COPY

Stuff we've learned about words in digital

Pre-release version 1
Produced by
 INTRO

PROCESS

WORDS

PUNCTUATION

INTERACTION

Copy | Pre-release Contents

 INTRO
Words are just as much a part of a good user experience as effortless
interactions and beautiful visuals. In fact, since they’re the primary form of
communication between a product and a user, they’re the most important
thing to get right.

Good, clear and considered language makes a product better for people
with good comprehension, but also for non-native speakers or those who
have learning difficulties. Just like with interaction and visual design, the
copy you use is a way to express brand values and what you and your
product stand for.

At ustwo, we’ve spent years mastering the art of pixels and products, but
we’ve not said much about the world of words. This guide covers some of
what we’ve learned so far.

Copy | Pre-release Intro

 PROCESS
Copy is integral to design, and should be given the same consideration
as elements like iconography and colour theory. Here, we lay out how to
approach copy and make it a central part of the design process.
 Screen title Screen title

Subheading
Subheading
Welcome to the ustwo Copy
Welcome to the ustwo Copy
guide. This is just some random
guide. This is just some random
text to fill in the space. We’d
text to fill in the space. We’d
normally use Lorem Ipsum, but
normally use Lorem Ipsum, but
that doesn’t give a very good
that doesn’t give a very good
impression of what realistic text
impression of what realistic text
will look like, so where possible
will look like, so where possible
fill it with something resembling
fill it with something resembling
the final copy.
the final copy.

A link to something
A link to something

COPY FIRST Before you start design work on your interface,
think about the text that will appear on it. This
will give you a deeper understanding of the
brief, and help you map out how much text will
appear in the UI. You’ll be able to shape the
design accordingly, checking tone of voice
and the clarity of the information you want to
present. If the text is to appear in multiple
languages, consider how those will fit into the
design, along with any regional preferences
for the formats of dates, times, currencies,
addresses etc.

Copy | Pre-release 2
MAKE TIME FOR Don’t work on copy as an afterthought – put
time aside within your project to work on it.
WRITING Make sure you select specific points within the
project to work on it (see Iterate).

Copy | Pre-release 3
 Write

Learn Test

ITERATE Copy should be treated as part of the overall cycles of improvement during the course of
design of a product – just like the visual style the project, just as you would with the rest of
and interactions – and iterated on in the same the product.
way. Listen to what users say when testing,
then improve and refine where necessary.
Start with low-fidelity text, then run through

Copy | Pre-release 4
 If you were trying to
do x, how would you
do it?

Well, first of all I

Type to enter
would
text search for y,
then look for z …

TESTING As with design, you should also test your copy. revisiting what you’ve written and rephrasing it
Do users understand what’s being asked? Are in their language.
they able to follow instructions easily? Listen
to how they refer to things that are relevant to
your product, do you use the same words and
phrases or are they different? If not, it’s worth

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 We use… Not…

Back Previous, last

Continue Proceed, next, forward
OK Accept
Screen Page
ustwo Ustwo, UsTwo, USTWO
2pm 2PM, 2 pm, 2p.m.
10,000 10000
KB, MB, GB kb, mB, Gb

STYLE GUIDES At the start of the project, set up a simple across your product. Check out Mailchimp’s
style guide, which notes commonly used style guide or The Guardian’s for good
words, phrases, grammar rules etc. That way examples of what these can look like.
every designer on the project will know the
correct terms to use on buttons, keep to tone
of voice guidelines and maintain consistency

Copy | Pre-release 6
 Screen ID Name Text

1.0 Screen title Welcome

Hi there, thanks for downloading our app. We just need to get a

1.0 Description text few details from you to finish your sign-up, then you’re good to
go.

1.0 Button Let’s go!

1.1 Screen title Account details

We’ll need your email address so we can set you up with an

1.1 Description text
account. Then a password so you can have a bit of privacy.

1.1 Input field title Email address

1.1 Input field title Password

1.1 Button Done, I want to use the app

COPY DECK It’s also useful to have a tool that can keep
track of all the copy which appears in an app.
Having a central spreadsheet not only gives
developers a central “single source of truth”
but also ensures that, at a glance, you can see
if the tone of voice is consistent. With it, you to
easily search for precedents and avoid
reinventing the wheel. It's also a great
handover tool, and allows third parties and
product owners to get a good understanding
of how the app is communicating with users.

