UI to UX Writing
Generating and reviewing interface copy, which works well for volume and badly for voice.
Definition
A model can draft or revise interface strings given the context, constraints and voice guidelines. It is strong at consistency and coverage and weak at the specific judgement calls that make copy good.
Craft convention. True because the industry converged on it. Breaking it costs familiarity, not correctness.
Reach for this when
- Writing large volumes of interface strings.
- Auditing terminology consistency.
- Generating options when you are stuck on a label.
Common mistakes
- Shipping generated copy unedited.
- Voice guidelines too vague to constrain output.
- Using copy to fix a design problem.
Where it is genuinely useful
- Producing several options for a string so you can choose rather than write.
- Checking terminology consistency across a large product.
- Drafting the long tail of error messages nobody has time to write individually.
- Rewriting copy to a stated reading level.
- Finding jargon and internal vocabulary in existing copy.
Prompt
Rewrite these interface strings.
Voice: [three adjectives, each with a "but not"]
Audience: [who they are and what they know]
Constraints: [character limits, reading level, terminology to use or avoid]
Existing terms: [the canonical word for each concept]
For each string give three options, and say what each optimises for.
Flag any string where the underlying design, not the wording, is the problem.
Strings:
[paste]Local chart
AI·006 · Region XII · Grid H5
This entry and the entries it is stated to connect with. Each line is labelled with what the connection means.
Continue from here
Each link says what the connection is, so you can tell a principle from an alternative from a thing people mix this up with.
Often used with
These usually appear in the same screen or the same decision.
Practical example
A worked decision where this was the deciding factor.
- Designing an AI Suggestion Feature People Would UseCASE·010 · Case study
Related concept
Connected closely enough to change how you apply this.
- Content DesignWRT·004 · UX writing
- Error MessagesWRT·002 · UX writing
- Inclusive LanguageWRT·005 · UX writing
- InternationalizationWRT·006 · UX writing
- MicrocopyWRT·001 · UX writing
- Voice and ToneWRT·003 · UX writing