Task 2: Written Content Style Guide
Requirement Details
Your team is required to submit a written Content Style Guide that defines and showcases the voice, tone, and UX writing strategy for your digital product or service. This guide will serve as the foundation for your product’s written interface and demonstrate how you use language to support usability, clarity, and user engagement.
📘 What Is a Content Style Guide?
A Content Style Guide is a short, strategic document that explains how your product “talks” to users. It sets the writing standards for UI text and ensures consistency across all screens and interactions. Think of it as the voice of your product in writing.
Requirements & Conditions
Your content style guide must contain the following 5 sections:
1. Product Overview & Purpose (approx. 150–300 words max)
• Briefly introduce your digital product or service in a prose or a long paragraph, not bullet point.
• Who is it for? Who is the target audience? Demographics? Psychographics?
• What problem does it solve or improve?
• SWOT analysis matrix of the product or service
• Include 1–2 key use cases.
2. Brand Personality, Voice, and Tone Guidelines (approx. 150-200 words max)
Define your product’s personality in writing using the following:
• 3–5 adjectives or a descriptive text to describe your voice (e.g., warm, friendly, confident, playful). A suggestion is to provide information as if your product were a human being.
• Explanation of how tone may shift in different contexts (e.g., helpful during onboarding, serious in error messages, or playful for teenager customers)
• Basic sample chart of a user flow or a user journey
3. Required UX Writing Components
Provide THREE different versions of UX writing for each of the following components based on different contexts or tones of your product. Some sample tones may be a) serious and professional, b) playful and energetic, and c) sincere and compassionate. However, please be creative with these and refrain from depending on Gen AI tools execessively. The purpose of this task is for you to exercise your creativity and critical thinking.
3.1 ✅ Success Message
A confirmation message that appears after a user completes a task successfully.
Example use: after submitting a form, placing an order, or creating an account.
3.2 ❌ Error Message (404 or Form Error)
Text shown when something goes wrong, such as an incorrect input or a missing page.
Focus on clarity, helpfulness, and reassurance.
3.3 🔤 Placeholder Texts
Greyed-out instructional text inside form fields that guides users before they type.
Example: “Enter your email address”
3.4 🟦 Button Text / CTAs (Calls-to-Action)
Short action phrases that tell users what will happen when they click.
Example: “Submit”, “Try for Free”, “Next Step”
3.5 👋 Welcome Message / Onboarding Intro
A warm introduction shown on the first screen or during setup.
Set the tone and help users feel guided and invited.
3.6 🧭 Navigation Labels / Menu Items
Simple, consistent names for tabs or pages in your app or website.
Example: Home, Dashboard, Settings, Profile
3.7 🌀 Empty State Message
Message shown when there’s no data yet (e.g., no notifications, no saved items).
Encourages action or explains what the user can do next.
3.8 ⏳ Loading Message or Progress Feedback
Short text that appears while something is processing.
Example: “Just a moment…” or “We’re saving your changes.”
3.9 Storytelling about your product
A descriptive long text that explains to the customers about your product or service. Take it as an introductory text that informs your target audience about who you are, why they need you, how you would help fix their problem, where you come from, what you are like, etc. For this Item 9, write up to THREE versions for three different groups of audience.
3.10 Creative marketing taglines or slogans
A descriptive short text or phrases that explain to the customers about your product or service for the marketing or propaganda purposes.
4. Language & Writing Specifications (Just guidelines here, not requirements)
To maintain clarity, professionalism, and consistency across your UX writing, follow the specifications below regarding language use, grammar, punctuation, and style conventions.
• Use standard, grammatically correct English throughout all copy, unless your product reflects otherwise.
• Keep sentence structure simple and clear—aim for a Grade 6–8 reading level (use tools like Hemingway app to check readability).
• Avoid passive voice when possible; prefer direct, action-oriented language.
• Double-check all spelling and grammar before submission. Use tools like Grammarly or your word processor’s built-in checker.
• Write in a conversational, user-friendly tone, unless your product requires a more formal voice.
• Use inclusive, respectful, and non-discriminatory language.
• Prioritize clarity over cleverness.
• Avoid redundancy, filler words, or overly technical terms.
• Use active verbs and clear actions (e.g., “Upload file” is better than “File needs to be uploaded”).
• Use standard punctuation (periods, commas, question marks, etc.) only where needed.
• Use periods or exclamation marks for complete sentences (e.g., success or error messages).
• Avoid ellipses (“…”) unless indicating a continuing process (e.g., “Loading…”).
• Avoid exclamation marks in error messages—too much energy can feel alarming or sarcastic.
• Title Case (Capitalize Each Word) is standard for buttons and labels. Example: “Create Account”
• Sentence case (capitalize only the first word) is appropriate for longer instructional or error messages. Example: “Please enter a valid password.”
• Do not use ALL CAPS unless required for branding or accessibility (e.g., acronyms).
• Use numerals for numbers 10 and above; spell out one–nine unless space is tight (e.g., in buttons).
• Use standard date formats for your region (e.g., March 29, 2025 or 29 Mar 2025—be consistent).
• Use symbols correctly and sparingly (e.g., “%” is fine in stats; “&” only if part of a brand name).
5. Product/Service Brand Logo and Color Palette(s)
5.1 Web/App Logo
• Design a simple logo that represents your product or service.
• The logo must include:
• A product or brand name (wordmark or letterform)
• A visual element, icon, or symbol that reflects the product’s purpose or personality
• Clear legibility when scaled to small screen sizes
• the presence in your Figma wireframe (e.g., on the onboarding or home screen)
5.2 Main Color Palette
• Give details about 3–5 main colors that represent your product’s brand identity.
📅 Submission & Deadline
• The full task of Content Style Guide must be in the format of a shared Google Docs link and a complete PDF file to your lecturer via "payungsak.kae@mahidol.ac.th" Please have th Editor Mode turned on when submitting the Google Docs link.
• The deadline for submission is by Sunday 23rd November, 2025. You can have one rep from the group to email the file and the link to your lecturer's email address.
• Late submissions will only be accepted with valid documentation (e.g., medical certificate) and prior notification.
Some resources:
Mailchimp: https://workingincontent.com/resources/content-style-guides
Shopify: https://polaris.shopify.com/content/fundamentals
Monzo: https://monzo.com/tone-of-voice/
BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidelines
Gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/content-publishing
Government of Canada: https://design.canada.ca/style-guide/