How a brand personality makes your UX writing sparkle
We discussed the noble art of writing for a digital user experience in this article and this handy-dandy checklist. Basically, it all boils down to functionality. That lies at the core of UX writing. It’s got to propel your user forward. But substance alone won’t cut it. You also need style. Use your brand’s distinct personality to really create an unforgettable experience for your users.
Personality, baby!
If you only focus on function, UX writing could theoretically look the same anywhere. A 404 page is a 404 page and a cookie consent banner is a cookie consent banner. There’s nothing exciting about those, but nothing distinctive, either. But by using a brand’s unique personality and voice, you can give a product that little bit of ‘oomph’ to make it stand out — even if the contents of the message are boring.
A brand voice is your brand’s, well, voice. It’s a verbal translation of your brand personality. It determines your brand’s sound and makes it easy to recognize. A brand voice has a big impact on how users feel about you. Compare it to a store employee who influences your shopping experience. If they’re nice, helpful and maybe even funny, you’re more likely to buy something compared to when they’re blunt and aloof. That’s why your brand should aim to sound like a nice human being.
Speak human to me
Let’s talk error messages — a prime source of irritation and frustration for your user. Say something goes wrong when you’re logging in because you’ve entered the wrong password. Hey, it happens to the best of us. Oftentimes you’ll get a message like the one below. Functional? Sure. But it’s not very nice.
Imagine a person standing in front of you, saying ‘Wrong password’. They wouldn’t sound very pleasant, would they? Nope — they’d probably come off as a grumpy ticket office employee with a bad case of the Mondays. Because of the brusque, aloof tone employed here, you get the feeling you’re bothering Gmail. You might even feel a little dumb. It almost makes you want to apologize.
Ahh, much nicer. Instead of a grumpy ticket office employee, here’s a friendlier type letting you know what’s going on. It’s the same kind of message, but it feels completely different. Dropbox even offers to help you reset your password. A friendly voice like this feels reassuring. So kudos to Dropbox. This goes to show how a pleasant brand personality creates a positive association with your product, even if something goes wrong.
A fitting personality
No two personalities are the same. How you sound depends on your brand (who you are) and functionality (what you do). Take cookie consent banners, for example. The Dutch Telecommunication Act requires websites to display these banners, so if you browse the web in The Netherlands, you run into them all the time. They all share one goal: getting you to consent to the website storing certain bits of data. But these banners come in many different shapes and sizes, and can make you feel a variety of ways.
This is how Oatly’s oat milk gurus chose to do it. It’s playful, friendly and even a little deadpan. Improving the user experience or storing your data aren’t even mentioned, yet you still understand what they’re asking of you.
ASN Bank does it very differently. No joking around, no puns, just a clear explanation. As a reader, you immediately understand what’s asked of you and why. The whole message feels pleasantly transparent and you’re in complete control: ASN gives you a choice (even though the text next to the check boxes could have been better). This gives you a sense of trust. A good personality trait for a bank to have, if you ask me.
Both in Oatly and in ASN Bank’s case, the UX writing reflects the brand values and personality. That, in turn, influences how you experience their cookie consent banner. Do they make you struggle through a bunch of legalese? Or are they crowding your screen with a text so long, it pales in comparison to Marcel Proust’s thick tome À la recherche du temps perdu? (Looking at you, national Dutch broadcaster NPO). Chances are you’ll abort mission and head elsewhere to find what you need. And who can blame you?
Win over your target audience
A product brimming with personality feels personal and is more fun to use. That forges an emotion connection between your brand and your target audience. People sympathize with other people, not products. That feeling of sympathy makes people choose your brand over another. And it’ll keep them coming back.
A smartly applied brand voice can make the difference between mindlessly (or even irritatedly) clicking a button, and clicking a button with a small smile on your face. Which is pretty important, considering the latter means you’ve created a positive user experience. And that’s what mattes most, after all.
Translated by Jocelyn van Alphen
More of a Dutchie? Go ahead and read the Dutch version here.
