Sonja Reichel | think moto

Tone of Voice—How a Brand Sounds and Speaks: A Successful Brand Personality Always Has a Distinctive Tone of Voice

Posted on 13 October 20239 January 2026 by Sonja Reichel

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Brands are successful if they are recognizable and provide outstanding user experiences at all touch points. Be it website, social media, point of sale, marketing or virtual assistant—only a clearly defined brand personality ensures a consistent and unique encounter between brand and user at all times. This always includes the tone of voice.

The tone of voice defines how we speak and write as a brand. Through the tone of voice, the brand’s personality becomes verbally tangible. So it’s not about what we say or who we talk to—but how.

Since the tone of voice is never separate from the brand, it is essential to first define the brand personality.

What would the brand be like as a person? One of the questions we ask in the discovery workshop

Uncover the Brand in the Discovery Workshop

If the brand was a person, how would it behave and be perceived by others? This is one of the crucial questions we regularly ask in our discovery workshops. Later, in the define phase, we reflect the insights gained this way by writing a prose text about the brand, assigning it the behavioral attributes contained therein.

In a next step, we group them into clusters and select the strongest attribute from each. From these key attributes, we derive the brand filters that we use to align look-and-feel, user guidance, and tone of voice. The twelve archetypes serve as further orientation because they have been linked to emotions and characteristics for generations. They are therefore useful when it comes to defining the role of a brand—in the market, towards competitors and, above all, towards customers.

Archetype Card Deck by think moto

The Linguistic Dimension

In the discovery workshop, we also have the participants define an initial framework for the tone of voice. Five dimensions serve as guiding principles for determining the respective degree of seriousness, formality, emotionality, approachability, and the level of deference to the brand or product. This framework provides an initial feel for the language style. When developing the brand strategy, we later check whether it is congruent with the brand filters and readjust if necessary.

Taking a Refined Approach

Let’s assume that a brand is primarily empowering, smart, and sophisticated as a person—how would these characteristics express themselves in writing and speaking? We specify this using the brand filters in the language principles.

For example, a sophisticated tone of voice means that we communicate eloquently, with our speech fluid and full of elegance. This way, we emphasize the premium character of the brand, but do so in such a nonchalant way that it never comes across as showy.

We then clarify how these language principles affect sentence structure and word choice in particular and illustrate this with the help of concrete examples. To do this, it is a good idea to run the customer’s existing texts through the defined language filters, rephrase them, and explain how and why something was changed.

Use the Right Tone to Add Persuasive Power to Your Corporate Identity

Linguistic principles and guidelines are an important addition to the CI portal of any brand. Along with the existing visual brand basics, they ensure that the brand acts and communicates according to its personality.

We all know about the power of words. When used cleverly and coherently, they sharpen the brand and make it both real and accessible.

Learn more about brand personalities and our branding approach in the standard work on digital brand management: “Branded Interactions. Living Brand Experiences for a New Era”.

Why Digital Products Need UX Writing More Than Ever

Posted on 10 July 202330 November 2024 by Sonja Reichel

We all know those attractive people who immediately capture our attention. They appear almost too perfect — until they begin to speak. Suddenly, they become dull and uninspiring, making us wish we’d never started the conversation. Or perhaps, they’re excellent conversationalists, but something about them is disconcerting, leaving us feeling uneasy and eager to escape.

Imagine digital products as good-looking people. While it’s the looks that make us engage with them in the first place, in the long run it’s about how these products interact with us.

If they are uninspiring and complicated to use, we will turn them down forever. However, if they are simple and helpful, we will stick around. And if they empower and delight us? Well, that’s when we’re truly hooked.

UX Writing and Unique User Experiences are Inseparable Twins

But how do you get your users hooked? Actually, you need to create the perfect interplay of stunning visual design, smooth navigation, and compelling UX writing. UX writing is all about helping users complete a task and providing copy that meets their needs.

That’s why a UX writer must also be a design thinker and an integral part of the product team, iterating and testing the product.

Think of design and copy as interwoven elements that are mutually dependent. Ideally, the text will emphasize what is shown, making the visuals and navigation even more powerful.

