Voice and tone
Five questions every design system answers about voice and tone. These are Brand expressive’s answers, and each one points back to the reasons that chose it.
View all 5 voice and tone tokens ↓The reasons this scheme answers from
- R1Business and productSells and converts, one
- R2OutcomesEngagement, looking off-brand
- R3Team and deliveryAn agency, every campaign
- R4BrandBold, loud
Question 1
Which kinds of copy does it need?
- Labels and messages
- Labels, messages and help
- Labels, messages and articles
- Labels, messages and headlines (chosen)
Why Brand expressive picks it: Headlines carry the campaign.
becauseR1
Question 2
How many tones does it use?
- One
- One per moment (chosen)
- One per brand
Why Brand expressive picks it: Playful in headlines, plain in errors.
becauseR2
Question 3
How is the voice defined?
- Rules and a word list
- Principles and examples (chosen)
- A shared core, brand tone on top
Why Brand expressive picks it: Principles and examples guide each campaign's writers.
becauseR3
- Principles and examples
These tokens are the decisions themselves; no primitive sits under them.
Question 4
How does it sound?
- Terse
- Plain and direct
- Conversational
- Playful (chosen)
Why Brand expressive picks it: Big words, few of them.
becauseR4R4
- action
- commit
- Go
- cancel
- Not now
- destroy
- Remove
- retry
- Try again
- empty-action
- Explore the drop
Question 5
Where do the words matter most?
- Errors and empty states
- Articles and guides
- Form steps and errors
- Headlines and buttons (chosen)
Why Brand expressive picks it: Words work hardest in headlines and buttons.
becauseR2
- button
- input
- overlay
- table
When to use
- A button labelUse: A short verb that moves: Join, Try, Go. Not: "Learn more". Big moments need verbs with energy.“Join the drop”
- The words of an errorUse: Plain first, a light touch after. Not: A joke before the fix. Playful copy must never hide what went wrong.“That email doesn't look right. Check it and try again.”
- A success messageUse: Celebrate, briefly. Not: A long thank-you. A short celebration is remembered.“You're on the list. See you at launch.”
- An empty stateUse: Playful, with a clear next step. Not: A dead end. Playful words still need a way forward.“Nothing here yet. Go find something you love.”
- A confirmation questionUse: Plain. No jokes when something is lost.. Not: Playful copy. Loss is never the moment for a joke.“Remove this from your list? You can add it back later.”
- A first visitUse: One bold line and one button. Not: A paragraph of copy. Visitors from a social post give a few seconds.“The drop is coming. Be first.”
All voice and tone tokens
5 tokens · each decision and the primitive it points to
- Decisions · 5
content.action.commitGocontent.action.cancelNot nowcontent.action.destroyRemovecontent.action.retryTry againcontent.action.empty-actionExplore the drop
Decisions reference primitives, so changing one primitive updates every decision and component that uses it.
Voice and tone in Brand expressive: playful. Big words, few of them. Words work hardest in headlines and buttons.