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 Settings
 Einstellungen

German
This app costs an arm Cette appli coûte les
and a leg.
 yeux de la tête.


 French – “This app

 costs the eyes in your
head.”
Can you change the Can you change the
colour by 28/12/15?
 color by 12/28/15?


 American English

TRANSLATION AND Design, code and copy all require localisation.
Different languages have varying word lengths
TRANSCREATION and alphabets, and therefore require flexibility
in layout and assets, as well as a careful
balance between using iconography or text to
describe functionality and guide the user.
Formatting of dates, times and currency can
also vary between regions, even those using
the same language. Localisation is more than
just translation, it’s transcreation – moving the
sentiment and intentions across languages.

Copy | Pre-release 8
 WORDS
Tone, accuracy and consistency of language are foundational to both the
function of the product and the experience of the user. Choose your
words wisely.
 You are using Hi, welcome to
friendly.app friendly.app
Would you like to Do you want to
proceed? keep going?

NAUGHTY NICE

TONE OF VOICE Reflect the personality of your brand in the
language you use. If you want to come across
as friendly, then try to avoid language that is
too formal. Similarly, if you want to come
across as professional, steer clear of a jokey,
conversational tone. Moodnotes, for example,
uses an authoritative but conversational tone.
We vary things, as appropriate, for delivering
CBT-based suggestions or a simple, friendly
reminder.

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 Disrupting the
Changing the way
paradigm of our
we work
daily endeavours

NAUGHTY NICE

DON’T BE TOO Keep language simple and understandable.

Speak like you would to a human being and
FORMAL use everyday speech. Use contractions such
as ‘don’t’ and ‘can’t’, rather than ‘do not’ and
‘cannot’. Refer to the subject as ‘it’ and ‘they’ if
they’ve already been established in the text.

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 Screen in Title Case Screen in Title Case

The header appears in The Header in Title Case

sentence case though
At first you refer to the date as
At first you refer to the date as the 3rd March 2017.
the 3rd March 2017.
If it appears somewhere else on
Then it appears in another the screen then it should be in
format elsewhere on the screen. the same format.

Date: 3/3/17 Date: 3rd March 2017

A button A Button

NAUGHTY NICE

CONSISTENCY Take care to keep all the details consistent, as but when they aren't, it may be up to you to
it will help people navigate through the app if set a rule and implement throughout.
they know what to expect. What these are will
depend on what you’re creating, but make
sure you’re considering capitalisation, terms
and dates. Often these are set up by a client,

Copy | Pre-release 12
 If you would like
to proceed, then Continue by
tap the button at tapping the
the bottom of the button below.
screen.

NAUGHTY NICE

LESS IS MORE Keep things simple and to the point. Remove

any information that is already implied within
the context. Try out different ways of saying
the same thing – which is the shortest? Don’t
cut at the expense of clarity, though.

Copy | Pre-release 13
 Try to make sure Try to make sure
you spel words you spell words
correcly, it’s correctly, it’s
annoying when annoying when
there wrong. they’re wrong.

NUAGHTY NICE

SPELLING Pay special attention to spelling. Mistakes look
amateurish. Look out for any red underlining if
your software supports spell-checking.
Remember to consider any national
conventions and formatting too – US English
and UK English have different spellings, and
also different formats for times and dates.
Double-check your documents for common
misspellings that spell-checkers might not
pick up, such as its/it’s and there/their/they’re
– run a quick search for these.

Copy | Pre-release 14
 There car was Their car was
really fast, I’d like really fast, I’d like
won two. one too.

NAUGHTY NICE

SPELLING It’s especially easy to misspell a word if it has stationery, complementary/complimentary

a homophone. These are words that sound the
HOMOPHONES same as another, but that mean something
different and may be spelled in another way.
Be extra careful with wear/where, two/too,
forward/foreword, beach/beech, stationary/
and so on. There are loads! A spell checker
probably won’t find these, so be sure to
double-check them as they come up.

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 My documents Your documents
My music Your music

NAUGHTY NICE

MINE VS. YOURS Since we expect products and phones to have

a tone of voice, we’re kind of saying that they
are separate entities to us. In which case, they
should refer to ‘your’ documents, rather than
‘my’ documents.