However, if the words don’t mesh seamlessly, that could be an indication that you need to revise the design first.

Understanding Comes Before Writing

That said, UX writing is more than polished words that sound good. UX writing is more than verbal bling, bling. Instead, UX writers need to put themselves in their users’ shoes. Before they write, they need to understand what’s on their users’ minds. What they want to accomplish. What might be holding them back. It’s all about empathy.

A good UX writer anticipates users’ needs and takes away their fears. A good UX writer is their loyal, verbal companion whose presence is useful and fun.

A good UX writer prevents stumbling, hesitating, or guessing. Instead, they show what to expect by being clear. They provide just the right information at the right time. It’s both simple, difficult, and — beautiful.

UX Writing is Addictive

When done right, UX writing is a multi-sided addiction. Between UX writers and their users. Between users and the product. Between UX writers and language. Yes, UX writing is indeed highly addictive. Because you want to make users happy. You want to come up with the best possible way to explain something. You want to share your passion for language. No matter if it’s a button, an entry screen, or a logout page. Because just as much as you care for your users you care for words, and you know how powerful they are.

You know how the wrong words can ruin it all, whereas the right words can do magic.

For More Wow in Your Products

While it’s true that UX writing principles can help other team members write decent UX copy over time, why would you entrust writing to someone who isn’t used to it or isn’t passionate about it? You wouldn’t turn to a UX writer for nifty visualizations, would you?

There’s a reason UX writers chose their profession. Because they take the utmost care with words. Because they’re well-versed in the nuances of language. After all, words have been their dearest friends for as long as they can think. And that will pay off. Because their words will flow in the user experience as smooth as silk or as edgy as a pouting teenager if required.

Users feel when everything is exactly where it should be and makes them think Wow and Oh and Love it! Aren’t we all looking for more wow in our lives? In an app? On a website? So let’s start listening. And get the right words out there.

Tone of Voice—How a Brand Sounds and Speaks

Posted on 14 December 202123 December 2024 by Sonja Reichel

Brands are successful if they are recognizable and provide outstanding user experiences at all touch points. Be it website, social media, point of sale, marketing or virtual assistant — only a clearly defined brand personality ensures a consistent and unique encounter between brand and user at all times. This always includes the tone of voice. Since the tone of voice is never separate from the brand, it is essential to first define the brand personality.

The tone of voice defines how we speak and write as a brand. Through the tone of voice, the brand’s personality becomes verbally tangible. So it’s not about what we say or who we talk to — but how.

Uncover the Brand in the Discovery Workshop

In a next step, we group them into clusters and select the strongest attribute from each. From these key attributes, we derive the brand filters that we use to align look-and-feel, user guidance, and tone of voice. The twelve archetypes serve as further orientation because they have been linked to emotions and characteristics for generations. They are therefore useful when it comes to defining the role of a brand — in the market, towards competitors and, above all, towards customers.

Three of twelve archetypes that define the role of a brand

The Linguistic Dimension

In the discovery workshop, we also have the participants define an initial framework for the tone of voice. Five dimensions serve as guiding principles for determining the respective degree of seriousness, formality, emotionality, approachability, and the level of deference to the brand or product. This framework provides an initial feel for the language style. When developing the brand strategy, we later check whether it is congruent with the brand filters and readjust if necessary.

Taking a Refined Approach

Let’s assume that a brand is primarily empowering, smart, and sophisticated as a person — how would these characteristics express themselves in writing and speaking? We specify this in the language principles by using the brand filters.

For example, a sophisticated tone of voice means that we communicate eloquently, with our speech fluid and full of elegance. This way, we emphasize the premium character of the brand, but do so in such a nonchalant way that it never comes across as showy.

Use the Right Tone to Add Persuasive Power to Your Corporate Identity

We all know about the power of words. When used cleverly and coherently, they sharpen the brand and make it both real and accessible.

Learn more about brand personalities and our branding approach in the standard work on digital brand management “Branded Interactions. Living Brand Experiences for a New Era.”