Grammar and punctuation

Grammar refers to the rules for structuring and combining words into sentences. Punctuation refers to the marks used to structure, organize, and clarify sentences. Follow these guidelines to ensure all Visa experiences are consistent, easy to understand, and accurate.

We primarily follow the Chicago Manual of Style for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and language usage. However, in some cases we refer to the Associated Press (AP) Styleguide.

Active and passive voice

Active and passive voice refer to how a sentence is structured to highlight different parts of the action. In active voice, the subject performing the action is the main focus. This makes it easy to identify who or what is doing something. In passive voice, the action itself is the main focus, and it’s not always clear who or what is doing it.

Active voice

A sentence is in active voice when a subject, usually a person or entity like Visa, performs an action. Active voice is clear, concise, and actionable. This is the preferred method in most scenarios as it’s generally clearer, more direct, and more concise than passive voice.

Calls to action

A call to action (CTA) describes a Button, Link, or text intended to guide users toward a task or action.

CTAs should be written with command verbs to ensure it is clear what will happen when selected. Command verbs refer to descriptive verbs that give a direct order or instruction, like “Save”, “Apply”, or “Send”. The only exceptions are common navigational labels like “Next”, or “Back”.

• Ensure all buttons include command verbs like “Save”, “Apply”, or “Send”.
• Avoid using sensory language like “See” or “View”. For more information, reference Inclusive language.

Passive voice

A sentence is in passive voice when the subject is omitted or de-emphasized, giving the feeling that something “just happens.” While products and experiences usually use active voice, passive voice can be used to soften language and sound less accusatory towards the user or Visa. This is more appropriate in sensitive cases, such as legal statements or error messages, where leaving the subject out can avoid placing blame on the user.

• Use passive voice if you notice a command, instruction, or explanation sounds too critical or accusatory.

Capitalization

Sentence case

Sentence case refers to capitalizing text like it’s in a sentence: the first letter is capitalized, and everything else is lower case. Sentence case is primarily used in UX writing for products because it’s more modern, readable, and “human” than title case. It’s also better for globalization as title case is uncommon outside English publications.

• Use sentence case for all aspects of Visa’s product experiences, including page titles, headings, and UI elements like tooltips or tabs.

Title case

Title case refers to text that’s written with the first letter of each word capitalized. Only use title case for proper nouns, which include the names of people, places, and certain things, such as Visa branded terms and products (internal only). If referring to anything trademarked or copyrighted, refer to Fictitious brands for general guidance or consult with the legal or brand team for official instructions on how to proceed.

All caps

All caps refers to text written in all capital letters. This is reserved for acronyms and initialisms, some abbreviations like file extensions, and certain text styles like overlines.

Acronyms

Acronyms are terms based on the first letter of each word in a title, like VPDS for Visa Product Design System. Unless commonly understood, like PDF, acronyms should always be defined in proximity to where they’re being used, such as on the same page or within the same paragraph; for example, Visa Product Design System (VPDS).

Be mindful that users often jump around between content and don’t read everything on a page linearly, so sometimes acronyms need to be defined multiple times within the same experience.

• Use all capital letters for acronyms.
• Use acronyms only after you have defined and contextualized them. For a list of Visa and industry-specific acronyms, refer to the Visa Finance Global Sourcing Acronyms and Glossary (internal only).

Punctuation

Punctuation in products and experiences depends on use case. Follow the guidance below to ensure consistent punctuation across products and experiences.

• Use proper punctuation for all text containing full sentences.
• Omit end punctuation, such as periods, for all headings, titles, and UI labels.
• Use exclamation marks sparingly, ideally no more than once per page.

Apostrophes

Contractions

Contractions are a type of abbreviation where words are shortened by omitting certain letters or sounds. These are typically created by combining two words, with the apostrophe placed where the omitted letters would’ve been. Examples of contractions include “don’t” (do not), “can’t” (cannot), “they’re” (they are), and “it’s” (it is or it has).

