In a crowded marketplace, Origins needed to double down on their unique selling propositions, their brand story, but most importantly make sure the communication channels consistently gave consumers the Origins experience.

To help Origins solve this problem my work included:

• Developed a new tone spectrum

• Created and ran brainstorming sessions workshop

• Used research and data to test new tone performance

• Synthesized common patterns and themes

Current State

Origins' use of tone across the brand ecosystem lacked consistency and failed to effectively communicate the core benefits of its products. As a brand, Origins’ owed their customers a better, more cohesive experience. To address this, we needed to shape a brand voice that aligns with our values and resonates with our audience. Our new tone of voice needed to reflect authenticity, transparency, and a deep understanding of our customers' needs.

Brand Narrative

Crafting a consistent and compelling narrative would effectively highlight the unique benefits of the products, fostering a deeper connection with the audience. This cohesive experience will not only strengthen our brand identity but also build trust and loyalty among our customers.

I wanted to make sure that there was official documentation on this matter, so I reached out to the Brand and Marketing teams to gather information. They shared with me the specific tones that Origin should embody: wholesome, positive, original, and welcoming. However, I found myself pondering over how we could effectively convey these tones in our user communication. This led me to delve into research, during which I discovered inconsistencies in tone guidelines, leading to a disjointed experience for Origins users.

Process Audit

I observed that various content teams had different writing styles that catered to diverse communication needs. The in-product writing stood out for its simplicity and conciseness, ensuring seamless user experience. On the other hand, blog articles and marketing pages exuded an alluring and flashy tone, capturing the audience's attention with flair. The Help Center articles, however, shone for their clarity, providing users with helpful and to-the-point information, thereby ensuring swift issue resolution.

Identifying usage best practices and providing UX artifacts with tone of voice guidelines would strengthen brand cohesion both internally and externally. The solution was to update the current tone of voice guidelines, while also considering a tone of voice spectrum as a way to organize and illustrate the ways in which tone may change based on context.

Audited Origins universe for gaps in tone and opportunity zones

• Held cross-functional workshops to determine gaps

• Leveraged existing research to uncover customer needs

• Created empathy maps and archetypes to identify ways to use tone effectively

• Analyzed tone standards from competitors

• Interviewed 20+ stakeholders to understand needs from new tone guidelines

Research proves that consistency is a key driver of usability as well as:

• Improves trust with customers

• Provides competitive differentiation

• Helps break through the noise

• Helps onboard new writers more quickly (and consistently)

• Reduces feedback loops during design reviews

• Makes product design and development more agile

• It’s just good UX

The Impact

• I tracked consistency across top five surfaces: Homepage, Listings, Newsletter, App, and SEO

• Tracked user perceptions through a follow-up to Origin’s “Shifting Consumer Perceptions Benchmark” Study

• Tracked writer adoption and satisfaction with the guidelines with 90% adoption within 6 months