Foundations · Content
Style, Grammar, and Punctuation
Shared writing conventions make Nexus People OS easier to scan, localize, and maintain. Default to US English, plain language, and patterns that work in narrow UI layouts.
Style and formatting
For voice and emotional context, see Voice and Tone. For dates and timestamps, see Date and Time.
Capitalization
Use sentence case for titles, headings, buttons, menu items, and field labels. Capitalize proper nouns (product names, people, teams).
Do
Schedule career conversation
Don’t
Schedule Career Conversation
Articles in UI
Omit “a”, “an”, and “the” in buttons and short action labels when the meaning stays clear.
Do
Save draft
Don’t
Save the draft
Contractions
Use common contractions in UI copy (“can’t”, “you’ll”) for a natural, human tone. Avoid them in legal or compliance text unless legal approves.
UI element references
Match the casing shown in the interface. Prefer “then” over “>” in instructions so screen readers don’t read “greater than”.
Do
Open Settings, then Notifications.
Don’t
Open Settings > Notifications.
Active voice and tense
Prefer active voice and present tense for instructions and system status. Use past tense only when describing something that already failed or completed.
Do
We can’t load this profile right now.
Don’t
This profile could not be loaded.
Numbers
- Use numerals for counts, steps, and limits (for example, “8 characters”).
- Spell out numbers that start a sentence.
- Use “to” in ranges: “Rows 1 to 4”. Use “Step 1 of 3”, not “1/3”.
- Use commas in thousands: 10,000.
Lists
Use bullets when order doesn’t matter; use numbered lists for sequences. Keep parallel structure. Don’t end fragment items with periods; do end full sentences with periods.
Abbreviations
Write product and feature names in full on first use in customer-facing copy. Avoid “e.g.”, “i.e.”, “etc.”, and “&” in UI strings—they’re harder to translate and read aloud.
Truncation
Design for full labels when you can. If text must truncate, show the full string in a tooltip and test at common zoom levels.
Punctuation
Periods
Use periods at the end of full sentences in body copy and helper text. Skip periods on headings, buttons, and menu names.
Commas
Use the Oxford comma in lists of three or more items.
Colons
Use a colon to introduce a list that follows a complete sentence. Don’t end headings with a colon.
Exclamation marks
Avoid exclamation marks in product UI. Success states should feel calm, not loud.
Apostrophes and quotes
Use curly apostrophes in UI copy. Use bold for static UI names—not quotation marks.
Spelling
Default to US English: “color”, “organization”, “labeled”. Check uncommon terms in Merriam-Webster.