NOTE: The following applies to content and communications authored, owned, and published by Pilot. Content on behalf of clients should always follow their house style.
Our tone of voice
We have compelling stories to tell about ourselves, our work, and our partners. It is our job to communicate clearly and effectively and to be understood without difficulty. Our work is dynamic and engaging. We don’t want dry, formal content on our website or in our communications. The key to good writing is simple thoughts, simply expressed. Use short sentences and short words.
No matter how we’re communicating—whether it’s a presentation, social media post, or client email—we’re always conveying an impression about who we are. Our tone is conversational and informal to match how we portray ourselves in the real world. When you’re writing on behalf of Pilot, you should follow a few basic rules to communicate in “our voice.” This guide helps you to do that.
Five tips for top communications
1. Active voice
Always write in the active voice. Sentences in the active voice have a strong, direct, and clear tone.
2. Be as concrete as possible
Say what you mean. A good starting point is to avoid jargon, which tends to take something concrete out of its real-life context and render it as an abstraction.
3. Write like you speak
Messages get lost in over-complicated language. You wouldn’t ask your colleague, “How do I utilize this printer?” or “Do you want to convene with me in Conference Room 4030?” But sometimes we end up writing that way. Stick to a conversational tone. Refer to ourselves in the first-person plural (we, us). Use contractions (we’ve, they’re).
4. Shorter is better
We prefer short sentences, paragraphs, and documents. Writing succinctly is more difficult—it actually takes longer to write something shorter. Two simple ways to help you tighten your sentences and strengthen your message are:
- Double-check yourself anytime you see an -ly. That’s an adverb, and you often don’t need it.
- Count your verbs. Most sentences need no more than one.
5. Put people first
Be as specific as possible. We work with real people for the benefit of real people. We don’t want to give the impression that we’re insensitive to our partners, and their employees, and customers.
Some style mechanics
The following provides guidance on grammar, spelling, and usage conventions for Pilot content and communications.
Abbreviations & acronyms
No need for periods (except U.S.)or spaces between initials. If the short version’s more familiar than the full one, like BBC, FBI, or FAQs, you don’t need to write it out. If it’s not, or if you aren’t sure how well known it is, put it in full the first time you use it, then use just the short version from then on. Spell out names of U.S. states. If the acronym is pronounced as a word spell out with initial capital, for example, Nasa, Nato, Unicef.
Accents
Use on foreign words (but not anglicized French words, such as cafe). People’s names, in any language, should be given appropriate accents.
Ampersand
Use only when part of a formal name, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, or in a heading.
And (& but)
It’s okay to start sentences with these!
Bulleted lists
List items should be grammatically parallel. Use lower case for the first word of each item.Do not useterminal punctuation or semicolons after list items.
Captions
Captions are an opportunity to give people further information, rather than insulting their intelligence by stating the obvious. This is obviously not the case when writing accessibility captions. Limit captions to one sentence.
Citations
URLs in footnotes should be live links. Omit “http://” from URLs. Omit the final forward slash from URLs. Avoid placing a footnote number in the middle of a sentence.
Copyright notice
If you need to use a copyright notice, it should look like this: © 2021 Pilot Lab
Currency
No need to indicate the type of currency, $ rather than US$ is sufficient unless it will create confusion. No need to include ‘.00’ – $33 not $33.00. Pence and cents should be 7p and 70 cents. Not 0.07p or 0.70 cents. Ranges should be $6,000–$7,000 (not £6,000–7,000). Use the euro symbol rather than writing the word out in full. So it’s €540, not 540 euros. It’s okay to round up or round down numbers if you add a qualifier such as “nearly,” “almost,” or “more than.”
Dates
Because of the potential for confusion with UK/EU date formatting, we recommend using the month’s three-letter abbreviation and the following style: DD MON YYYY. A file name can use two-digit year style. Ex: IWD_Concepts_08MAR23
Ellipses
If you’re using an ellipsis to show a pause in speech, an unfinished thought or an enigmatic trailing off into silence… then you don’t need a space before it. But if you’re using an ellipsis to show that something’s missing you do need a space before and after. If the ellipsis is at the end of a sentence, you don’t need to put a full stop after it. Because it doesn’t look very good.