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 CD’s CDs
DVD’s DVDs
OS’s OSs

How-tos How-to’s

NAUGHTY NICE

APOSTROPHES FOR Don’t use apostrophes when pluralising

abbreviations and acronyms e.g. CDs, OSs.
PLURALS But you can on words like How-to’s if it makes
it clearer – but this also must be done
consistently.

Copy | Pre-release 17
 Hids Hideous
We’ve added a new AI- New feature: find your
based search, leading content more quickly.
to a 10× speed
increase in locating
your content.

NAUGHTY NICE

JARGON AND Try to avoid technical terms and jargon

wherever possible – use plain English instead.
TECHNICAL This makes it easier for people reading to
LANGUAGE understand the point you’re trying to make, as
specialist language is often inaccessible.

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 I like Pixel Perfect
I like PPP.
Precision (PPP).
Interfaces look
Interfaces look
better when
better when
they’ve followed
they’ve followed
PPP.
PPP.

NAUGHTY NICE

ACRONYMS If you’re using acronyms include their

expansion on first use. Sometimes – if they are
overly complicated or not used very regularly
for example – it can be better to avoid them
altogether. Remembering what they stand for
can prove difficult for some users.

Copy | Pre-release 19

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error
sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque
laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa
quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi
architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo.
Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum
quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit,
sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora
incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam
quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima
veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam
corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex
ea commodi consequatur?
What this text is all about
Section 1
Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error
sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque
laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa
quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi
architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo.
Section 2
Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum
quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit,
sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora
incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam
quaerat voluptatem.

NAUGHTY NICE

WHITESPACE Use whitespace to make text easier to scan.
Avoid large blocks of unbroken text. Use
plenty of titles and subtitles to split and order
the text. Remove unnecessary sentences or
words to reduce the amount of content there
is to display. Take a look at the BBC website
for their heavy use of whitespace in articles –
they tend to use only 1–2 sentences before
introducing a break to make it easy to read on
screen.

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 1. Do this
First you need to do
this, then you need to 2. Then do this
do this, afterwards do 3. Afterwards do this
this, next do this, and 4. Next do this
finally do this.
5. Finally do this

NAUGHTY NICE

WHITESPACE One way to increase the amount of whitespace to use a full stop at the end of an item if the
in a block of text is to use lists rather than long text is a complete sentence.
LISTS sentences. Use bullets for unordered lists,
numbered lists for steps that need to be
carried out in a particular order. You only need

Copy | Pre-release 21
 Their product Our product
Our product is bigger
than their one. It’s also Small Bigger
much faster, and the
Slow Faster
build quality is a lot
better too. Rubbish Better

NAUGHTY NICE

WHITESPACE You can also use tables for comparisons of

two similar subjects.
TABLES

Copy | Pre-release 22
 Four hundred and £429,683
twenty nine thousand,
six hundred and eighty
three pounds.
I can think of 1,000 I can think of a
ways to make this text thousand ways to
better. make this text better.

NAUGHTY NICE

NUMBERS Spell out numbers between one to ten. For

larger numbers convention is varied. Our
practice is to use numerals for important
numbers, so they’re quicker and easier to
identify for users. If it’s a feature of some
conversational text they can be spelled out.

Copy | Pre-release 23
 Pastrami beef ribs alcatra filet mignon
Pastrami beef ribs alcatra filet mignon
tongue, prosciutto turkey shoulder venison
tongue, prosciutto turkey shoulder venison
ham hock rump short ribs. Cow shankle short 

ham hock rump short ribs. Cow shankle short
ribs, sausage bacon t-bonekevin 

ribs, sausage bacon t-bone kevin biltong
biltong boudin cupim frankfurter balltip.
boudin cupim frankfurter ball tip. Chicken tail
Chicken tail strip steak kielbasa, ribs boudin
strip steak kielbasa, ribs boudin beef doner
beef doner meatloaf spare ribs flank tongue
meatloaf spare ribs flank tongue pork chop.
pork chop.

NAUGHTY NICE

RAGS, WIDOWS, ‘Rags’ are the uneven vertical margin that
appears on blocks of text. This is commonly on
AND ORPHANS the right, as most text is aligned to the left
RAGS edge, but can also appear on the left if the
text is flush right. Keep an eye on them – with
automatic line breaks that software puts in
they can sometimes form large white spaces,
which are distracting. You may need to edit
the copy, or add in manual line breaks, to give
the text a better rag.

