Then the question arises: where’s the content? Not there yet? That’s not so bad—dummy copy is here to help. But worse, what if the fish doesn’t fit in the can, or the foot is too big for the boot? Or too small? Sentences that are too short, too many headings, images that are too large for the proposed design—or too small—or they fit but look off for some reason.

A client who is unhappy for a specific reason is a problem; a client who is unhappy but can’t quite put their finger on why is worse. Chances are there was a lack of collaboration, communication, and checkpoints; there was no process agreed upon or specified with the necessary level of detail. It’s content strategy gone awry right from the start. If that’s what you think, what about the other way around? How can you evaluate content without design? No typography, no colors, no layout, no styles—all those elements that convey important signals beyond mere text: hierarchies of information, weight, emphasis, subtle nuances, priorities—all those subtle cues that also have visual and emotional appeal for the reader.