git:20260712.5cb67e5 to git:20260715.2c1b77f

---

name: ux-copy

description: "Microcopy guide: CTA labels, error messages, empty states, form placeholders — aligned with the tone from design-method and the sector from design-system.md. Can run at any point in the pipeline, not tied to a fixed phase."

when-to-use: "Writing or auditing any user-facing string — CTAs, errors, empty states, onboarding, form copy — for a web, webapp, iOS, or Android target."

keywords: copy, ux-writing, cta, microcopy, voice, tone

priority: high

related: design-method, design-system, design-web, design-webapp

---

## UX Copy — Voice, Tone, and Microcopy

### When

Whenever user-facing copy is being written or reviewed — typically after

`design-system.md` exists (it carries the sector and tone) and before or during

component generation in `design-web`/`design-webapp`. Not tied to a fixed pipeline

position: a copy-only request can invoke this skill directly.

### Input

- `design-system.md` identity block (sector, brand personality) if it exists.

- The tone committed to in `design-method` Step 1.

### Steps

1. **Detect sector** from `design-system.md`, or from the brief if no design system exists yet.

2. **Load voice profile** from `references/voice-tone-sectors.md` — match sector to the

NNG 4-dimension voice profile.

3. **Load sector copy examples**: `references/copy-fintech.md`, `references/copy-ecommerce.md`,

or `references/copy-saas.md`.

4. **Define microcopy patterns** using `references/microcopy-patterns.md` — CTAs, form

labels, validation messages, toasts. Sector-tested CTA phrasing:

`references/templates/cta-patterns.md`.

5. **Define empty-state copy** from `references/empty-states-copy.md` — first-time,

no-results, error-recovery formulas. Error copy formula:

`references/templates/error-messages.md`.

6. **Onboarding copy**, if relevant: `references/templates/onboarding-copy.md`.

7. **Generate `copy-guide.md`** using `references/templates/copy-guide-template.md`.

8. **Run the Copy Self-Audit** (below) — mandatory before any copy ships, not advice.

### Copy Self-Audit — Pre-Flight Gates

All four must pass; full catalogue in `references/copy-self-audit.md`:

2. **No AI "production tells."** Reject unless the brief explicitly demands it: hero

version labels (`v0.6`, `BETA`), numbered section eyebrows (`00 / INDEX`), scroll cues

(`↓ scroll`), `Quietly trusted by`, fabricated live counters.

3. **Fake-precise-number flag.** Every `92%`, `4.1×`, `48k` must trace to real data or be

labelled mock.

4. **Final string review.** Re-read each visible string; flag anything grammatically

broken, ambiguous, or AI-hallucination-sounding. One copy register per page.

### Output

- `copy-guide.md`: voice profile, tone per context, CTA patterns, error templates, empty-state copy.

- Copy Self-Audit passed.

### Next → back to `design-web`/`design-webapp` for component generation, or `design-review`.

### References

| File | Purpose |

|------|---------|

| `references/voice-tone-sectors.md` | NNG voice profiles per sector |

| `references/microcopy-patterns.md` | CTA, form, validation, toast patterns |

| `references/empty-states-copy.md` | Empty-state copy formulas |

| `references/copy-fintech.md` | Fintech-specific copy examples |

| `references/copy-ecommerce.md` | E-commerce copy examples |

| `references/copy-saas.md` | SaaS copy examples |

| `references/templates/copy-guide-template.md` | Copy guide template |

| `references/templates/cta-patterns.md` | CTA pattern templates |

| `references/templates/error-messages.md` | Error message templates |

| `references/templates/onboarding-copy.md` | Onboarding copy templates |