Good design is often the thing you barely notice—until one confusing word makes the whole journey wobble.
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Sometimes we tend to overlook the existence or significance of a thing because it is so small, but it is the fact that it is so easy to overlook that highlights its indispensable significance, because it is the thing that allows you to make your series of actions flow smoothly. And when it comes to product design, a myriad of tiny things that ultimately make up a product, and they can't all be missing. And just because we're talking about product design, good design doesnʼt necessarily mean a work of art. Sometimes it is just delivering a good user experience using sound design principles, and thatʼs when content design comes to play.
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Across Lark’s product ecosystem, small pieces of interface copy were asking users to do unnecessary interpretive work. My role was to identify those friction points and refine the language so it became clearer, calmer, and easier to act on.
Maximum usefulness, minimum clutter. The best line of product copy should make the next step feel obvious, not perform a little monologue about itself.
01 / SAY ONLY WHAT THE ICON HASN’T ALREADY SAID
Messenger tooltip “View Calendar” → “Calendar”
When a familiar calendar icon already signals the action, “View” is extra furniture. The shorter label keeps the tooltip simple and avoids repeating what users can see.
02 / USE THE WORD THAT DESCRIBES THE ACTION—AND THE CONTEXT
Admin member management “Terminate” → “Delete”
“Terminate” can imply ending someone’s employment and had received negative feedback from overseas users. “Delete” is more neutral, operationally accurate, and aligned with how this setting actually works.
03 / MAKE THE NEXT STEP FEEL LIKE AN INVITATION
Meeting audio check “No, test next device” → “No, try another device”
The original wording sounded demanding and missed its article. “Try another device” gives the same instruction in a more natural, encouraging voice.