Copy

When writing for Qatium, there are 5 things you should always have in mind: be clear, be concise, be useful, be conversational and be inclusive.

General tips

Try to be as concise as possible, but remember that clarity prevails over brevity.
Avoid repetition and duplications. Make sure the information you provide is always useful.
Make sure actions are clear and have unequivocal results. Guide users to their end goal without sidetracking.
Use words, phrases and ideas that are familiar to the users. Avoid technical jargon and be conversational.
Pay attention to grammar and spelling.
Try to use language that’s gender-neutral and inclusive.
In the Figma components, we provide paddings, margins and distances for text. You can follow them to the T.

Style

Capitalization

Always use sentence case in UI copy (buttons, titles and body text of components, modals, etc.). In addition, uppercase the first letter of product features and functionalities, and some interface components, as they are proper nouns.

Do: Demand spike, Get started, Go back. Don’t: Demand Spike, Get Started, Go Back.

Grammar & punctuation

Follow the AP Stylebook + Merriem Webster dictionary, and the Libro de estilo de la lengua española (RAE).

Guiding a user through the UI

Make sure users can find their way around the platform easily.
For accessibility reasons, avoid directional language.
Some UI terms might be unknown to the average user. Be sure you use common words.

Content patterns for plugins

Plugin name in sentence case. Max characters: One line of content.

Description

Plugin instructions depending on the state.

Max characters: Two lines of content.

Default/Empty state: always try to drive the user to action. Be concise and be clear about the actions to take.

Title: describe the state. Motivation: why the user should start the action, what benefits are they going to get from that action, and how to do it. CTA: that solves the empty state.

For example: Title: Your network has no zones yet. Motivation: Define your DMAs to get insights about the pressures, boundary valves, and inlets & outlets.

CTA: Add zones to your network.

Active: when providing insights, make sure the information is useful and clear.
Disabled/Loading: always let the user know what’s happening. For example, when calculating an operation, the message could be Calculating, or Loading results.

Placeholders

Name the information the user needs to type.
Drive to action.
Add contextual help if needed (hints, examples, etc.).
Always explain errors.
Max characters: One line of content.

For example: Search for assets. Type the Asset ID. For example, V_56787. No asset found with that ID, try again.

CTA & buttons

Verb in infinitive form (for concrete actions). Verb in infinitive form + name/short sentence.

Use only from 1 to 3 words.
Copy should be simple and clear about the action.
Use sentence case. Don’t use punctuation.
Use generic words (confirm, add, upload, close, etc.).