Visa Product Design System

Voice and tone are key elements that establish how products sound and feel. Voice refers to Visa’s personality and values, which should appear consistently across experiences, while tone is an expression of mood and changes depending on context. This section describes the pillars of Visa’s voice and provides context on when and how to emulate different tones.

Voice

To create cohesive, consistent product experiences, we should intentionally craft our content to maintain a voice that feels distinct to Visa. Writing without this voice in mind can create disjointed experiences that leave the user feeling confused and could highlight that content is being authored by multiple people with different approaches.

Our voice is embodied by 3 core qualities: active, readable, and human. The following sections unpack these qualities and explain how to use them to ensure our product content remains consistent.

Active

Actionable and global

Visa connects the world through fast, secure financial access enabled by a partner-trusted network. Our content should support and help users complete tasks quickly and efficiently. Ensure everyone, everywhere can meet their goals using clear, actionable language that translates seamlessly across the globe.

Readable

Clear, concise, thoughtful

Make experiences effortless by putting users first. Author content that anticipates what the user needs and answers their questions before they’ve asked—like a trusted advisor. Use direct and consistent language that’s easy to scan, makes task completion easy, and simplifies complex concepts.

Human

Energetic, authentic, personable

Our products are designed by real people for real people behind the screen. Use inclusive language to empathize with users and show consideration and recognition of their humanity. Be personable and conversational—not too formal, not too casual, and never robotic.

Tone

Tone is a device used by an author to elicit a feeling, making our messaging more relevant and useful to users as they complete their tasks and goals. This ensures we deliver the most useful language, exactly when users need it, and in the most effective way possible to reinforce the relationship between users and our products.

In general, we recommend a neutral tone that’s straightforward and direct. In certain contexts, tone can be adjusted to convey feelings like encouragement, enthusiasm, or positivity.

Tones to use

Types of tones to use
Tone	Feeling conveyed to users	Context	Example
Celebratory	Positive, congratulatory	Success, task completion	Success! Your account has been created.
Supportive	Engaging, helpful	Instructions, support, documentation	Need help? Our support team is just a click away.
Professional	Clear, direct	Error, alert	Something went wrong while processing your transaction. Try again in a few moments.
Welcoming	Inviting, enthusiastic	First-time use, onboarding, support	Welcome to your dashboard! Ready to get started?

Tones to avoid

Types of tones to avoid
Tone	Feeling conveyed to users
Accusatory	Aggressive, insensitive, dismissive
Complex	Complicated, elaborate, intimidating
Patronizing	Condescending, superior, pretentious
Robotic	Apathetic, indifferent, lifeless
Vague	Ambiguous, confusing, indirect