Copy | Pre-release 24
 Pastrami beef ribs alcatra filet mignon
Pastrami beef ribs alcatra filet mignon
tongue, prosciutto turkey shoulder venison
tongue, prosciutto turkey shoulder venison
ham hock rump short ribs. Cow shankle short
ham hock rump short ribs. Cow shankle short
ribs, sausage bacon t-bone kevin biltong
ribs, sausage bacon t-bone kevin biltong
boudin cupim frankfurter ball tip. Chicken tail
boudin cupim frankfurter ball tip. Chicken tail
strip steak kielbasa, ribs boudin beef doner
strip steak kielbasa, ribs boudin beef doner
meatloaf spare ribs flank tongue pork chop
meatloaf spare ribs flank tongue pork chop.
pastrami.

NAUGHTY NICE

RAGS, WIDOWS, Widows are single words, or sometimes very and decreases readability. As with rags, make
short lines, left at the bottom of paragraphs. some edits to get rid of them.
AND ORPHANS They’re considered bad form as they leave
WIDOWS large blocks of white space between
paragraphs, which interrupts the reader’s eyes

Copy | Pre-release 25
 Pastrami beef ribs beef. Pastrami beef ribs Ribeye shank turkey
alcatra filet mignon alcatra filet mignon andouille. Pork belly
tongue, prosciutto Ribeye shank turkey tongue, prosciutto leberkas meatloaf pig
turkey shoulder andouille. Pork belly turkey shoulder cupim ball tip. Short
venison ham hock leberkas meatloaf pig venison ham hock loin tri-tip hamburger
rump short ribs. Cow cupim ball tip. Short rump short ribs. Cow turkey filet mignon
shankle short ribs, loin tri-tip hamburger shankle short ribs, shankle, pastrami
sausage bacon t- turkey filet mignon sausage bacon t- strip steak brisket
bone kevin biltong shankle, pastrami bone kevin biltong alcatra prosciutto
boudin cupim strip steak brisket boudin cupim capicola shank
frankfurter ball tip. alcatra prosciutto frankfurter ball tip. chuck. Pancetta
Chicken tail strip capicola shank Chicken tail strip doner ham hock.
steak kielbasa, ribs chuck. Pancetta steak kielbasa, ribs
boudin beef doner
 doner ham hock. boudin doner beef.

NAUGHTY NICE

RAGS, WIDOWS, Like widows, orphans are single words or small before, play around with the text a bit to get a
lines, but this time they appear at the start of a better distribution of the words.
AND ORPHANS column or page. Again, this creates large
ORPHANS areas of white space and messes with the
alignment at the top of the columns. As

Copy | Pre-release 26
PUNCTUATION
Although grammar mistakes can be the cause of much hilarity, they don’t
help the user’s navigation and undermine the authority of your product.
And remember: house rules are OK, but consistency is king.
 "'
"So I said to him 'start
“‘
“So I said to him ‘start
using the correct using the correct
punctuation, bro' while punctuation, bro’ while
proofreading his proofreading his
work." work.”
I want Tony's cake. I want Tony’s cake.

NAUGHTY NICE

QUOTES AND A lot of software automatically includes the
correct curvy or sloped smart quotes (also
APOSTROPHES known as curly) rather than the default
SINGLE QUOTES AND straight dumb ones. Single quotes should be
APOSTROPHES used for quotations within quotations. Straight
quotes are from the days of typewriters, with
their mechanical and space constraints, where
the use of a symmetrical character freed up a
couple of keys to use for other marks. Curly
quotes should always be used as they match
the other characters in a font better, and
they’re more legible.

Copy | Pre-release 28
 ″So I said to him ′start “So I said to him ‘start
using the correct using the correct
punctuation, bro′ punctuation, bro’
while proofreading his while proofreading his
work.″ work.”
I’m 6’2” tall. I’m 6′2″ tall.

NAUGHTY NICE

QUOTES AND Also be sure to avoid the prime marks, which

are used to represent feet and inches or
APOSTROPHES minutes and seconds. They’re similar to dumb
PRIME MARKS quotes, but are sloped in one direction only.

Copy | Pre-release 29
 Here’s the first part of
a sentence - and I’m such a part-timer
here’s the second at this copy thing.
part.

