Content patterns

Project Background

Project Details

Create Commerce content patterns and guidelines for the Microsoft 365 admin center 

Role: Content Designer

Status: Shipped September 2023

content process

  • Collaborated with Commerce Content Designers to gather common Commerce content across Microsoft 365 admin center Commerce experiences to ensure consistency

  • Created a Figma file to provide visual examples of the guidance to share out as a resource to partner teams

  • Led the project through the Content design patterns and guidelines process for feedback and approval from a broader group of content designers

  • Revised the patterns to complete the final resource

Deliverable

Figma resource used by other content designers and partner teams as a reference

Content problem

Commerce content has very specific requirements mandated by the Legal and Compliance teams, including international and localization needs. With multiple touch points and partner teams, the Commerce Content Designers needed a resource to distill the content elements, word structures, and reusable content (e.g., pricing formats, legal disclaimers) to ensure content consistency across many different areas.

Figma file

Content Iterations

When I first joined my team at Microsoft, I picked up the creation and management of the Commerce terminology list started by my predecessor. The need for content patterns was highlighted by the panel of Content Designers at the Content Coherence office hours, where I’d taken the first set of terms for approval and admission to the Microsoft 365 admin center terminology list.

To begin developing the patterns, I identified the terms that were better served as content patterns. Then, taking feedback from my Commerce Content Designer team, I put the items into groups and created 6 sections in a Figma file, based on major points in the Commerce admin center user journey:

  1. Sign up

  2. Find and get products

  3. Manage product subscriptions

  4. Assign licenses

  5. Pay your invoice

  6. Manage payment methods

I took a completed draft for a content critique with the Commerce Content Designers. Based on their feedback, I revised the patterns into a new version. Once they signed off, I brought the first section to the Content design patterns and guidelines office hours. This panel of Content Designers provided feedback and approval. I continued this process until the last section was approved.

Content iterations

deliverable

I incorporated the finalized content patterns into a larger Figma resource that included other content patterns for the entire Microsoft 365 admin center. The Commerce content patterns are used by the Commerce Content Designers, and other partner teams across Microsoft.