brand-voice — define and hold the verbal identity

Part of super-ux — see system-map.md for the whole pipeline. After changes, run

python3 docs/brand/lint.py

.

docs/ux/

docs/brand/

docs/brand/

Triggers

Invoked with no task → status, then one next action

1. Report the state: is a pack recorded, what

   voice.md

   says its

   Status

   is, how many facts carry

   ⚠ TBD

   or no source, locale parity, and the linter's error and warning counts.
2. Name every unresolved fact. Never invent one to close a gap — an unknown is reported, not filled.
3. Propose exactly one next action, usually the top open fact or the surface the user actually came for.

Where the voice comes from

docs/ux/foundation.md

Derived-from: inferred

Choosing a workflow

docs/brand/

Init

1. Read the foundation. Personas, JTBD, journeys, stakes. Where it is absent, interview: who is this for, what are they accountable for, what does failure cost them.
2. Read what already exists. Interface strings, landing copy, README, store listing, recent posts. The current voice is data even when nobody chose it.
3. Propose one pack with reasoning, plus one alternative. Name why the runner-up loses. Let the user pick.
4. Seed

   docs/brand/

   from this skill's own

   templates/brand/

   , and fill the

   Sources:

   block first — nothing else can be checked until the linter knows where the project keeps its text.
5. Inventory sweep for

   strings.md

   : routes, screens, buttons, states, errors, empty states. Every string gets a row with its

   file:line

   and the scenario it serves. For a large codebase, use available read-only subagents in parallel, one area each; without delegation, inspect the same areas sequentially and keep the same evidence requirements.
6. Ask which humanization pass this project wants, and write the answer to

   voice.md

   's

   Humanization pass:

   field.

   own

   is the default and the only one that reads this pack's registers and facts;

   npx sshlg-skills humanizers

   shows what else is installed and how to install what is not. Ask once — the field exists so nobody is asked twice, and it selects a pass, never a verdict.
7. Everything starts

   Status: draft

   .

Calibrate

• Terminology. Which generic words does this product replace, and with what. Seed the banned table from weak verbs, hedging chains and ai-tells.md, then add what is specific here.
• Facts. Every number the product quotes, with a source, a checked date and a review date. Mark internal figures

  Public: no

  .
• Channels. One record per surface the product actually has. Register as deltas;

  Forbidden:

  always carries both the physics and the brand half.
• Ready lines. Six to ten, written for this product, not copied from the pack.
• Failure mode. Copy the pack's into

  voice.md

  so the audit can look for it by name.
• The em dash invariant. Seed

  voice.md

  's invariants with "no em dash (U+2014) in new text, in any language" (owner decision, 2026-10-18). It is not a voice choice a pack can relax: every pack inherits it, and only the grammatical Russian dash where no rewrite reads naturally survives (ai-tells.md AT-06,

  B062

  ,

  B067

  ).

draft

validated

Update

1. Identify what changed — positioning, a persona, a price, a tier name, a new surface.
2. Apply the edits. A changed entity name propagates to

   terminology.md

   ,

   strings.md

   and every locale in the same change.
3. Changed files drop to

   Status: draft

   until re-approved.
4. Re-stamp

   Last calibrated

   .

Validate

1. Integrity — every field the contract requires is present; statuses are legal;

   Derived-from

   resolves against the foundation.
2. Coverage — every surface the product ships has a record; every locale declared has a file; every quoted number has a fact.
3. Consistency — run

   python3 docs/brand/lint.py

   and fold its findings in. It proves the mechanical half; report what it cannot see as questions for

   /ux-audit copy

   .
4. Staleness — foundation newer than the last calibration, facts past review, physics rules past their checked date.

Definition of done

• Contract honored; the marker on every file.
• The user has seen and approved new or changed sections.

• python3 docs/brand/lint.py

  exits 0, or every remaining finding is reported with a reason.
• Unknowns stated as unknowns. Nothing invented to make a table look full.

references/

references/