NAUGHTY NICE

DASHES This is the default character when you press of type break within a word) or to join separate
the dash key on your keyboard. It’s often words into single words.
HYPHEN incorrectly used, being confused with an em or
en dash (see following pages). They’re used to
break single words into parts (like when lines

Copy | Pre-release 30
 I’ve worked at ustwo
from 2004–2015
I have an on–off
relationship with cake.
Here’s the first part of
a sentence – and
here’s the second
part.

DASHES Used in dates to replace ‘to’ or ‘and’. It can
also be used to illustrate the relationship
EN DASH between two different words or can be used
as a break in sentences, but remember to
include a space either side of it. This is the
preferred method here at ustwo, as opposed
to using the em dash (see next page). ‘En’
refers to the width of the character being the
same as a capital N.
Press Alt + - (Mac) or Alt + 0 1 5 0 (Windows)
to get this character.

Copy | Pre-release 31
 Here’s the first part of
a sentence—and
here’s the second
part.

DASHES An alternative method for breaking up a Press Alt + Shift + - (Mac) or Alt + 0 1 5 1
sentence is the em dash. Many word (Windows) to get this character.
EM DASH processing platforms, such as Medium, will
produce an em dash when you type two
hyphens. ‘Em’ refers to the width of the
character being the same as a capital M.

Copy | Pre-release 32
 4-2=2 4−2=2

NAUGHTY NICE

DASHES There’s also a dedicated character for the

minus symbol.
MINUS
Use Character Viewer (Mac) or Character Map
(Windows) to get this character.

Copy | Pre-release 33
 2×
x2=4 2×2=4

NAUGHTY NICE

MULTIPLY Speaking of maths symbols, there’s a proper

multiplication character available too, which
can be used instead of the letter x.

Use Character Viewer (Mac) or Character Map

(Windows) to get this character.

Copy | Pre-release 34
 Choose left / right. Choose left/right.
We could do it this We could do it this
way/or we could do it way / or we could do it
this way. this way.

NAUGHTY NICE

SLASHES A slash, or a solidus, is the punctuation mark

in the middle of this – either/or. It’s used in
place of an “or” and should be used without
spaces unless it’s separating long phrases.

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 I can’t think of I can’t think of
anything to write...I anything to write… I
really can’t. really can’t.

NAUGHTY NICE

ELLIPSES Ellipses consist of three evenly spaced dots
(full stops or periods) with spaces between the
ellipsis and surrounding letters or other marks.
When quoting something, it shows the reader
that you’ve left out a word, sentence, or whole
section from a text without altering its original
meaning. You can also use it to show a trailing
off of a thought, or – like in the example – a
meaningful pause in someone’s speech. Note:
there is a specific character for this, not just
three full stops typed after each other. Press
Option + ; (Mac).

Copy | Pre-release 36
 I need to write better I need to write better
sentences & words and
paragraphs. paragraphs.
Ben and Jerry’s Ben & Jerry’s

NAUGHTY NICE

AMPERSAND Ampersands are mostly used to link two

names together, for example in a company
name. Don’t use it to replace ‘and’ in regular
sentences.

Copy | Pre-release 37
INTERACTION
When a user interacts with a digital product, in almost every case, copy is
involved. In this section we set out how text can improve the fluidity of
their engagement.
 Find interesting
content by using our To search for content,
new AI-based search click the button.
feature.

NAUGHTY NICE

USER OBJECTIVES Focus on what the user is trying to do, not on

features. Think about what a user is trying to
OVER PRODUCT achieve, not what features they’d use to do so.
FEATURES Write from their perspective, think about what
they’re trying to do. Include feature names
only when referring to a UI object.

Copy | Pre-release 39
 Here’s an introductory paragraph
that doesn’t contain any real
If you press the button all your data
information about what you’re
will be deleted.
about to do.
We can then put all the other
It’s followed by another paragraph
information underneath, as the
with more information. The
most important point has been
important thing to realise is that
placed at the top.
pressing the button will delete all
your data.

NAUGHTY NICE

IMPORTANT People tend to scan text rather than read it

fully, so make sure the important information
INFORMATION FIRST they need is right at the top. That way they can
quickly see if it’s what they’re looking for, and
read on further if they like.

Copy | Pre-release 40
 Tap Schedule to set To set times for
times for automatic automatic backups,
backups. tap Schedule.

NAUGHTY NICE

OBJECTIVES BEFORE When explaining how to accomplish a task

make sure you phrase it so that the objective
ACTIONS or goal comes before the steps needed to
accomplish it.

