Let users sort it out

Card sorts let users shuffle labeled cards—physical or digital—into groups that make sense to them. “Settings,” “profile,” and “help” get stacked by instinct, revealing how folks organize ideas. For writing interfaces, this is a window into how users think.

The setup’s lean. Grab terms—say, “save,” “edit,” “share”—and let users clump them. Open sorts mean they name the piles; closed sorts slot them into your buckets. Either way, patterns emerge. If “share” lands near “send” but not “export,” that’s a clue—users link some concepts, and split others. Your writing can ride those waves, picking labels that match mental maps.

Card sorts hand you that raw insight—less guesswork, more signal.

Workflow-wise, it’s fuel. Run a sort early—before mockups harden—to spot what sticks. “Account” grouping with “login” but not “billing”? Lean into it—“account” stays user-facing, and “billing” shifts elsewhere. Test again mid-design—does “start” still fit, or did “begin” creep in? It’s not rigid; it’s iterative. Pair findings with designers and words align with layouts faster.

The payoff is fit. Writing turns sharper and less forced. Sort the cards, read the room, and tweak the copy.