Voice and tone
Marshall Art Studio content is direct, specific, and free of filler. Every sentence earns its place. Tone adjusts by context — technical documentation uses precise language; public-facing copy stays conversational without being casual. When in doubt, favor clarity over cleverness.
Grammar and mechanics
Standard American English with a preference for plain language over formal register.
- Serial comma: Always. "Designers, developers, and stakeholders" — never omit the final comma.
- Capitalization: Sentence case for all headings, labels, subheadings, and navigation items. Capitalize proper nouns and product names only.
- Numbers: Spell out zero through nine. Use numerals for 10 and above, percentages, measurements, and version numbers.
- Dates: Month DD, YYYY format. "January 15, 2026" — not "1/15/26" or "15 January 2026."
- Ampersands: Spell out "and" in body copy. Ampersands are acceptable in tight UI labels where space is constrained.
Plain language
Favor shorter words and shorter sentences. Avoid nominalization — "use" not "utilize," "help" not "provide assistance to," "show" not "surface." Each sentence should do one job. If a sentence requires a second read to parse, rewrite it.
Active voice is the default. Passive constructions are acceptable when the subject is unknown or irrelevant.
Headings
Headings describe what follows — they don't tease or editorialize. A reader should be able to scan headings alone and understand the page structure.
- Sentence case: All headings use sentence case without exception. Capitalize the first word and proper nouns only. Title case is not used anywhere in the design system.
- H1: One per page. Matches the page title in the <title> tag.
- H2: Major sections. Used for navigation anchors.
- H3–H4: Subsections within H2 content. Never skip heading levels.
- Length: Keep headings under 60 characters where possible. No punctuation at the end.
UI copy
Labels, buttons, tooltips, and error messages follow stricter rules than article copy.
- Buttons and CTAs: Imperative verb phrases. "Browse components," "View style guide," "Save changes" — not "Click here" or "Submit."
- Navigation labels: Nouns or noun phrases. "About," "Blog," "Design System" — not "Learn more" or "Check out our work."
- Error messages: State what happened and what to do next. "Email address is required. Enter a valid email to continue." Avoid blaming the user.
- Tooltips: One sentence maximum. No period at the end.
Hyperinks
Link text describes the destination, not the action. "View the component library" — not "Click here" or "Read more." Avoid linking full sentences. Screen readers announce links individually; vague link text removes context for non-visual users.
External links open in a new tab and include a visible indicator. Internal links open in the same tab.
Metadata and SEO
Consistent metadata supports predictable social sharing and search indexing across all pages.
- Title tags: [Page name] - [Site or section name]. 50–60 characters.
- Meta descriptions: 140–160 characters. Describe what the page contains. Write for humans, not crawlers.
- OG and Twitter tags: Match the meta description unless a shorter version improves social readability.
- Alt text: Descriptive for informational images; empty (alt="") for decorative or redundant ones. Never use "image of" as a prefix.
Punctuation reference
| Pattern | Preferred | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| List separator | Serial comma | Omitting final comma |
| Heading end | No punctuation | Period or colon |
| Abbreviations | Spell out on first use | Undefined acronyms |
| Ellipsis | Sparingly, in UI only | In body copy |
| Em dash | No spaces—like this | Spaced – like this |
David Marshall