Jane Van de Ban blogs

Over the years, I’ve heard and read a lot of comments from content designers who feel that the job is just too hard - because of stakeholders. And that if only they would be ‘allowed’ to do their job by their stakeholder(s), things would be better. I hear you - it is hard. But I’ve been working as a content editor for my entire career - starting in print before moving into digital. And I can tell you this - it’s never been easy . Because at the heart of every editorial role

They're too valuable to waste I made a mistake recently. A big one. I did something that really upset someone. I was focused on what I wanted to do and didn’t spend enough time thinking about the impact on other people. Luckily for me, the person I’d upset let me know - so I had the chance to make it right. What does ‘owning your mistakes’ mean? Early in my career, a kind manager sat me down and gave me a piece of advice. This was after I’d lost 80,000 online data records tha

Bonjour mes amis! Why am I speaking French all of a sudden? Well, I’ve gone and done something exciting - I’ve moved to France! I sold my dearly loved (little) house in east London and bought a (much larger) house in a small town in Southwest France. It’s been a dream of mine for many years, and it feels amazing to realise it. But it also feels daunting and a little bit terrifying - and I’m definitely dealing with a lot of new challenges that are taking me out of my comfort z

And how that made me a better content designer I’ve been a content expert for my whole career - starting as a print editor and moving into digital, when websites were still considered the sole domain of developers. Ten years later, when content design as a profession exploded onto the digital scene, I moved into that space, both as a practitioner and as a strategic lead delivering digital projects that met user needs. Throughout all that time, I was also a senior officer of a

Moving from higher education into the Civil Service as a content designer might sound daunting. But you can do it.

I made a mistake recently. A big one. I did something that really upset someone. I was focused on what I wanted to do and didn’t spend enough time thinking about the impact on other people. Luckily for me, the person I’d upset let me know - so I had the chance to make it right. What does ‘owning your mistakes’ mean? Early in my career, a kind manager sat me down and gave me a piece of advice. This was after I’d lost 80,000 online data records that couldn’t be recovered (as ba

Instead of focusing on who ‘owns’ words, content designers should look at how they can collaborate with others to deliver what users need.

In 2024, former colleagues challenged me to stop talking and do something. So I developed a course specifically for content designers.

When I first started out as an editor, I routinely upset colleagues and authors with my feedback - because I didn’t know how to do it well. Luckily for me, a senior editor decided to take me in hand. Here’s 5 things she taught me.

Throughout my career, one of my biggest challenges has been to find the time to do my job while managing tricky stakeholders. This is particularly hard when you are seen as a blocker.

I’ve worked in publishing (print and digital) for 30 years, so I know a lot about difficult stakeholders.

Over the years, I’ve heard and read a lot of comments from content designers who feel that the job is just too hard - because of stakeholders. And that if only they would be ‘allowed’ to do their job by their stakeholder(s), things would be better.

When I worked at Birkbeck, University of London, one of our marketing straplines was that 'Birkbeck changed my life'. Because I worked there so long (18 years) and did so many things apart from work (completing 2 master's degrees; starting the women's network; acted as branch chair of Birkbeck Unison for 16 years), I knew that this strapline applied to me. But I honestly felt that I wouldn't be able to say that of anywhere else, because I thought you had to spend a long time