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| Original file line number | Diff line number | Diff line change |
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| --- | ||
| section: Design | ||
| name: Design | ||
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| This is the design section |
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| Original file line number | Diff line number | Diff line change |
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| --- | ||
| section: Design | ||
| --- | ||
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| **How does a brilliantly simple brand sound?** Think of our tone of voice as a natural extension of our values and personality. We might not mention them in our copy, but their ‘feel’ should come across in every word, sentence and paragraph. | ||
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| Tone of voice | ||
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| ### Expert | ||
| We have a deep understanding of people, household finances and the industries in which we operate. Be confident and authoritative. | ||
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| ### Human | ||
| We always talk on the same level as our customers. Be friendly and conversational, never patronising. | ||
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| ### Connected | ||
| We are seamlessly synchronised with the wider world and financial one. Be timely, knowledgeable and accurate. | ||
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| ### Frank | ||
| We speak truthfully and with insight. Be honest and transparent. | ||
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| ### Advisory | ||
| We make a positive impact on the lives of our customers. Be empowering and informative. | ||
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| Some writing tups | ||
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| ### Write like you speak | ||
| Write as if the reader is in front of you. It’ll make your words sound more natural and believable. | ||
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| ### Jargon-free zone | ||
| Leave the corporate words to the boardroom. Everyday words are much better. They’re easier to read and get our message across quicker. | ||
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| ### Statistical value | ||
| Well-placed stats and relevant data really add weight to what we’re saying. But use them sparingly, and only if it really merits it. | ||
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| ### Be active | ||
| Use an active voice rather than a passive one. This means writing sentences this way round: ‘The customers were saving money.’ Rather than this way round: ‘Money was being saved by the customers. | ||
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| ### Consistency is key | ||
| We all need to speak and write the same way, otherwise it waters down our brand and weakens our position. | ||
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| ### Headlines | ||
| Keep them short. The longer a headline is, the less likely it is to be read. So don’t write it in four words if you can do it in three. | ||
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| ### Less is more | ||
| Short copy gets read. Long copy doesn’t. Get to the point as quick as possible. Otherwise you’ll lose the reader. | ||
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| ### Be purposeful and actionable | ||
| Content should always be actionable. You’ve given the customer relevant information, now tell them what they can do with it. | ||
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| ### Once is enough | ||
| Say it once and say it well. Repetition makes copy boring and overly long, and creeps in when we’re not confident about what we’re saying. | ||
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| ### Snack-sized copy | ||
| If you have a lot of information to get across, use bullet points or sub-headings to break it up. But don’t use too many bullets or make them too long or it will defeat the objective. | ||
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| ### Go with the flow | ||
| Do your words trip off the tongue? There’s one way to find out. Read them out loud and you’ll soon find out where it’s not flowing. | ||
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| Writing conventions | ||
| --- | ||
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| ### Abbreviations | ||
| For names of companies or organisations, if an abbreviation is more familiar than the full form (e.g. BBC, IBM) use that. If not, write the name in full the first time you mention it, followed by the abbreviation in brackets. The next time you refer to it, use only the abbreviation. | ||
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| ### Ampersands (&) | ||
| For names of companies or organisations, if an abbreviation is more familiar than the full form (e.g. BBC, IBM) use that. If not, write the name in full the first time you mention it, followed by the abbreviation in brackets. The next time you refer to it, use only the abbreviation. | ||
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| ### Apostrophes | ||
| Avoid common misuse of apostrophes: | ||
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| - Mixing up it’s (it is) and its (possessive) | ||
| - Using to denote plural: DVD’s (wrong) vs DVDs (correct) | ||
| - When writing Dos and Don’ts (not Do’s and Don’ts) | ||
| - When writing decades 1990s (not 1990’s); the ’80s (not the 80’s) | ||
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| ### British English | ||
| Use the British ‘s’ in words such as ‘realise’, and ‘specialise’, rather than the American ‘z’. | ||
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| ### Capital letters | ||
| Never use all capital letters. Headlines follow usual sentence structure, with only the first word and proper nouns utilising capitals. | ||
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| ### Company names and references | ||
| Follow punctuation and capitalisation of company names and products as they are branded. | ||
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| Example: E.ON, iPhone, iSaver | ||
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| When referencing a company in a news or guide, remember to always keep them in the singular. | ||
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| Example: BT is launching a new ... (not BT are launching a new ...) | ||
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| ### Contractions | ||
| Our tone of voice is friendly and familiar, so it’s fine to use contractions like ‘they’ll’, ‘it’ll’, ‘isn’t’. | ||
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| ### Dashes and hyphens | ||
| If you use a dash within a sentence to create emphasis, then use a long em dash – rather than a hyphen. | ||
| Compound adjectives before a noun generally use a hyphen (e.g. ‘the well-organised energy provider’). After a noun, they should be separated (e.g. ‘the energy provider was well organised’). | ||
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| ### Exclamation marks | ||
| Use sparingly. | ||
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| ### Full stops | ||
| Don’t use full stops at the end of headlines. | ||
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| ### Legals, disclaimers and caveats | ||
| Superscript numbering should be used when there is more than one caveat, however, when there is only one caveat in a communication, an asterisk (*) should be used. |
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