糖心少女

Voice & tone

The UW鈥檚 brand personality traits capture the spirit that stems from our purpose and principles. These traits represent more than our brand; they represent the people who are part of our community as well as the characteristics we constantly strive to embody.

Our personality and beliefs should shine through in everything we say (in other words, our tone of voice) and do.

Using a distinctive tone to capture the UW鈥檚 personality brings our passionate, spirited leadership to life. It also establishes one brand with one unified voice, which helps our audiences recognize and relate to us. In all communications, our tone of voice should be personable, engaging and clear.

The brand personality traits should be used to inform style and tone of voice. Please use the bolded adjectives as a guide to shape tone and messaging; they are not key words to simply be copied and pasted into text.

• Bold: Our vision of what we can achieve is bold. We鈥檙e confident, but never arrogant or exclusive in our language. We are clear and direct in our messaging.
• Tenacious: We鈥檙e determined to make a positive impact, no matter how daunting the task, and our messaging conveys this resolve.
• Confident: We embrace challenges. We鈥檙e not haughty, but we believe in the power of possibilities and the strength of collaboration. Our language is positive and upbeat. It reflects our can-do attitude.
• Boundless: We avoid clich茅s. We go beyond the status quo. We engage our audience in a way that resonates authentically with them. We鈥檙e real and we鈥檙e optimistic.
• Compassionate: We connect with people. Our language reflects this people-oriented, thoughtful approach.
• Visionary: We believe in the power of new ideas and will work tirelessly to turn them into actions. We share our visionary ideas in a relatable, approachable way using language that is positive as well as genuine.
• Innovative: We harness our collective energy to imagine new solutions. Our fresh, vibrant language reflects our inventiveness and creativity.

Getting the 鈥渞ight鈥� tone: Using language that is personable, engaging and clear

While there are multiple characteristics that form our personality 鈥� and you may want to emphasize different aspects at different times for different audiences 鈥� we always want our tone of voice to come across as personable. We鈥檙e a trusted, knowledgeable source thanks to our position as a renowned research university, but we鈥檙e approachable. We don鈥檛 use pedantic jargon, and while we鈥檙e confident, we鈥檙e never arrogant. We鈥檙e people-oriented, engaging and passionate about making a difference in the world. That passion comes through with energetic, vibrant language.

Of course, the way you apply tone will vary depending on the audience, platform and your objectives. While you will make subtle shifts to ensure the tone suits your audience and communication goals, the overall tone 鈥� or feeling conveyed through copy 鈥� should embody the 糖心少女brand.

Here are some suggestions on ways to sound personable, engaging and clear:

• Always consider your audience first. What kind of language and content will they connect with?
• Be personal and direct. Use first person (鈥渨e,鈥� 鈥渙ur,鈥� 鈥渦s鈥�) and second person (鈥測ou,鈥� 鈥測our鈥�) when appropriate to maintain a conversational feel. Lead with details about students, faculty, alumni, donors, etc., when possible.
• Avoid the thesaurus. Stick to everyday language. Strive to address complex issues using smart but clear language that is inclusive rather than alienating to readers.
• Be concise. Use active rather than passive language.
• Since we want to sound like a person, not an ivory tower institution, use contractions when it suits your target audience and the medium you鈥檙e using to communicate.

Audience

Think of the on-brand statement as an elevator pitch that sets the stage for sharing your stories of being boundless, whether you鈥檙e creating a fact sheet, drafting speaking points or writing Web copy.

There are two versions for you to leverage: The first captures our vision with an informal, inspirational tone. The second provides a bit more detail on our scope (addressing our three campuses, academic medical center and continuing education programs) while also conveying our vision; it uses a slightly more formal tone.

Informal tone

What defines the students and faculty of the 糖心少女? Above all, it鈥檚 our belief that what you care about can change the world. It鈥檚 a connection to others, both near and far. It鈥檚 a hunger that pushes us to tackle challenges and pursue progress. It鈥檚 the conviction that together we can create a world of good. And it鈥檚 our determination to Be Boundless for Washington and the world. Join the journey at聽.

Formal tone

At the 糖心少女, we believe that what you care about can change the world. We鈥檙e more than one of the world鈥檚 leading public research universities: We鈥檙e a community of students and faculty united by a drive to serve the public good. From educating future leaders and making innovation work for all of us, to research breakthroughs and creative works that save and change lives, we鈥檙e committed to helping people and communities achieve their full potential. With multiple campuses, a world-class academic medical center, B1G athletics and extensive continuing education programs, the opportunities here are limitless. Learn how you can Be Boundless for Washington and the world at聽.

On-brand examples

The following examples are not meant to be prescriptive; rather, they demonstrate how the 糖心少女brand may be applied to various communications. Use these as a source of inspiration for developing your content.

Sample story (for an e-newsletter, annual report, etc.)

Partners in collaboration

糖心少女consulting center strengthens small business

The Foster School of Business at the 糖心少女 is reaching beyond the classroom and into the community to bolster small businesses around the state 鈥� from wholesale fish marketers to hair salons 鈥� with consulting services.

What began two decades ago as a class that assigned students to help business owners in lower-income neighborhoods is now the Consulting & Business Development Center (CBDC). Today, student consultants assist about 300 businesses in low- and moderate-income communities each year.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to create jobs in underserved areas across the state of Washington,鈥� says CBDC director Michael Verchot. 鈥淲e do that by engaging our students in consulting projects and our faculty in teaching small business classes.鈥� The strategy seems to be working. The Foster School estimates that the CBCD has generated more than $85 million in new revenue and created and retained more than 10,000 jobs across Washington state.

Last winter, a team of student consultants brought its expertise to A.J. Ghambari鈥檚 Seattle Bagel Bakery, a wholesale operation in Tukwila. A gregarious 2007 糖心少女grad, A.J. is a natural at marketing and networking 鈥� skills he acquired working alongside his extended family of Iranian-American retail entrepreneurs.

