Mailchimp: Surveys
My role:
Content Designer
The context
Surveys was a relatively new product for Mailchimp, and the Surveys squad was working without a dedicated content designer. They had multiple ongoing content needs, from email notifications to UX copy, plus questions of how Surveys overlapped with other products (Forms, especially).
I came in for three months to help audit, advise, and build content paths that improved users’ feedback experience, clarified content overlaps, and set better foundations for future growth.
My process
1) Conducted a thorough content & UX audit
Did a full CX flow with the team to uncover immediate risks (example: I noted an accessibility issue in the toggle component we were able to solve in the following sprint).
Investigated how content in Surveys and Forms overlapped or conflicted.
Mapped out touchpoints (emails, UI copy, notifications) to see where clarity, tone, or hierarchy was inconsistent.
2) Designed & tested the Smart Notifications concept
We wanted to put our Tone Analysis Model to work within Surveys, but we wanted to see our users’ reactions and thoughts first, so I completed the following:
Collaborated with the product designer & experience researcher to ideate on multiple versions of the new Smart Notifications feature.
Ran concept testing with 12 participants via UserTesting and watched sessions, took notes, and synthesized findings.
Created a content model and proposed template copy for the email notifications, raising functionality questions, aligning terminology, and flagging dependencies (legal, product marketing).
3) Delivered recommendations & relationships for the long term
Created a scalable content model that clarified hierarchy, reusable patterns, and naming conventions for future feature development.
Defined an ideal-state flow that set the direction for clearer, more accessible messaging — still in use as the product evolves.
Built strong cross-functional alignment with design, research, product, and legal to unblock decisions and improve collaboration beyond my contract.
Establishing preferred terminology, raised important functionality questions, and identified opportunities for future phased work.
What changed
The team identified and fixed several high‑risk UX content issues quickly (e.g. accessibility, unclear toggles).
Smart Notifications received clear feedback via concept testing, giving direction for cleaner, more aligned copy and component structure.
The content model and recommended hierarchy laid groundwork for future scaling: templates, email flows, and cross‑team consistency.
Stronger collaboration patterns emerged between content, design, research, and product marketing.
Why this work mattered
Because Surveys was newer and content was spread across multiple touchpoints, there was a real risk of fragmentation: confusing notifications, unclear messaging, duplicated effort with Forms, and inconsistent tone. My contributions helped reduce that risk, clarify users’ expectations, and give the team a roadmap for improving content over time.