Grammar Style - UI Design

Grammar style takes care of the way texts, titles, and any text inputs or fields are composed, aligned, and arranged in the design. Design writing is different from one project to another; however, some grammar rules need to be complied with.

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• Stay away from sentence fragments – Complete sentences are used to create a good user experience and give the user the whole context. Sentence fragments are usually hard to read and create confusion among users.
• Use short paragraphs – Paragraphs should be 3-5 sentences long in order for the message to be delivered fast. Short paragraphs draw attention and help the user better understand the message.
• Keep sentences short – Try to keep sentences under 25 words as they are easier to read and comprehend by the user. 
• Avoid using acronyms, jargon, and abbreviations that cause confusion among your audience. 
• Use plain language that can be understood by anyone. 
• Be precise. Don’t combine topics that are not related in order to keep your user engaged.
• Include only content that is relevant to your users.

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• What is = What's
• We will = We'll
• You will = You'll
• You are = You're
• You have = You've
• We are = We're
• They are = They're
• Does not = Doesn’t
• Did not = Didn't
• Is not = Isn't
• Are not  = Aren't
• Can not = Can't

Avoid using contractions when dealing with legal matters and stay away from uncommon and colloquial contractions such as ain’t or would’ve. 

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Sentence Case – sentence case can be used in all steps of design, including titles. Sentence cases are easier to comprehend and read by the users. Sentence cases require the capitalization of the first word at the beginning of the phrase, title, or proper names and branded terms. Acronyms also require capitalization.

Title Case – Title case is required only when speaking about an official entity.

All Capital Letters – When writing acronyms and names of extensions such as ZIP, PNG, or TIF.

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Punctuation is a part of the language. Punctuations are used to help users read and understand the sentences more easily and usually using punctuation marks instead of words is not recommended (“@” instead of “at”).

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Avoid emojis as much as possible. Stay away from adding emojis in any interface as their use might be not suitable in all contexts. Emojis draw attention toward them and further away from the text.

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