Voice
- Clear — say what you mean in the fewest words necessary.
- Warm — friendly without being informal; professional without being cold.
- Empowering — help the reader do the thing; never talk down.
- Grounded — rooted in practical value, not hype.
Tone
Tone shifts with context; voice does not.Language conventions
Sentence case
Sentence case for all UI text — headings, buttons, labels, tabs.Active voice
More direct, and easier to translate.Short sentences
Under 25 words. Break complex ideas apart.Numbers
- Numerals for quantities and technical values: “3 components”, “48px touch targets”, “0.75rem”.
- Spell out a number that starts a sentence: “Seven minerals form the palette.”
Dates and times
- Use the reader’s locale format where you can — see internationalisation.
- Fall back to day-month-year: “2 April 2026”.
- Relative time for recent events: “3 hours ago”, “yesterday”.
Writing for a pan-African audience
Shona and Ndebele are primary languages alongside English. Write with translation into them in mind from the start rather than as a later pass.Avoid idioms
Avoid cultural assumptions
Do not assume Western holidays, seasons or references. Seasons differ across the continent; “spring” is not a shared date.Technical terms
- Define a technical term on first use.
- Pick one term and use it everywhere.
- Prefer the plain word: “set up” rather than “bootstrap”, “install” rather than “scaffold”.