Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Content systems are human systems in digital form. When I design content, I'm designing for how humans actually behave at scale. Fragmented governance creates fragmented behavior. Inconsistent metadata mirrors inconsistent thinking. Structured systems let behavior flow naturally. I work at that intersection: behavioral UX, content design, content strategy. I diagnose system health by observing what the content reveals about the humans who built it. Then I design systems that let behavior (human behavior) work naturally, not against itself. I've done this in regulated enterprise environments where every choice has stakes. I've embedded with AI teams and watched how content behaves when humans step out of the loop. That work shaped SignalScale, a framework for reading content system behavior. I publish on content systems and human-centered UX. I consult on enterprise strategy. I think about content as the bridge between human intention and digital behavior. Senior content design roles welcome—contract, full-time, or consulting. Philadelphia, PA | ianrichardscd.com
Content Strategy & Systems Thinking: • Led content strategy for personalized healthcare journeys, simplifying plan-selection experiences for members making high-stakes financial and medical decisions • Conducted content audits that exposed structural dysfunction—where user flows broke language became liability, and systems told on themselves • Partnered with legal, compliance, accessibility, and product teams to navigate competing constraints while maintaining clarity and user trust • Applied behavioral psychology and systems thinking to reduce cognitive load in experiences where failure meant people couldn't access care Strategic AI Content Work: • Collaborated directly with data science teams to evaluate LLM outputs, refine system prompts, and design conversational flows for member-facing AI tools and internal decision-support systems • Developed diagnostic frameworks for assessing AI content readiness—evaluating whether content infrastructure could support responsible automation at scale • Designed conversation pathways and guardrails for AI-assisted tools in high-stakes healthcare contexts where accuracy, compliance, and trust were non-negotiable • Identified patterns in AI failures that revealed content system problems: broken taxonomy, missing governance, structural gaps that automation would amplify What I Learned: • This role taught me what happens when organizations try to implement AI without mature content systems. I didn't build perfect solutions—I worked in the gap between what was needed and what existed. Every AI failure was diagnostic. Every breakdown revealed what infrastructure was missing. • That experience became the foundation for SignalScale and my current work helping organizations prepare content systems for AI before automation scales their problems.
• Designed mobile-first UX content and learning pathways for global leadership programs, translating complex academic research into simple, high-retention microlearning experiences • Improved learner engagement by 25% through behavioral design, gamified feedback loops, and iterative user testing • Developed modular content systems adaptable across mobile, web, and onboarding platforms, increasing scalability and reducing production time across teams • Collaborated with researchers, product owners, and instructional designers to ensure content aligned with adult learning theory, accessibility standards, and organizational goals • Streamlined complex leadership concepts into clear, actionable frameworks, improving comprehension and completion rates for enterprise learning audiences
Built omnichannel content strategies for B2B audiences across web, email, video, and podcast platforms. • Drove 30% increase in qualified leads and organic traffic through targeted content strategy • Developed scalable voice and messaging systems adaptable for SEO, campaigns, and CRM personalization • Created content frameworks used across marketing, sales, and client-facing communications