UX Writing
Voice and Tone Development
Using research to create a unique persona that aligns with Sean's Legacy's brand values and objectives.
Challenge
The Sean's Legacy Mentorship Program is a free, online platform that pairs LGBTQIA+ young adults with mentors in the queer community. The product voice was not determined, making it difficult to bring personality or a sense of trust to the platform.
Solution
Understand user needs, goals, concerns, and the language they use in order to build an appropriate voice persona.
Outcome
More inclusive copy that resonated with both users and the client. My contribution played a key role in the future of Sean's Legacy's Mentorship platform by determining a unique voice that speaks directly to their audience.
My Role
Content Designer on a team of 3
Understanding user pain points
Users say the site is lacking personality. Research shows users want a platform built around:
The report included a list of adjectives provided by our client describing Sean's Legacy:
Sean's Legacy has their own guiding principles, which were also added:
If this platform was a person, who would they be?
To understand how to write for our users, I read through the research report and created a list of keywords and themes.
I also viewed data from user interviews, writing down common words. This helped me understand how our users use language and what their needs, goals, and concerns are. Findings were imported into FigJam and I began looking for patterns.
How do we create safety through language?
Safety and personal autonomy stood out as 2 important areas to focus on. Our platform's voice needs to communicate in a way that leaves users feeling secure and in control, but in an age where no one can guarantee a true safe space, how do we accomplish this? How do we create safety?
The answer is we can't. Safety is built and requires time and effort. What we can do is design experiences that promote safety and build trust through respect, consistency, transparency, inclusivity, and clarity.
Communicating choice and consent is imperative in creating a digital community where users feel safe to connect and grow.
Introducing: the Cool Guidance Counselor
With all of this in mind, I envisioned our voice persona to be the guidance counselor we all want(ed) to have. They don't use gendered language and they speak with authority without being authoritarian.
Ultimately, our persona is:
A trauma-informed approach to communication
With our persona in mind, existing language was audited, and one phrase in particular stood out as non-inclusive and potentially triggering: preferred name.
As a UX writer and compassionate human, I understand words have power. The LGBTQIA+ community experiences a high rate of ongoing traumas and using language that mitigates triggers is essential.
Preferred name implies a name is not real
The platform is for the LGBTQIA+ community, and names, pronouns, and individual agency are significant.
Trans and non-binary folks may have a different name than was given at birth. Asking for someone's preferred name may bring about unintended pain or come across as disrespectful.
In an effort to be inclusive, avoid deadnaming, and offer personal autonomy, I suggested using chosen name.
Chosen name was mentioned during usability testing as an inclusive phrase users appreciated
Our client had this to say:
"The focus on maintaining a respectful tone by avoiding assumptions and gendered language is crucial in creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for our mentees. The clear, consistent, inclusive, uplifting, and ethical voice you have established aligns perfectly with our brand values and objectives." - Steph Lambruschini, Lead Sean's Legacy Client
Setting the stage for future designs
Determining product voice and tone early on has already led to more cohesive designs. The project itself is still in its infancy yet already has a clear and distinct personality.
The style guide is a living document
There are still major decisions to be made regarding language. Toward the end of the project we began working on language for gender, orientation, race, and ethnicity. Usability testing showed users were confused with various options, and our team recommended a content audit of existing designs to determine any inconsistencies and standardize terminology. We also recommended testing various copy such as Female versus Woman, and Trans versus Transgender.