brand-guidelines

Building a Brand Voice Document

A thorough voice reference covers the following areas. Use this structure to help teams articulate their voice from scratch or to interpret an existing voice configuration.

Brand Personality Profile

Describe the brand as though it were a human being. What character traits define it?

Example: "Our brand is the sharp-but-generous mentor — someone who breaks down hard ideas in plain language, takes genuine pride in your progress, and never condescends."

Communication Attributes (3-5)

Each attribute needs four elements to prevent ambiguity:

A plain-language definition of what it means in practice
A boundary statement explaining what it does NOT mean
A sample sentence that embodies the attribute
A sample sentence that violates the attribute

Target Audience Profile

Primary and secondary audiences the brand addresses
Core concerns and motivations of each audience
Level of domain expertise to assume
Communication expectations and preferences

Messaging Pillars (3-5)

The recurring strategic themes the brand reinforces
Relative priority among pillars (which leads in any given context)
How each pillar maps to an audience need or pain point

Contextual Tone Range

How the voice flexes across situations while remaining unmistakably the same brand. See the Tone Modulation section below.

Editorial Style Rules

Concrete grammar, punctuation, and formatting standards. See Editorial Standards below.

Vocabulary Controls

Approved and prohibited terms. See Vocabulary Governance below.

Defining Communication Attributes

Attribute Spectrum Reference

Positioning attributes on a continuum helps teams calibrate. Common spectrums include:

Dimension	End A	End B
Register	Formal, institutional	Relaxed, conversational
Expertise	Authoritative, expert	Collaborative, peer-level
Warmth	Empathetic, personal	Direct, no-nonsense
Technicality	Precise, specialized	Plain, universally accessible
Intensity	Bold, high-energy	Calm, understated
Levity	Playful, witty	Serious, measured
Orientation	Forward-looking, innovative	Established, reliability-focused

Attribute Documentation Template

For every selected attribute, record:

[Attribute Name]

In practice: [concrete behavioral description]
Not to be confused with: [the common misinterpretation]
Sounds like: [example sentence demonstrating it well]
Does not sound like: [example sentence that crosses the line]

Example:

Welcoming

In practice: inclusive, clear, free of jargon, equally respectful to newcomers and veterans
Not to be confused with: oversimplified, excessively informal, or lacking depth
Sounds like: "Getting set up takes about five minutes — here is how."
Does not sound like: "Yo! Even a total beginner can figure this out lol."

Tone Modulation

The brand voice is the constant; tone is the variable that adjusts based on context. Tone represents the emotional calibration applied to the voice.

Tone by Communication Channel

Channel	Tone Shift	Illustration
Blog	Educational, conversational, exploratory	"Here is a walkthrough of how this works and why your team should care."
LinkedIn	Professional, thought-provoking, compact	"Three takeaways from running 50 campaigns last quarter."
Twitter/X	Sharp, concise, occasionally playful	"Your landing page gets 3 seconds. Spend them wisely."
Email marketing	Personal, supportive, action-oriented	"We built something we think will save you real time."
Sales materials	Assured, benefit-focused, evidence-backed	"Teams on our platform cut reporting overhead by 40%."
Help documentation	Patient, sequential, unambiguous	"If this error appears, follow these steps to resolve it."
Press releases	Formal, factual, newsworthy	"The company announced today the general availability of..."
Error states	Understanding, constructive, non-blaming	"We hit a snag on our side. Our team is already investigating."

Tone by Scenario

Scenario	Tone Adjustment
Product launch	Confident, enthusiastic, forward-looking
Service disruption	Transparent, accountable, empathetic
Customer win	Celebratory, specific, customer-centered
Industry thought leadership	Nuanced, evidence-driven, authoritative
New user onboarding	Encouraging, clear, welcoming
Unwelcome news (price changes, deprecations)	Honest, respectful, solution-focused
Competitive positioning	Self-assured, factual, never disparaging

The Dial Principle

Voice attributes remain constant. Tone turns their intensity up or down depending on the moment. For a brand that is "confident and warm":

At a product launch, confidence takes the lead
During an outage, warmth takes the lead
Neither quality vanishes; the emphasis shifts

Editorial Standards

Grammar and Mechanical Choices

Consistency matters more than any single choice. Document and enforce these decisions:

Decision	Alternatives	Sample
Serial comma	Include / Omit	"fast, reliable, and secure" vs. "fast, reliable and secure"
Heading capitalization	Sentence case / Title case	"How to get started" vs. "How to Get Started"
Contractions	Permit / Avoid	"we're" vs. "we are"
Em dash style	No surrounding spaces / Spaces	"this—and more" vs. "this — and more"
Numeral rules	Spell out one through nine / Always use digits	"five features" vs. "5 features"
Percentage notation	Symbol / Word	"50%" vs. "50 percent"
Date styling	Month DD, YYYY / DD/MM/YYYY / other	"January 15, 2025"
Time styling	12-hour / 24-hour	"3:00 PM" vs. "15:00"
List punctuation	Terminal periods / No periods on fragments	"Set up your account." vs. "Set up your account"

Formatting Conventions

Heading hierarchy rules (when H1, H2, H3 are appropriate)
Bold vs. italic purpose (bold for emphasis, italic for titles or introducing terms)
Hyperlink text standards (always descriptive; never "click here")
Image alt text requirements
Code formatting norms (for technical brands)
Use of callout or highlight boxes

Punctuation and Emphasis Policies

Exclamation marks: use sparingly, never consecutively
Ellipses: avoid in professional content
All-caps: prohibited for emphasis; use bold instead
Emoji: prohibited in professional channels; acceptable in social where context warrants

Vocabulary Governance

Standardized Terms

Maintain an authoritative list of correct forms alongside common mistakes:

Approved Form	Incorrect Form	Rationale
sign up (verb)	signup (verb)	"signup" is the noun/adjective form
log in (verb)	login (verb)	"login" is the noun/adjective form
set up (verb)	setup (verb)	"setup" is the noun/adjective form
email	e-mail	No hyphen; industry standard
website	web site	Single word; modern convention
data is (singular)	data are	Unless publication style mandates plural

Product and Feature Naming

Canonical capitalization for every product name
Rules for when to use the full name vs. an abbreviated form
Whether "the" precedes product names
How version numbers appear in copy
Trademark and registration symbol usage (where required and where to omit)

Language Inclusivity

Default to gender-neutral pronouns (they/them for individuals of unknown gender)
Eliminate ableist expressions ("crazy", "blind spot", "lame")
Favor person-first phrasing where relevant
Steer clear of culturally-bound idioms that resist translation
Prefer "straightforward" or "simple" over "easy" — difficulty is subjective

Technical and Industry Terminology

Catalogue which specialized terms the audience grasps without explanation
Identify jargon that must always be defined or replaced with plain language
Specify which acronyms require full expansion on first use
Build an audience-segmented glossary for terms with different meanings across reader groups

Competitive and Market Language

Define your preferred framing for your product category
Establish how competitors are referenced (by name or generically)
Identify competitor-coined terms to avoid, so you do not reinforce rival positioning
Codify your preferred differentiation phrasing