Voice & Tone Guides People Actually Use — Playbook #2
Voice & Tone Guides People Actually Use — Playbook #2. If your brand feels fuzzy to you, it’s fog to your audience. Let’s make it obvious and repeatable.
Design’s job is recognition and readability at speed across surfaces you don’t control.
Steps
- Define the audience and their stakes — Name who loses what if nothing changes; real stakes sharpen choices.
- State the promise in plain words — Avoid poetry; say the outcome a buyer can point to later.
- Design constraints before concepts — Constraints produce coherence; they are not creative jail.
- List three proof points — Social, data, demos. Proof turns belief into trust.
Why this matters: Name who loses what if nothing changes; real stakes sharpen choices. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.
Why this matters: Avoid poetry; say the outcome a buyer can point to later. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.
Why this matters: Constraints produce coherence; they are not creative jail. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.
Why this matters: Social, data, demos. Proof turns belief into trust. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.
Toolkit
- Voice ladder — From formal to playful with examples for each channel.
- Palette tokens — CSS variables / design tokens for color and spacing across apps.
- Messaging blocks — Headline • subhead • bullets • CTA mapped to page sections.
- Positioning line — For [audience] who struggle with [problem], we deliver [outcome], proven by [proof].
How to use it: From formal to playful with examples for each channel. Save the final in a shared doc; link from tickets so execution matches intent.
How to use it: CSS variables / design tokens for color and spacing across apps. Save the final in a shared doc; link from tickets so execution matches intent.
How to use it: Headline • subhead • bullets • CTA mapped to page sections. Save the final in a shared doc; link from tickets so execution matches intent.
How to use it: For [audience] who struggle with [problem], we deliver [outcome], proven by [proof]. Save the final in a shared doc; link from tickets so execution matches intent.
Related Articles
- Voice & Tone Guides People Actually Use — Guide #2
- Rebrands Without Burning Goodwill — Deep Dive #2
- Palette Systems: Color With a Job — Pro Tips #2
- LinkedIn Content That Doesn’t Cringe — Deep Dive #2
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