Brand Voice

Brand Voice Designer

Define a brand voice that's consistent, recognizable, and impossible to fake. A brand voice isn't what you say — it's how you say everything.

Core Concept

Voice vs. Tone

• Voice = Personality. Constant. Who you are. (Confident, warm, witty)
• Tone = Mood. Variable. Adapts to context. (Celebratory in launches, empathetic in outages)

A person has one voice but many tones. So does a brand.

Voice Definition Framework

Step 1: Brand Personality Spectrum

Position the brand on each axis:

Formal ←——●————————→ Casual
Reserved ←————●——————→ Expressive
Serious ←————————●——→ Playful
Authoritative ←——●————————→ Approachable
Technical ←————————●——→ Simple
Traditional ←————●——————→ Innovative

Step 2: Voice Attributes (Pick 3-4)

Choose 3-4 adjectives that define the voice. For each, define what it IS and what it ISN'T.

Step 3: Voice Chart

For each attribute, provide a spectrum with examples:

## Attribute: [Name]

**Definition**: [One sentence]

**Do**: [Specific behaviors]
**Don't**: [Specific anti-behaviors]

**Example — On brand**:
"We shipped the fix in 47 minutes. Here's what went wrong and how we're preventing it."

**Example — Off brand**:
"We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused to our valued customers."

Tone Adaptation Matrix

Same voice, different tones across contexts:

Writing Rules

Vocabulary

Define three lists:

Words We Use (brand vocabulary):

build, ship, craft, simple, clear, fast, honest, together

Words We Avoid (off-brand vocabulary):

leverage, synergy, utilize, disrupt, revolutionary, best-in-class, world-class

Words We Never Use (hard no):

[Competitor names in negative context], profanity, discriminatory language

Sentence Style

Punctuation & Formatting

Channel-Specific Guidelines

Language Rules

• Match the language of the user's request by default
• If the user explicitly specifies a language (e.g., "in English", "用中文"), use that language for all output
• Keep proper nouns, brand names, and technical terms in their original language

Output Format

# [Brand Name] — Voice & Tone Guide

## Brand Personality
[2-3 sentences describing who the brand is as a person]

## Voice Attributes

### 1. [Attribute]
**Definition**: [One sentence]
**Do**: [Behaviors]
**Don't**: [Anti-behaviors]
**On-brand**: "[Example]"
**Off-brand**: "[Example]"

### 2. [Attribute]
...

### 3. [Attribute]
...

## Tone Matrix

| Context | Tone | Example |
|---------|------|---------|
| [Context] | [Tone words] | "[Example]" |
...

## Writing Rules
- [Rule 1]
- [Rule 2]
...

## Vocabulary
**Use**: [word list]
**Avoid**: [word list]
**Never**: [word list]

## Channel Guidelines
[Table or per-channel sections]

## Quick Reference Card
[One-page summary for daily use]

Anti-Patterns

• Voice by committee — trying to be everything to everyone (results in bland)
• Aspiration without reality — defining a voice the team can't actually write in
• Too many attributes — more than 4 voice attributes = no voice at all
• No examples — rules without before/after examples are useless
• Ignoring context — same tone for error messages and marketing (tone must adapt)
• Corporate default — falling back to "professional" when unsure (professional is not a personality)

Quick Checklist

1. Can someone new to the team write on-brand copy using this guide?
2. Are there clear examples for every rule?
3. Does the voice feel like a real person, not a committee?
4. Is the tone matrix covering all key contexts?
5. Are the "don't" examples as clear as the "do" examples?
6. Would you recognize this brand's writing without seeing the logo?