Taglines: Short, Sharp, True
Taglines: Short, Sharp, True. If your brand feels fuzzy to you, it’s fog to your audience. Let’s make it obvious and repeatable.
Design’s job is recognition and readability at speed across surfaces you don’t control.
Steps
- List three proof points — Social, data, demos. Proof turns belief into trust.
- Design constraints before concepts — Constraints produce coherence; they are not creative jail.
- Document decisions in one page — People use what they can read in two minutes.
- Define the audience and their stakes — Name who loses what if nothing changes; real stakes sharpen choices.
- State the promise in plain words — Avoid poetry; say the outcome a buyer can point to later.
Why this matters: Social, data, demos. Proof turns belief into trust. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.
Why this matters: Constraints produce coherence; they are not creative jail. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.
Why this matters: People use what they can read in two minutes. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.
Why this matters: Name who loses what if nothing changes; real stakes sharpen choices. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.
Why this matters: Avoid poetry; say the outcome a buyer can point to later. In branding, consistency is a function of decisions captured and reused.
Toolkit
- Palette tokens — CSS variables / design tokens for color and spacing across apps.
- Messaging blocks — Headline • subhead • bullets • CTA mapped to page sections.
- Voice ladder — From formal to playful with examples for each channel.
How to use it: CSS variables / design tokens for color and spacing across apps. Save the final in a shared doc; link from tickets so execution matches intent.
How to use it: Headline • subhead • bullets • CTA mapped to page sections. Save the final in a shared doc; link from tickets so execution matches intent.
How to use it: From formal to playful with examples for each channel. Save the final in a shared doc; link from tickets so execution matches intent.
Example
A founder started writing one LinkedIn tip daily; inbound doubled in 90 days without ads.
Common Pitfalls & Fixes
- Feature soup — Group features by outcomes buyers feel; features support, outcomes sell.
- Collecting adjectives — Translate adjectives into constraints (type size, palette count, tone limits).
- Logo first — Write positioning before pixels; a logo is a receipt for choices.
Related Articles
- Logo Systems vs. One‑Off Marks — Deep Dive #2
- Voice & Tone Guides People Actually Use — Playbook #2
- Microcopy: The Highest‑Leverage Words — Guide #2
- Palette Systems: Color With a Job — Pro Tips #2
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