• Use contractions to make your content more conversational and human rather than academic or robotic.
• Avoid using apostrophes in place of numbers or letters unless forming contractions.

Possessives

Possessives in English grammar are used to indicate ownership or a close relationship.

• Use apostrophes to show possession, such as “Visa’s products”.
• Add ‘s for singular nouns like “Company”, even if the word ends in an s.
• Add ‘s for plural nouns that don’t end in an s, like “Children”.
• Add an apostrophe at the end of the word for plural nouns ending in s, such as “Cities”.

Commas

VPDS recommends oxford commas to boost clarity in written text. This refers to commas placed before the word “and” in a list or series of multiple items.

• Use the oxford (or serial) comma in all product contexts.
• Try breaking sentences with many commas into multiple sentences to improve readability and maintain a reasonable reading level.

Colons

Colons are used to show that a clause is directly related to the one before it.

• Use colons to introduce lists or steps in a process if the sentence is phrased as a complete thought that introduces the content to follow.
• Avoid using colons in sentences.

Semicolons

Semicolons are used to join related, independent clauses, but aren’t recommended for use in products or experiences.

• Try simplifying sentences with a comma to avoid using semicolons.

Ellipses

Ellipses (…) can be a useful tool in UI and product content but should be used sparingly in body content or blocks of text.

Parentheses

Parentheses are punctuation marks used for information that’s not essential to the main point of the sentence, but provides additional context or clarification. The information inside the parentheses can be a single word, a fragment, or multiple complete sentences.

• Use parentheses for supplemental information in body copy and UI. Never use brackets in place of parentheses.

Symbols

Symbols shouldn’t be used in place of words like “and”, “or”, or “at”. This includes ampersands (&) or plus signs (+) in place of the word “and”, number signs (#) in place of the word “number”, at signs (@) in place of the word “at”, and slashes (\ or /) and the word “slash” in place of the the words “or,” or “and”.

• Avoid using symbols in place of written words in copy. The only exception is businesses, products, or teams whose names already include symbols, such as Design @ Visa.

Icons

Text symbols should never be used in place of any Visa icon, no matter how closely they appear in resemblance. Always use the proper Visa-branded or generic icons. Learn more by visiting Design kits.

Asterisks

Asterisks (*) are used to indicate a source citation (or footnote), an omission, and to point to a disclaimer or comment. The most common use case are disclaimers for products.

• Use the asterisk after every punctuation mark except for dashes. In the case of dashes, place the asterisk before the dash. It’s not necessary to end the disclaimer with an asterisk as you would with a quote.
• Remove spaces before and after an asterisk.
• Never use asterisks to censor inappropriate language. Instead, curse words and violent language should not be used.

Dashes and hyphens

Em dashes, en dashes, and hyphens are distinct punctuation elements that are commonly misused. They can be entered in Microsoft Word from the Special Characters tab within the Advanced Symbols section in the Ribbon.

Keyboard shortcuts work in Microsoft Word and other software, like Figma. Refer to the following table for a quick guide on manually entering these characters in text.

Hyphens

Hyphens (-) are punctuation marks used to join words or parts of words together.

• Remove spaces before or after hyphens.
• Use a hyphen to combine two words when they come before a noun, not after.
• Always spell out common fractions and hyphenate them.

En dashes

En dashes (–) are punctuation marks that are slightly longer than a hyphen (-) but shorter than an em dash (—). They’re typically used to indicate a range of values in place of the word “to” or to denote a connection or a conflict between two concepts.

• Remove spaces before or after hyphens.
• Use en dashes (–) to relate one concept to another.
• Avoid using an en dash instead of the words “from”, “to”, or “between” to introduce number ranges.

Em dashes

Em dashes (—) are the longest type of dash. They’re used in place of commas, colons, semi-colons, or parentheses to emphasize information.

• Remove spaces before or after hyphens.
• Use em dashes to separate additional, unessential information from the rest of the sentence.
• Use em dashes to separate distinct, related thoughts.

