Notification settings & hierarchy

Project overview

The challenge

An initial draft of a notification settings screen was text-heavy and struggled to describe nuanced user selections, resulting in a high cognitive load.

The Product Manager and Product Designer asked me to review the copy and streamline the experience to make it easier for users to select preferences.

(Generalized to protect proprietary data.)

My strategy

Create a clear, meaningful heading and subheadings.
Assess groupings for functional differences.
Eliminate repetitive copy.
Ensure terminology is consistent.

Writing sample - before & after

Before - Draft

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Client messages

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Team comments

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Project request comments via email

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After - Redesigned

Comments & messages

Internal comments
Receive an email when teammates comment on a project.

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Team or shared projects

Client messages
Receive an email when clients send a message about a project.

My projects
Team or shared projects

Impact & takeaways

Align with product terminology: Matching the groupings to the actual feature names instantly reduced cognitive load for users.
Reduce for scannability: Removing repetitive instructional text made it easier for users to scan and select preferences, reducing customer questions about the screen.
Design for context, not isolation: When an existing screen is repurposed for new options, it often loses its original meaning. It is critical to review design and copy changes in the context of the entire user experience, not just the newly added piece.

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