# Sundae — Voice & Tone

Warmly nostalgic · Gently communal · Feel-good and light · Clear before clever · Tenderly trustworthy

## Personality

- **Funny ↔ Serious:** leans funny (-1) — Sundae can be lightly playful, especially with its name and feel-good identity, but memories require enough sincerity to avoid feeling flippant.
- **Formal ↔ Casual:** leans casual (+1) — The app should sound like a trusted friend or family member, not a formal archive or enterprise platform.
- **Respectful ↔ Irreverent:** respectful (-2) — Personal photos, family history, and community memories deserve care, consent, and emotional sensitivity.
- **Enthusiastic ↔ Matter-of-fact:** leans enthusiastic (-1) — Sundae should bring gentle delight and optimism while staying calm around privacy, errors, and meaningful moments.

## Traits

- **Warmly nostalgic** — Uses sensory, memory-rich language that feels familiar without becoming sentimental or old-fashioned.
  - Why: Sundae is built around shared memories, so the voice should make people feel like they’re opening a photo box, not using another productivity tool.
  - e.g. "Pull up the moments everyone still talks about — the beach day, the birthday cake, the blurry-but-perfect group shot."
- **Gently communal** — Speaks in a way that invites participation, togetherness, and belonging without pressure.
  - Why: The app’s value comes from groups adding, reacting to, and revisiting memories together. The voice should make sharing feel easy and welcome.
  - e.g. "Add your photos when you’re ready. Everyone’s little pieces help the whole story come back to life."
- **Feel-good and light** — Keeps copy optimistic, simple, and emotionally bright, with small moments of delight.
  - Why: Sundae’s identity is warm and feel-good; the product should make people smile while preserving memories, not feel like they’re managing files.
  - e.g. "A few new memories just landed. Looks like this Sundae got an extra cherry on top."
- **Clear before clever** — Prioritizes plain, helpful direction, then adds charm in small doses where it won’t get in the way.
  - Why: People may be inviting family, organizing photos, or helping less tech-savvy relatives contribute. The voice must feel friendly but always understandable.
  - e.g. "Choose who can see this memory. You can change this anytime."
- **Tenderly trustworthy** — Treats personal photos, stories, and family history with care, privacy, and respect.
  - Why: Shared memories can be intimate, emotional, and irreplaceable. Sundae needs to feel safe enough for grandparents, close friends, parents, and communities alike.
  - e.g. "Only invited members can see this Sundae. Your memories stay with the people you choose."

## Tone by context

- **Onboarding:** Make joining feel like being welcomed into a shared album. Be warm, simple, and encouraging. Emphasize ease: start with one memory, invite a few people, build together over time.
- **Invitations:** Sound personal and low-pressure. The invitation should feel like a friend saying, “come look at this with us,” not a platform trying to acquire users.
- **Memory creation and uploads:** Be clear and supportive. Use tactile, story-centered language like “add a memory,” “fill in the story,” and “bring this moment back.” Avoid file-management language unless needed for clarity.
- **Empty states:** Make emptiness feel like possibility. Prompt one small next step and use gentle nostalgia rather than generic productivity copy.
- **Success states:** Celebrate softly. Keep delight short and human: “Saved,” “Added to the Sundae,” “Everyone can enjoy it now.” Avoid over-the-top celebration for emotionally meaningful content.
- **Errors:** Be calm, accountable, and helpful. Do not make jokes when uploads fail or memories may feel at risk. Reassure users that their content is safe when true, then provide a next step.
- **Privacy and permissions:** Use plain, confidence-building language. Be specific about who can see, add, invite, download, or comment. Avoid vague comfort language without details.
- **Notifications:** Make notifications feel like little memory nudges, not engagement bait. Mention the person, group, or memory when possible. Keep them easy to ignore without guilt.
- **Marketing:** Lean into warmth, togetherness, and the emotional payoff of shared remembering. Use nostalgia as an invitation, not as a gimmick. Keep claims human and grounded.
- **Community guidelines or moderation:** Stay caring but firm. Frame rules around protecting the shared space and honoring people’s memories. Avoid corporate legalese unless legally required.

## Messaging

**Audience:** Families, friend groups, neighborhoods, alumni circles, clubs, and communities who want an easy, warm place to collect and revisit photos, stories, and shared memories together.
**Value:** Sundae helps your people gather photos, stories, and little details into one warm shared place, so memories feel easy to keep and joyful to revisit.

- **Remember together** — Sundae turns memory-keeping from a solo chore into a shared ritual where everyone can add their piece of the story.
- **Warmth without work** — The app makes collecting, organizing, and revisiting memories feel simple and pleasant instead of technical or time-consuming.
- **A place for your people** — Shared spaces are built around invited groups, giving families and communities a comfortable home for the moments that matter to them.
- **Little details matter** — Sundae celebrates captions, comments, dates, names, and small stories — the details that make a photo feel alive years later.

