Michelle Jackson-Blackwell

MJB // Work // About // UX Insights

Michelle Jackson-Blackwell

Certified UX Writer

Article

What's a UX writer? (MJB on Medium)

"Writing UX text is iterative, starting with less-than-perfect words, then replacing those words with slightly better words, and repeating until you find the best words."

-- Strategic Writing for UX

Courses (my continuing education)

Systems Thinking for UX Content
Design for Persuasion, Emotion, & Trust
The Power of Storytelling in UX
UX Writing Fundamentals

The Microcopy Course

AI in Content Design
Brand Voice Lab
Elevating Product Experience with Tone
Content Research and Testing

Conversation Design for Chatbots

Accessibility for UX Writers and Designers
UX Writing for Complex Systems
Design Thinking
HTML5 and CSS3

Designing Intuitive UI

"Emotions affect the design of anything. The expression "don't make me think" became a battle cry for friction-free digital experiences. Today, emotion as well as intuitive functionality are crucial elements of the user experience."

-- Design is Storytelling

Books (on my shelf)

Microcopy: The Complete Guide
The Business of UX Writing
Writing is Designing
Design is Storytelling
Leading Content Design

Conversational Design

Better Onboarding
Content Design
Strategic Content Design
Articulating Design Decisions
Designing for Emotion

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People

Strategic Writing for UX
Cross-Cultural Design
Well Designed: How to use empathy to create products people love
Hooked: How to build habit forming products
Simple and Usable

Don't Make Me Think

"Data is a great place to start... there is still absolutely room for that moment of inspiration, that moment of human connection to make a product or service stand out."

-- McKinsey & Company podcast

Articles (of interest)

The state of UX in 2025 (UX Trends)

Inclusive Language Guide (American Psychological Association) ... "We encourage all people to adhere to the basic principles of inclusive language"

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WC3 Reference Guide) ... "How to meet WCAG"

Best Figma plugins for writers (Frontitude)

Why simple is smart (The Atlantic) ... "Smart people respect simple language not because simple words are easy, but because expressing interesting ideas in small words takes a lot of work."

Generative AI: What's hype and what's real (Writer) ... "In 2025, the conversation has shifted from "what is generative AI?" to "how are we deploying generative AI agents to drive measurable business results?"

Why diverse teams are smarter (Harvard Business Review) ... "In recent years a body of research has revealed another, more nuanced benefit of workplace diversity: nonhomogenous teams are simply smarter. Working with people who are different from you may challenge your brain to overcome its stale ways of thinking and sharpen its performance."

Why your org needs an innovation ecosystem (Harvard Business Review) ... "If leaders want to build a sustainable growth engine for the company, they need to create the right conditions for the best ideas to get picked up."

UX Myths ... "Build your product based on evidence, not false beliefs."

The business value of design (McKinsey & Company) ... "Companies that effectively incorporate good design have higher revenue growth and higher returns to shareholders."

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