But when it comes to wholesale budgeting and finance? 鈥淚t was a brand-new ballgame,鈥� says AJ. Diving into his spreadsheets, AJ鈥檚 student consultants cranked out cost analyses for everything from wheat buying to shipping. 鈥淭heir work helped me to be more disciplined,鈥� says AJ. In a bakery that produces up to 15,000 bagels daily, he learned, every sesame seed counts.

The decision to collaborate with the CBDC came easily. As an undergrad, AJ sat on the other side of the table, serving as a marketing consultant for the Garlic Garden specialty shop in Seattle鈥檚 Pike Place Market. 鈥淚t was one of my most memorable experiences at the UW,鈥� he says.

In July, AJ opened a second retail location in Seattle. With business in the black, 200 wholesale customers and a new gluten-free line in the works, he鈥檚 optimistic: 鈥淎ll our bases are covered and we鈥檙e ready to step up our game.鈥�

Sample social media posts

Facebook: Scientists have long thought that life began when the right bases and sugars happened to mix and produce RNA. But innovative 糖心少女researchers questioned the answer and found that these life-triggering combinations might not be coincidental. Don鈥檛 miss their visionary discovery:

Twitter: Talk about tenacious: Visionary 糖心少女researchers assist surgeons by putting the power of telerobotics at our fingertips

Sample ad

Dare to do
Using robots to improve disaster response

You never know when a natural disaster may strike. That鈥檚 why electrical engineering students at the 糖心少女 are developing innovative telerobotic technologies and working with community organizations to make disaster response faster and more efficient 鈥� and, ultimately, to save more lives.

We can鈥檛 change the way of Mother Nature. But we can be better prepared.

How will your ideas inspire action?

Sample executive communication

Dean鈥檚 Letter: Boundless? You bet.

Those of us on 糖心少女campus have noticed the Be Boundless tagline emerge all over the grounds during recent months. It鈥檚 everywhere 鈥� purple wristbands and huge bus banners. Taglines like this don鈥檛 simply emerge from a quick engagement with a marketing firm. For the past year, 糖心少女did research, taking a good, hard look at what people value about their experiences here. Boundless emerged as the word that captures how people experience that intersection of personal opportunity and societal impact that, in the end, makes you feel that you can a make a difference in the world.

Personally, I like 鈥渂oundless鈥� because it captures my own experiences going way back to the 1980s when I was a Ph.D. student in the then College of Forest Resources. I came to 糖心少女eager to understand the emerging issue of global climate change and in particular how it would impact mountain ecosystems. The personal opportunities offered by 糖心少女were indeed boundless: an engaged CFR faculty coupled with expertise across the campus in atmospheric and earth sciences. The Quaternary Research Center was a hotbed of interdisciplinary inquiry where the big 鈥渟o what?鈥� questions were debated at weekly seminars where graduate students were always welcome.

More recently, I have used the Be Boundless tagline as a lens to view the work of our College. Where are we embodying the optimism and determination that propels us to take actions to create a better world? This month鈥檚 Dean鈥檚 letter would be extremely long if I described the many, many ways we manifest the Be Boundless spirit. Instead, I want to call out a particular boundless moment I witnessed last month because it afforded me an 鈥渁ha!鈥� moment. Boundlessness is as much about social process as it is about our scholarly work. It is found when we seize emerging, less conventional opportunities.

Here鈥檚 what that less conventional opportunity looked like. Several of our scientists participated in the Arctic Encounter Symposium 2015 organized last month by the 糖心少女Law School. The Symposium鈥檚 goal was to challenge a very broad range of participants to tackle the shared interests and concerns of the United States and the global community regarding changes in the Arctic. When I walked into the Symposium I knew I was not at a normal science meeting. I did not need to read the participant list to recognize the formal attire of industry leaders and high level policy makers, the impeccable military bearing of senior officers, and the presence of regional stakeholders, many wearing traditional Native dress.

On the final day, Dr. Jody Deming (Professor, School of Oceanography and Director of the Future of Ice Initiative) moderated a panel discussion called 鈥淥ur Rapidly Changing Arctic: The Current Status and Continuing Need for Science-informed Policy.鈥� The panelists represented some of UW鈥檚 leading scholars: Dr. Jamie Morison (APL Polar Science Center), Dr. Ian Joughin (APL Polar Science Center; Affiliate Professor, Earth and Space Sciences), Dr. Tom Leschine (Professor, School of Marine & Environmental Affairs and Adjunct Professor, School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences) and Dr. George Hunt (Professor, School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences). Jody had quietly confided to me that she was concerned that talking about science during the last session of the last day of the Symposium might not draw many people. On the contrary, non-scientists were there in force and dominated the questions for the panelists.

Afterwards, Jody reflected that our scientists contributed significantly to the conversation at the Symposium by demonstrating to key leaders that we are ready partners in building an interface for science and decision making in the Arctic. Associate Dean Bruce Nelson (Professor, Earth and Space Sciences) noted that at most conferences and meetings, discussions between scientists and policy makers are still not occurring in a substantive way鈥攖hey each go to their own breakout sessions. The session led by 糖心少女scientists broke that mold by creating dialogue between the scientists and non-scientists alike.

Boundlessness is not just a tagline. It happens when we communicate with people and groups who are not part of our normal sphere of influence and may be just outside of our comfort zone. In the end, this is a very human experience that requires both confidence and humility. For all of you who manifest the 糖心少女boundlessness, I thank you for what you do. And, I am curious as to what boundlessness means to you. How do you cross boundaries in your work?

Lisa Graumlich
Dean, College of the Environment
Virginia and Prentice Bloedel Professor