tone framework
PROJECT GOAL
Redesign our companywide tone framework.
WHAT I DID
Brought together a large cross-section of 80 writers from all areas of the company – product, brand, marketing, comms, social, sales, policy, investor relations, etc. — who write and speak as our brand.
Planned and executed a massive design sprint across three time zones on two continents. I was in London and created a waterfall agenda for designated sprint leads in New York and San Francisco - we handed off work from one location to the next, so every location had a meaningful role.
outcomes
We redesigned the tone framework, updated all of the tone guidance and included extensive examples from product, marketing and communications.
I also created a cross-functional team of writers who now meet quarterly to share and learn from each other.
more details
At Meta, we use frameworks for voice and tone. It’s a way for us to consistently communicate our values and show empathy in product experiences.
We’d been using the same tone framework for over 8 years. However, as we evolved as a company, we talked to people across more products and in more scenarios than we did when the original framework was created. What this meant is that the tone framework needed a redesign.
changes
While this framework was very useful and functional for many of our writers, some of our writers weren’t exactly sure how to use it. In addition, writers often didn’t see “daylight” between certain tone pairs (for example, it was hard to see the difference between encouraging/helpful and reassuring/supportive).
changes
The revised version includes visual guidance on how to use the framework.
In addition, we removed 3 tones (helpful, educational and reassuring) and added 1 (assertive).
