What Comes First? Content or Design

You can find many skilled professionals who are experts in the art of creating effective copy and content in the world of advertising. They repeat statistics all day long and can tell you how to format content in the most efficient way possible. But most often they overlook a crucial point in creating content: advertising isn’t simply about following a formula; it’s also about persuading people.

Research suggests that persuasion is not a science, but an art. Hence, it’s important to have a technical understanding of what content looks like but not without overlooking the creative and artistic aspects of advertising- that is design.

This begs the question: What comes first? Content or design?

Content writers prefer to evaluate and understand the persuasiveness of the content they create while designer tend to see the design first. Understanding each approach is the right way to see which has more advantages over the other.

In order to come up with an effective solution, it’s necessary to carefully consider both approaches: content and design. And see how it appeals to both content creators and designers alike.

In this article, we will look at this question from both perspectives.

The Content-First Approach

Content can set up a solid foundation around which design can be created. Once you figure out the main message or story of your copy, the design can then reflect that message in a persuasive manner.

With the help of content, designers don’t a structure or idea to follow. It can be challenging for them to create a compelling design that leads to a call to action. This affects the audience, leaving them confused about what action to take.

Hence, having a well-defined story or message is essential to ensure that the design conveys the intended message and guides the viewer towards the desired outcome.

Another reason why Content Comes First is because a solid content strategy that meets the company’s marketing and business expectations can pave the way for higher lead generation. Design is convincing only so far as it has a main message or call to action behind it.

Designers are able to create the ideal layout based on the content strategies that point to a desired call to action. More importantly, this saves time for designers to make final edits on their draft in case the message is not convincing enough.

The Design-First Approach

A good reason why design can be a good starting point is that it paints a visual picture of what the purpose of a business is. Sketching out the design of a call to action allows content creators to narrow down their ideas to meet the marketing expectations of any business.

Content writers can then brainstorm new ideas for headlines, emails, preheaders, etc. to rank higher on search engines and make their descriptions persuasive.

A business whose primary motive is to create visually compelling digital ads, landing pages, and social media content may benefit from creating persuasive designs that reflect the aesthetics of their product. The content, from this perspective, comes later to match up to the design that best reflects the business’s marketing goals.

Conclusion

The debate between content and design is an on-going discussion that depends on your client or business’s marketing strategies.

The best way to tackle this question is to outline what your content and design goals are. Why do you want to attract people to your site or landing page? What call to action do you want your audience to take for your benefit?

Leading with a content or design strategy can be an overwhelming task unless and until you pen down the primary goals of your business or product.