rshankras/ux-writing

UX Writing

Interface text is interface design. This skill covers writing it: the frameworks Apple's writers use, the anatomy of the hardest components (alerts, errors, empty states, names), and the mechanical edits that improve any screen's copy in minutes.

When This Skill Activates

• Writing or reviewing user-facing copy: labels, buttons, alerts, onboarding, notifications
• Naming a new feature, tier, or setting
• Error messages that frustrate, empty states that dead-end, permission prompts that get denied
• Localization prep (copy that survives translation)

The PACE framework (Writing for Interfaces)

Run every screen's copy through four questions:

• Purpose — what must this screen communicate? Headers and buttons should carry the screen alone; know what to leave out. Hierarchy in words mirrors hierarchy in layout.
• Anticipation — what will the user ask or do next? Write for that ("What comes next?").
• Context — where is the user right now (quiet home vs. busy airport, mid-task vs. idle)? That decides how much to say.
• Empathy — write for a person having a problem, not for the system reporting one.

Voice vs. tone

• Finding voice: describe the app as a person, cluster the personality adjectives, keep 2–3 as your voice attributes — constant across the app, while tone flexes per moment (more directness for high-stakes info, sparing warmth in celebrations).
• The test that recurs in every Apple session: read it aloud. Does it sound like the best version of your app talking?
• ❌ Jargon ("it can make people feel left out"); ❌ personality at the cost of usefulness.

The four small edits (biggest impact per minute)

1. Cut filler: "easily," "quickly," "simply," "just" — ✅ "Enter your license plate to pay for parking" ❌ "Simply enter your license plate number to quickly pay for parking."
2. Kill repetition — merge redundant sentences: ❌ "We're running late. Your driver won't make it on time. They'll be there in 10 minutes." ✅ "Delivery delayed 10 minutes."
3. Lead with the why — benefit before action: ✅ "To get reservation updates, enter your phone number." Notifications too: ✅ "Keep your streak going by solving today's crossword."
4. Keep a word list — three columns: approved term · alternatives to avoid · definition (e.g. "alias — not handle/username/title — the player's in-game name, shown to others"). Reuse identical button labels ("Next") everywhere; consistency builds trust.

Alert anatomy (Writing Great Alerts)

First: should this be an alert at all? Alerts interrupt by design — reserve them for things the user must know now.

• Title: the main point, one sentence or less. Message: only if needed.
• The scannability test: title + buttons alone must convey the situation.
• ❌ Vague hedging ("You may need to…") — name the file, name the fix.

Naming features (Craft Clear Names, WWDC26)

Judge every candidate on three criteria: it belongs (fits the app and its location), it sets expectations (readers predict what they'll get), it works everywhere (languages, markets, platforms).

• Process: Think / Feel / Do — what should the audience think, feel, and do? Group the answers into themes; name from the themes; test candidates in natural sentences ("just search for ___").
• ✅ Industry-standard words in high-stakes domains: "Balance," not "Spending Power."
• ✅ Compounds are fine when the parts self-explain ("AutoMix"); emotional names win where the moment is emotional ("Memories").
• ❌ Implementation jargon — describe the outcome, not the mechanism.

Empty states, permissions, localization

• Empty states: never dead-end — say what will appear and how, ideally with example input.
• Permission prompts: explain value first, ask at the contextually right moment (mechanics in generators/permission-priming).
• Localization: plain language over idiom/humor; leave layout room and accessibility text for every element.

Output Format

Copy review table:

Location | Current | Problem (PACE / filler / vague button / jargon) | Rewrite

ordered by frequency-of-exposure (navigation labels before deep-screen prose).

References

• https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2022/10037/ (Writing for interfaces)
• https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2024/10140/ (Add personality through UX writing)
• https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2025/404/ (Small writing changes)
• https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2026/290/ (Craft clear names)
• https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2017/813/ (Writing Great Alerts)
• Related skills: generators/permission-priming, generators/push-notifications (notification copy), app-store/app-description-writer (store copy)