Canon UX Writing

CANON · UX Writing

Interface copy is design. A 4-word button label is a design decision. A confusing empty state breaks an otherwise polished product. The rules below produce copy that disappears into use.

Core Principles

1. Verbs over nouns. Buttons describe actions: "Create account", not "Account creation".
2. Specific over generic. "Send invoice" beats "Submit". "Email is required" beats "Invalid input".
3. Active voice over passive. "We sent your invoice" beats "Your invoice has been sent".
4. Plain words over jargon. "Sign in" beats "Authenticate". "Try again" beats "Retry operation".
5. User's language over yours. "Posts" not "Resources" if your users say "posts".
6. Sentence case over Title Case. Reads faster, feels modern. Use Title Case only for proper nouns and product names.

Button Labels

Rule: button label = verb + object when possible. "Save", "Save profile", "Save and continue".

Button Pairs (confirm/cancel)

Destructive actions always require explicit confirmation language. "Delete" alone, with the user already on a delete confirmation modal, is acceptable. "Delete project" is better.

Button Tone by Context

Error Messages

Three parts: what happened, why, how to fix.

What:  "We couldn't send your message."
Why:   "Your internet connection dropped."
Fix:   "Check your connection and try again."

Concatenated for short use: "We couldn't send your message. Check your connection and try again."

Error tone rules:

• Don't blame the user. "You entered an invalid email" → "Enter a valid email".
• Don't catastrophize. "Fatal error" → "Something went wrong".
• Don't be apologetic past necessity. "We're so sorry, this is terrible" → "Something went wrong".
• Be specific about the cause when you know it. "Invalid input" hides what's wrong.

Empty States

Every list, table, search, and dashboard has an empty state. Plan for it.

Empty state structure:
  1. Visual (illustration, icon, or just typography)
  2. Headline (4-8 words, what's empty)
  3. Description (1 sentence, why and what next)
  4. Primary action (button to fix or create)
  5. Optional secondary (learn more, alternative)

Empty State Examples

No projects yet (first-time):

[icon]
You don't have any projects yet
Projects help you organize work into separate spaces.
[+ Create your first project]
[Read the guide]

No search results:

No results for "octopus"
Try a different search, or check your spelling.
[Clear search]

No notifications:

You're all caught up.

(Sometimes one line is enough.)

Loading States

Use "…" (ellipsis character) or "...". Be consistent. Don't mix.

Confirmation and Success

Always offer Undo for destructive actions. A 5-second toast with Undo is more humane than a confirmation dialog before the action.

Tone and Voice

Voice (consistent across product)

Pick a position and stay there:

• Direct and minimal. Apple, Linear, Vercel. Few words, no exclamation marks, no emojis.
• Warm and human. Mailchimp, Slack, Notion. Conversational, occasionally playful, careful with humor.
• Helpful and educational. Stripe docs, GitHub. Patient, thorough, links to deeper context.
• Bold and confident. Notion-pre-2020, Superhuman. Strong opinions, brief.

Tone (varies with context)

Rule: tone bends to context, voice stays constant. Your error messages and your marketing copy should sound like the same product.

Microcopy Patterns

Form Hints

Permission Requests

Explain the benefit before the prompt. Most users deny generic permission requests; specific benefit increases acceptance.

Onboarding Copy

Onboarding rule: every step justifies itself. "We need this because…" or skip the step entirely.

Accessibility Considerations

• Don't say "click here" — screen reader users navigate by link text out of context.
• Don't use color or icon alone for status — pair with text.
• Use plain English at a 7th–9th grade reading level (Hemingway, Flesch-Kincaid).
• Don't use idioms or culturally-specific references in international products.

Numbers, Dates, Currency

Use Intl APIs for formatting: Intl.NumberFormat, Intl.DateTimeFormat. Never hardcode locale formats.

Anti-Patterns

Decision Tree

Writing a button label?
├─ Verb + object: "Save changes", "Send message", "Delete project"
├─ Sentence case
├─ Loading state: present continuous ("Saving…")
└─ Success state: past tense ("Saved")

Writing an error?
├─ What happened (in the user's terms)
├─ Why (if helpful)
├─ How to fix (most important)
├─ Tone: calm, not alarming
└─ Don't blame the user

Writing an empty state?
├─ Headline: 4-8 words, what's empty
├─ Description: 1 sentence why
├─ Primary action: how to fix or create
└─ Skip if "You're all caught up" suffices

Audit Checklist

1. List every button label. Replace "Submit", "OK", "Click here" with verbs.
2. List every error message. Each has what + how to fix? Tone calm?
3. List every empty state. Each has headline + description + action?
4. Check for "click here" anywhere. Replace with descriptive link text.
5. Check sentence case vs Title Case. Consistent?
6. Check loading copy. Present continuous? Indicates what's loading?
7. Check destructive actions. Have Undo or explicit confirmation?
8. Check tone consistency. Marketing copy and error copy sound like same product?
9. Check exclamation marks. Maximum one per page?
10. Check Intl formatting for dates, numbers, currency.

Citations

• Apple HIG Writing: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/writing
• Material Design 3 Writing: https://m3.material.io/foundations/content-design/style-guide/writing-principles
• GOV.UK Style Guide: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/style-guide
• Mailchimp Content Style Guide: https://styleguide.mailchimp.com
• Microsoft Writing Style Guide: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/welcome/
• Nielsen Norman Group, Microcopy: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/microcopy/
• Strunk and White, The Elements of Style
• Sarah Richards, Content Design