Abbreviations

In product content, it’s generally best to avoid uncommon or unnecessary abbreviations where possible. Instead, spell out terms to increase the clarity and legibility of your content. Refer to the Chicago Manual of Style for a detailed list of abbreviations.

Honorifics and titles

Honorifics and titles are formal styles used to denote professional positions, academic qualifications, or certain family relationships. They can be prefixes, like “Dr.”, “Prof.”, or “Mr.”, which are added before a person’s name, or suffixes, like “Jr.”, “Sr.”, or “Ph.D.”, which are added after a person’s name.

• Avoid using English honorifics or social title abbreviations such as “Ms.”, “Mrs.”, or “Mr.” to reduce assumptions where gender identity or marital status are unknown.
• Capitalize the first letter and include a period and a space between title abbreviations and names, such as “Mr. Alex Miller.”
• Capitalize and omit periods for academic degrees, placing them after the name with a comma and space, such as “Alex Miller, PhD.”

Latin abbreviations

• Avoid using abbreviations with Latin or Greek root words to increase clarity.
• Rephrase these terms to be more inclusive of non-native English speakers whose first languages have not adopted widespread use of these abbreviations.

Exceptions

Although plain language is the general standard for the UX industry, some Latin terms and abbreviations frequently appear in business, corporate, and research contexts.

• Consider the needs of your users based on localization requirements if you choose to include these terms.

Date and time abbreviations

Abbreviations are commonly used to express compact versions of time when space does not permit full versions. Learn more about formatting in Date and time.

Days of the week

When space is limited, days may be expressed using the standard three or four letter abbreviation.

• Capitalize the first letter of the abbreviation.
• Remove punctuation unless grammatically necessary for the sentence.

Months

When space is limited, months may be expressed using the standard three letter abbreviation.

• Capitalize the first letter of the abbreviation.
• Remove punctuation unless grammatically necessary for the sentence.

Time of day

Use AM/PM to indicate the time of day when using 12-hour time notation. Learn more about formatting in Date and time.

• Capitalize both letters of the abbreviation.
• Remove punctuation unless grammatically necessary for the sentence.

Time zones

Time zones are typically expressed using two or three uppercase letters, usually within parentheses.

• Capitalize all letters of the abbreviation.
• Include the abbreviation in parentheses following the time.
• Include a space before the zone abbreviation.
• Remove the S (for Standard) or D (for Daylight) if your users are in a single time zone.
• Include an S (for Standard) or D (for Daylight) if your users are in a combination of time zones.

Units

Units are standards for expressing and measuring quantities. They help specify the amount, size, or degree of something within a specific measurement system.

• Include a space between the last digit of the numerical value and the unit abbreviation.
• Avoid pluralizing or adding periods after the unit of measurement unless needed to end the sentence or distinguish the unit from other words.

Units of measurement

The following tables shows commonly-used units of measurement in product or UX contexts.

Units of time

Units of time may be expressed as abbreviations when there are space limitations.

• Spell out these units where possible instead of using abbreviations.

Date and time

International notation

Visa follows ISO 8601, the international standard maintained and governed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in Geneva. To promote accuracy and prevent error, it’s used to standardize dates and times in product development, especially in back-end programming.

When indicating date and time in user-facing scenarios, select a formatting method based on regional conventions and user expectations. If your product serves a range of countries, use international notation as determined by IOS 8601.

Regional notation

Throughout most of the world, date formatting follows ISO 8601. However, regional differences exist. Use the tables below to help determine the appropriate formatting for your use case and audience.

Date formatting

Date formatting differs by region. Use the table below to help determine the appropriate time formatting for your use case and audience.

Time formatting

Time formatting differs by region. Use the table below to help determine the appropriate time formatting for your use case and audience.

Numbers

Numbers are often formatted differently depending on the context. When formatting manually, be mindful of how the number appears in written text, when to truncate, what character (decimal or period) is used as the thousands separator, and how negative numbers are displayed.