## Lexicon

**Use:** `memory`, `memories`, `moments`, `stories`, `keepsakes`, `shared album`, `your people`, `favorite moments`, `look back`, `remember together`, `add a memory`, `bring the story back`, `gather the photos`, `pass it around`, `family`, `friends`, `community`, `invited members`, `people you choose`, `saved`, `tucked away`, `a little more to the story`, `sweet`, `warm`, `feel-good`, `photo box`, `scrapbook`, `time capsule`, `cherry on top`
**Avoid:** `content`, `assets`, `media library`, `data repository`, `users generated content`, `engagement`, `drive retention`, `viral`, `leverage your network`, `optimize sharing`, `dump files`, `upload batch complete`, `memories forever guaranteed`, `never lose anything`, `blast invite`, `spam`, `followers`, `audience growth`, `monetize`, `AI magic`

## Mechanics

- **Capitalization:** Sentence case for UI, headings, buttons, and notifications. Title case only for proper nouns or campaign names.
- **Contractions:** yes
- **Emoji:** Sparingly. Use only where it adds warmth in casual surfaces like empty states or celebratory moments. Never use emoji in privacy, error, billing, or safety copy.
- **Reading level:** Grade 6–8. Short sentences, familiar words, and clear actions.

## Boilerplate

- **Short:** Sundae is a warm shared-memories app for gathering photos, stories, and favorite moments with your people.
- **Medium:** Sundae helps families, friends, and communities collect their shared memories in one feel-good place. Add photos, stories, captions, and little details together, then look back whenever you want to relive the moments everyone still talks about.
- **Long:** Sundae is a community and shared-memories app designed to make remembering feel warm, easy, and joyful. Instead of scattered photos, forgotten group chats, or one person doing all the organizing, Sundae gives your people a shared place to gather memories together. Families, friends, clubs, neighborhoods, and communities can add photos, stories, captions, and details that bring each moment back to life. It’s part shared album, part scrapbook, and part time capsule — made for the moments worth keeping close.

## Voice in action

**Onboarding welcome screen**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| onboarding-welcome | Welcome to Sundae. Start with a few favorite moments, then invite your people to help fill in the story. | Create your first shared album and invite users to contribute content. | The on-voice version feels warm and communal; the off-voice version is clear but too platform-like and transactional. |

**Empty state for a new memory space**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| empty-state | Nothing here yet — just a fresh bowl waiting for the good stuff. Add the first memory to get things started. | No memories have been added. Upload photos to populate this space. | The on-voice version adds light charm while giving a next step; the alternative sounds functional but cold. |

**Primary upload button**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| primary-cta | Add a memory | Upload media | Sundae should frame the action emotionally, not as file management. |

**Successful upload confirmation**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| success | Saved to your Sundae. Everyone invited can enjoy it now. | Upload complete. This item is now visible to permitted users. | The on-voice version is still clear about visibility but feels human and celebratory. |

**Invitation message**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| notification | Maya invited you to add your photos from Lake Weekend. Come help bring the story back. | Maya has invited you to collaborate on an album titled Lake Weekend. | The on-voice version feels personal and memory-centered; the alternative is plausible but generic SaaS language. |

**Comment prompt**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| empty-state | Remember what was happening here? Add the little detail everyone will love later. | Add a comment to provide additional context for this photo. | The on-voice version explains the emotional value of the comment, not just the feature. |

**Privacy setting explanation**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| success | Only invited members can see this Sundae. You choose who joins, and you can remove people anytime. | This album is private and access-controlled according to your selected permissions. | The on-voice version is direct, reassuring, and specific without sounding legalistic. |

**Upload error**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| error | That memory didn’t upload. Your photos are still safe on your device — please try again when your connection is stronger. | Upload failed due to a network issue. Retry the operation. | The on-voice version reassures the user and protects trust during a potentially stressful moment. |

**Reminder notification**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| notification | Aunt Jo added three photos from the reunion. Take a little look back when you have a minute. | New activity in Family Reunion. Open the app to view updates. | The on-voice version feels like a gentle nudge rather than engagement bait. |

**Marketing hero**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| hero-headline | The moments are better when everyone remembers them together. | A collaborative platform for organizing and sharing community memories. | The on-voice version leads with the emotional payoff; the alternative is accurate but undifferentiated. |

**Delete confirmation**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| error | Remove this memory from the Sundae? It won’t appear here anymore, but this won’t delete it from your device. | Are you sure you want to delete this item from the album? This action may affect visibility. | The on-voice version is careful, specific, and calming around a sensitive action. |

**Community guideline intro**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| success | This is a place for memories people care about. Be kind, add with care, and only share what’s yours to share. | Users must comply with all content and conduct policies when participating in shared spaces. | The on-voice version sets expectations warmly and firmly; the alternative is competent but institutional. |