Emojis
Use emojis in social posts sparingly and where appropriate, keeping in mind that they can be easily misinterpreted. Do not use in formal communications.
Exclamation marks
Generally, avoid them. They can make you sound like you’re shouting! Or you’re mad!!! If you absolutely do need to use one, make sure it is only one.
Headings
Use sentence case in headings. Avoid using more than three levels of headings. Do not skip heading levels—e.g., using a Heading 1 followed by a Heading 3.
Italics
Use italics for emphasis, the names of publications, books, TV shows, films, and for new terms.
Jargon
When it comes to jargon, think of our audiences as educated but uninformed. Get too technical and we might frighten them off, but being too simplistic might leave them feeling insulted or talked down to. Do not assume knowledge of words associated with design and technology. In short, avoid business and technical jargon.
Job titles
Formal job titles should be capitalized only if they precede a person’s name. Lowercase and spell out titles when they are set off from a name.
Language
Our default language is American English and spellings should follow suit unless the word is a proper noun. For example, when Centre or Organisation is in the title. In some cases, we will use British English for correspondence, such as with a UK-based client. However, this does extend to communications on Pilot’s public channels.
Measurements
In general, use metric measurements, except for miles and when describing a person’s height (feet and inches) and weight (pounds). No space between the number and the measure such as 10kg, 800g, 5ft, 6in. And use figures even if it’s under eleven – don’t spell the number out.
Names of clients
Do it like they do. Use the official spelling and capitalization of the names of our clients and partners.
Numbers
In general, spell out numbers under 10 and use numerals for numbers 10 and above. Exceptions include ages, currencies, and percentages. Always spell out numbers that begin a sentence. Abbreviate “million” and “billion” to “mn” and “bn”. No need for commas in numbers over 1000.
Okay
It’s not okay to use OK, or O.K. Okay?
Parentheses
When you use brackets as part of a longer sentence, the full stop (or any other punctuation) goes on the outside (like this). When the whole sentence is within the brackets, the full stop should come on the inside. (Like this.)
Percent
Write out “percent” in text, and use the % symbol in tables and graphs.
Phone Numbers
When listing contact information, begin each phone number with a plus sign and include the international dialing code. Use spaces between blocks of numbers. So, it’s +1 555 555 5555 in the U.S. and +44 7977 123456 in the UK.
Photo credits
If a photo credit is needed, it should immediately follow the caption and should take this form:
(Photo © Photographer Name)
Pilot
Our formal, legal name in the U.S. is Pilot Lab, and in the UK Pilot Lab London. However, we always refer to ourselves simply as Pilot.
Pronouns
Always use people’s preferred pronouns. If in doubt, it’s okay to ask. If that’s not possible then use they, their, them.
Punctuation
Use serial commas, also known as Oxford commas (the one after “white” in “red, white, and blue”). Use em dashes to indicate asides or abrupt changes in thought. Use en dashes with numerical ranges. Do not include a space before or after a dash.
Quotations
Use double quotes and follow the American usage rule of keeping punctuation within the quotes. For a quote within a quote, use single quote marks.
Race & ethnicity
Race refers to physical differences that groups and cultures consider socially significant. For example, people might identify their race as Aboriginal, African American or Black, Asian, or White. Ethnicity refers to shared cultural characteristics such as language, ancestry, practices, and beliefs. For example, people might identify as Latino or another ethnicity. Be clear about whether you are referring to a racial group or an ethnic group. Whenever possible, use the racial and/or ethnic terms that they themselves use. Racial and ethnic groups are designated by proper nouns and are capitalized. Therefore, use “Black,” “White,” “Native American,” “Hispanic,” and so on.
Studio, agency, or lab
Studio is our preferred way of referring to ourselves. Use lab (l/case) when specifically referring to incubation projects.
Time
Use the 12-hour clock with a period, not a colon. Also, use figures and ‘am’ and ‘pm’ (without periods) – 2.30pm. No space between the number and the letters. Specify time zones when writing about an event or something else people would need to schedule. If you’re talking about a decade, don’t put an apostrophe in it (1960s).
Contact the Principal | Communications with any questions, comments, or clarifications.