• Use numerals for numbers 10 and above in written text and spell out numbers nine and below. This doesn’t apply to other formats like tables, or for precise units of measurement under 10.
• Use commas for numbers with four or more digits.
• Use en dashes between numbers without spaces to indicate a range.
• Use hyphens between groups of numbers, such as in phone numbers. Avoid using parentheses, spaces, or periods to separate numbers if possible, however there may be regional variations.
• Use the + sign before the country code when listing phone numbers for specificity.

Negative numbers

Negative numbers can be formatted differently depending on the context or language. In written sentences, it is generally a good practice to use the symbol rather than spelling out the word “negative.”

• Follow local best practices.
• Use the negative symbol without adding a space between the symbol and value.
• Use parentheses or brackets without adding spaces between the symbol and the amount.
• Avoid combining negative signs and parentheses or brackets.
• Apply the color red only with the appropriate negative symbol, parentheses, or bracket.

International currencies

Currencies are expressed differently across the world. ISO 4217 is the recognized international standard for representing currencies. Currencies can be represented both numerically and alphabetically, using either three digits or three letters. The alpha code uses the first two letters of the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code and the initial of the country’s main currency unit for the third letter.

General

• Place uppercase country codes before or after the amount.
• Add a space between the country code and the value.
• Insert an en dash between numerals to indicate a monetary range followed by the country code.
• Avoid spelling out currencies or currency codes.
• Shorten amounts over 999,999 (million, billion, trillion, or M, B, T).

Symbols and decimals

When formatting currencies with symbols and numbers, consider the following locale-sensitive elements:

• Use the country’s assigned currency symbol.
• Avoid adding a space between symbols and numerals unless local guidelines dictate.
• Place the symbol before or after the numeral, following local guidelines.
• Follow local guidelines to determine whether to use commas or periods when expressing decimals. For example, in the United States, this character is a period (.). In Germany, it is a comma (,). So, two thousand fifty-five and eight-tenths are displayed as 2,055.8 in the United States and 2.055,8 in Germany.
• Use an en dash between numerals to indicate a monetary range and include the symbol before all numerals to avoid mistaking the dash for a decimal.

The following chart shows commonly-used currencies and their formats:

*When presenting multiple currencies in the same context or presenting unfamiliar currencies, use the currency’s country code along with the symbol. For example, CAD and USD both use $.

Pronouns

• Avoid using first-person pronouns like “we” or “us” within products. The user is less concerned with the authors of the experience and more concerned about completing tasks.
• Use second-person pronouns by referencing the reader as “you,” especially when giving instructions. Using “you” whenever you want to imply an action on the user’s part can help clarify where their involvement is required.
• Follow best practices outlined in Inclusive language when using third-person pronouns.

Lists

Lists can be phrased and formatted in a variety of ways. Regardless of how you phrase or punctuate lists, ensure it’s consistent across list items or instances in your experience.

• Use consistent verb patterns and punctuation when making lists in sentences.
• Start a list of bullets with verbs or nouns and aim for the same length.
• Punctuate all sentences, bullets, or lists consistently.

List type

Consider overall structure and the individual relationships between items when creating lists. This will help you determine which list construct is most appropriate for your content.

Bulleted lists

Lists of items with no successive relationship should use a bulleted structure but may still contain hierarchy or levels. Consider using a Checkbox if list items are tasks or actions.

Lettered lists

Use letters to indicate distinct parts, like for denoting figures or labeling components of diagrams.

Numbered lists

Only use numbers and ordinals (1st, 2nd, 3rd; first, second, third, etc.) when indicating succession, order, chronology, or procedure. If these terms must be used, spell them out where possible to avoid using the number format, as some text editors and processors don’t support superscripts.

List punctuation

Only use end punctuation in lists when the list item is a complete sentence. If complete sentences are used in a list, ensure all list items are full sentences. Do not break structure by mixing full sentences and fragments.

Parallel structure

Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. In the product context, this is accomplished by using consistent sentence and language structure throughout your content. This uniformity helps users more easily form mental models of the interface and navigate intuitively.