show feedback Show your support and donate to our podcast The Book Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky The Guests Erasable podcast Andy Welfle on Twitter Andy’s website Johnny Gamber on Twitter Books and Materials Discussed Erasable Episode 41: Hitting the Marks (Not Literally) Field Notes “Byline” Reporter’s Notebook Palomino Blackwing 602 Write Notepads & Co. Reporter’s Pad Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki Books on the Nightstand Podcast Rules for a Knight by Ethan Hawke The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber Maps and Legends: Reading and Writing Along the Borderlands by Michael Chabon Washington by Ron Chernow Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg Revolutionary Summer by Joseph Ellis So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo COVERED Book Club #1 with special guest Ann Kingman Follow your host and the show on Twitter @HCMarks @COVERED_fm @HologramRadio for more podcasts to listen to! Subscribe to Covered! Get Covered on iTunes, or via RSS. Newsletter! Subscribe to AFTERWORD: A COVERED Newsletter for info on upcoming episodes, book recommendations, and links of interest for readers and writers! Support the show! Become a patron! Please take a moment to rate our show in iTunes, even if it’s just a star rating. It really does make a difference in helping us reach a wider audience. Download: Episode S2E14: COVERED Book Club #2 – PAPER by Mark Kurlansky, feat. Andy Welfle and Johnny Gamber

In this episode Brad and Myke are joined by Andy Welfle from Woodclinched.com to discuss pencils. No, we haven't gone off our rocker, we just want to learn! We discuss all things woodcase pencils, from materials, to lead grades, to some of Andy's current favorites. Is there a Pencil Addict podcast in the making?

Listen Up! Welcome to show number 199. I know that number has to be meaningful on some level!A shout out to our friend Andy WelfleWe discuss the first presidential debateTune 1: The Show by Mike Holstein as performed by Spork (AKA Cosmic Ray Liotta)Top Five films/TV shows/books you would like to see producedTune 2: Button Up Your Overcoat as performed by Miss Rose & Her Rhythm PercolatorsWe discuss Strong Towns by Charles L. MarohnThe first five people to send their mailing address to our feedback email will receive a complimentary copy of Charles Marohn's bookAuf wiedersehen!Some of these sounds were used in the making of this Podcast.