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 We’d like to use your
This app requires your current location, so we
current location. can provide you with
better suggestions.

NAUGHTY NICE

INFORM USERS OF If you’re requesting sensitive information from

the user, let them know why you need it.
WHAT’S GOING ON

Copy | Pre-release 42
 Wi-fi Toggle Switch your wi-fi on

NAUGHTY NICE

TRY NOT TO REFER Instead of referring to dropdowns, radio

buttons and pop-ups in your text, choose the
TO UI CONTROLS name of the option or use less technical
wording. This avoids referring to terms that
might be unfamiliar to users.

Copy | Pre-release 43
 User ID and Create your user
password setup ID and password

NAUGHTY NICE

OPEN WITH A VERB Readers respond well to verb phrases that product developers because they are useful
describe their tasks. This is especially useful in shorthand for features. It’s probably not how
TO IMMEDIATELY lists of options or when describing features or customers think of things, though.
PROMPT USER functionality. Verb phrases naturally put the
ACTION most important words first. You probably use
noun phrases in conversations with other

Copy | Pre-release 44
 I am a hyperlink. I am a hyperlink.
I am not a hyperlink. I am not a hyperlink.
How can you tell the Now you can tell the
difference? difference.

NAUGHTY NICE

ONLY UNDERLINE Use underlines only on hyperlinks, as users

associate that with links. Don’t use them for
HYPERLINKS emphasis – users will expect them to be
interactive and take them somewhere.

Copy | Pre-release 45
 Information View information

NAUGHTY NICE

BUTTON LABELS Use verbs on buttons as they are there to
perform actions. Make it clear what the button
does – users shouldn’t need to read any other
text to understand what they do. Negative
actions can be shorter, as the positive action
makes their context clear.
Also, does it pass the WYSIWYG test? The
button text should make sense in both these
contexts, “Would you like to [button text]?”
and “I would like to [button text]”?

Copy | Pre-release 46
 Switch off wi-fi Terms and conditions

Would you like to turn off your Lots of boring legal stuff that
wi-fi? goes on and on…

Decline Accept Decline Accept

NAUGHTY NICE

BUTTON LABELS Only use Accept and Decline on button labels

when a user is agreeing to a legal statement.
ACCEPT/DECLINE

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 No wi-fi signal No wi-fi signal

Press OK to try to connect to a Make sure that you are

hotspot. connected to a wi-fi hotspot.

OK OK

Application crashed Application crashed

That was a bit unexpected, oh That was a bit unexpected, oh

dear! dear!

OK Close

NAUGHTY NICE

BUTTON LABELS Use OK and Close on information screens.

Better to use Close if the message is negative,
to avoid making users don’t feel like they’re
being blamed for something they did.

Copy | Pre-release 48
 Hey you, let’s begin
Get started
shall we?

NAUGHTY NICE

BE DIRECT WITH There’s a time and place for injecting language you choose, it should reflect the
personality into a UI, but try and avoid it in tone of voice and personality of your brand.
ACTIONS situations where users just want to get
something done. This doesn’t however mean
you can’t have a friendly tone, rather than just
Yes and No statements on buttons. Whatever

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 Menu Help

Home A help title

Contacts
Here’s some help content that
Favourites will tell the user how to do
something.
Settings

Help

About

Log out

BUTTON LABELS If you’ve got a button leading to another

screen, then the title of that following screen
SHOULD MATCH THE should match the button.
TITLE OF SCREEN
THEY LEAD TO

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 Password incorrect
Authentication failed
Please try again, or press “I’ve
Server validation could not be forgotten my password” to reset
completed. your password.

Cancel OK I’ve forgotten

Try again
my password

NAUGHTY NICE

ERRORS Make it clear that an error has occurred, and solve it. Buttons should provide the user with a
that the user needs to do something. If way to solve the problem.
MAKE THEM CLEAR something happens, make it clear what has
happened (in language the user can
understand), and what they need to do to

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 Password not secure enough
Password error! The password you entered didn’t
Password entered was in an follow our rules. Please make
incorrect format. sure it includes at least one
number as well as letters.
Cancel Re-enter
Cancel Try again

NAUGHTY NICE

ERRORS Inform users of errors in a friendly way. Don’t

make them feel bad for making a mistake. Also
DELIVERING THE avoid exclamation marks – this can make the
MESSAGE error look more significant than it really is.

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