How ContentEd shows content designers at their best

I hope you’ll excuse the anonymity of this post, I suffer from anxiety and would prefer to keep my identity under wraps for the time being. Many thanks.

Over the last few months, I’ve been working as a part of the Llibertat young people’s programme. In case you don’t know who we are, we were one of the earliest digital content design companies out there. We work a lot with schools, charities and other such services to restructure their internet presence and make their content easy to digest by their target audiences.  

Working for Llibertat, I was fortunate enough to travel to Edinburgh for the ContentEd 2022 Conference for free: a testament both to how respected our company is, and how welcoming and accommodating the organisers were. 

Being welcomed into an inclusive community  

It was my first time attending an event like this, and I must say, I couldn’t have had a better experience to ease into the content design world. As someone who up until recently was an outsider to this field, it was surprising to see how community-driven it actually was. Stepping in through the doors of the Dynamic Earth building you could really get the sense that the people here cared about each other, from the very open and friendly attendees and staff to things as simple as accessibility badges that indicated things like pronouns and availability for conversation/networking. As a member of the non-binary community I found this to be a very pleasant surprise; it’s not often these things are even considered, let alone included with open arms. In short, from the very moment you walked in, it would have been very difficult to get the impression that you weren’t welcome.   

In between mouthfuls of mini pizzas and lemon-tinged ice water were the keynote speakers, and I’m not sure I’ve ever actually listened as intently to people on a stage before. Each and every talk felt new, refreshing, interesting, and truly representative of the field; as well as the wide assortment of amazing and unique people that work within it. I personally really enjoyed the talks and keynotes presented by Amy Grace Wells and David Dylan Thomas, who talked about neurodivergent accessibility and cognitive bias respectively. But again, each and every person at the conference was brilliantly talented, allowing for one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in this industry. 

A supportive awards celebration  

The cherry atop the cake was the awards ceremony; and even though such an environment is usually accompanied with a sense of competition and rivalry, it was pleasant to see the exact opposite.  

Every name announced was followed by an earnestly supportive celebration of their hard work and talent, further reinforcing the intensely community driven nature of a field that so often goes underappreciated in the public eye.   

When our client (and by extension the project we worked on,) won not one, but two of the awards presented that evening, I couldn’t help but feel a palpable sense of pride to be a part of this community. 

Experiencing a different view away from home    

The conference also provided an amazing opportunity for travel. Living in the south of England, the change of scenery was more than welcome, and exploring the city of Edinburgh was nothing short of a beautiful experience.   

I must warn you however. If you don’t do much in the way of cardio, it may be a good idea to keep your will up to date before visiting…   

During my time in Edinburgh, I learnt to appreciate a taxi ride in a way I never had before. And may god help anyone who dares challenge the architectural demon that is ‘Jacob’s ladder’. As someone who works primarily from home, and doesn’t go out much as a result, I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes several times throughout those harrowing minutes. I’d complain, but I reckon I probably needed the exercise. Also it was worth it for the retail therapy.  

Overall, the experience was absolutely phenomenal. The conference was welcoming, the talks were compelling, the city was beautiful. It was truly a highlight of what was a very difficult year. 

Below is a video that I edited while I was there, hope you enjoy! (Big thanks to Picklejar for providing some additional footage!)