Or: A Treasure Trove of Human-Centred Writing
For me, there are a couple of core traits of a good style guide:
It should be unambiguous enough that you know what to do for specific standard elements, like date and currency formats, capitalisation preferences, list styles, etc. …
… but not so prescriptive that there’s no room for flexibility when you come across a new or unusual situation that requires a bit more imagination (because let’s face it, language is changing all the time and writing styles have to change with it if they’re to have a chance of staying up to date)
As more of a nice-to-have, I also love a well-written style guide – one that, through its own choice of words, sentence structures, examples, and other details, perfectly captures the voice and tone of the product it’s describing. So, a style guide for a product whose voice is meant to be fun, upbeat, and inspiring should use language that reflects that, rather than staccato, dry, emotionless edicts.
I haven’t yet come across a style guide that does all of the above quite as well as Monzo’s tone of voice guide. Being honest, the fact that this guide even exists was one of the main factors that tipped me over the edge from consideration to actually becoming a Monzo customer (*cough* word nerd alert *cough cough*).
I’ve picked out some of my favourite bits below – advice and principles I think are useful to bear in mind no matter what product you’re writing for – but honestly, all of it’s invaluable stuff for any content designer who wants to write UX copy that works for real people (i.e. all content designers). Definitely one to bookmark.
1. They emphasise that content is a common thread
Monzo recognises that their brand and how it’s perceived should be reflected in and is shaped by the language that they use – not just the UI copy in their app, but the language used across every user touchpoint, from legal information to help articles, marketing communications to chats with customer service advisors.
Torrey Podmajersky nicely sums up the idea that the language used at each point where a user interacts with a business or brand should form part of a consistent, cohesive content system: “Considered together, the experiences an organisation makes will comprise a huge amount of content. That content is a common thread throughout the organisation’s relationship with the people who buy, set up, use, and hopefully become champions for the experience” (2019: 9).
Monzo knows that every word across every part of the experience matters when it comes to earning their users’ trust, particularly since, as a bank, their content can cover some quite complex topics (“technical stuff” as the guide calls it). By choosing their words with care and using them consistently, Monzo creates a unified experience for its customers, supporting them with the same friendly voice throughout their entire journey.
2. They recognise the importance of context
Content design isn’t, or at least shouldn’t be, about finding cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all solutions. Avoiding ambiguity is important, but so is building in room for flexibility. Monzo recognises that the right words might be different depending on where they are used within the user journey – what has happened before that point, what a user needs right now, and what will or might happen next.
It’s all about empathy – not simply copying and pasting a style recommendation just because it’s there, but thinking about the bigger picture and flexing style guidelines or content patterns to create the best solution for the specific situation. I love a cookie cutter as much as the next person, but only when I’m making cookies – not when I’m creating content.
3. They speak like their audience does
This is one of those content design recommendations that, I’d argue, can and should be applied across the board, no matter what kind of product you’re working on. Using terms that match the language used by your users makes the entire experience so much easier. It reduces cognitive load (that is, the amount of mental effort we have to spend when learning new information, or when trying to keep information in our short-term or working memory) and helps users to get used to a new product quickly, building trust and boosting confidence. This includes using inclusive language that works for people from different cultures, or people with English as a second language.
In Writing is Designing, Andy Welfle and Michael J. Metts make the point that asking the question “What terms are our users familiar with?” is part of cultivating a “design mindset” when writing for user experiences (2020: 3), while Sarah Richards’ excellent book Content Design offers a number of sources for finding out what kind of vocabulary your audience uses through desk research like search data (e.g. Google Trends), online forums (“little worlds full of users and their vocabulary” (2017: 77)), and any other places where your audience already is. Speak to your readers in terms they understand and you can’t go far wrong.
4. They think about what people actually need to know, rather than what they want to tell people
Often, readers don’t need (or necessarily want) to know the ins and outs of why something is happening. Ultimately, they want to know how something – generally a change or a new process – will impact them and whether there is anything they need to do about it. Reasons for change can still be important to explain, but you need to consider carefully how deep into the rationale you need to go. Give the user all the information they need to do whatever it is they’re doing, to make sure they understand why what is happening is happening, and the consequences for them – nothing more, and nothing less.
5. It’s just an actual joy to read
The Monzo tone of voice guide isn’t just a set of do’s and don’t and prescriptive lists of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ usage. It’s a veritable treasure trove of thought starters (‘Would you say…or…’), real-life examples of best practice, mini lessons in English grammar and usage that basically summarise all the important stuff from secondary school English Language classes, and, in true UX style, snippets of research to show how the suggestions they give are grounded in evidence of actual usage. It’s content design gold dust, and if the team at Monzo ever wants to bring out a full-on book version, I am very much here for it.
There’s also an excellent section on how to spot the passive voice using monkeys. I’ll let you uncover that gem for yourselves.
References
Monzo’s tone of voice guide. Available at: https://monzo.com/tone-of-voice/ (Accessed: April 27, 2022)
Metts, M.l J. and Welfle, A. (2020) Writing Is Designing. Rosenfeld Media. Kindle Edition.
Richards, S. (2017) Content Design. Content Design London: London. Kindle Edition
Podmajersky, T. (2019) Strategic Writing for UX. California: O’Reilly Media, Inc.
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