Voice
How Lumino sounds.
Warm, specific, unshowy. We write like a good teacher talks — never over the reader's head, never beneath their intelligence. Plain words do harder work than fancy ones.
Principles
Specific over impressive
Name the thing. "12 lessons" beats "comprehensive curriculum." "Saturday 2pm" beats "soon."
Warm over clever
A kind tone beats a witty one. Puns age badly; care doesn't.
Short over long
If you can cut a word, cut it. If you can cut a sentence, cut it.
Plain over precious
"Use" beats "utilize." "Help" beats "leverage." "About" beats "regarding."
Do / don't
Small changes make a large difference. Here are patterns we correct often.
Do
"Your Saturday session is in 2 hours."
Specific, time-stamped, helpful.
Don't
"Upcoming: your learning opportunity awaits."
Vague, corporate, hollow.
Do
"We couldn't save your project. Try again?"
Admits the problem, offers the next step.
Don't
"An error has occurred. [code: 0x72a1]"
Unhelpful to the reader; doesn't offer a move.
Do
"Start your first project"
Verb + object, invitational, concrete.
Don't
"Get Started 🚀"
Title case + emoji signal "landing page." Lumino is not a landing page.
Do
"Chapter 3 is ready when you are."
Respects the reader's pace.
Don't
"Unlock Chapter 3 now!"
Pressure tactics. We don't manipulate.
Tone ladder
Lumino speaks to three audiences. The substance stays the same; the register shifts.
Audience
Scenario — session about to start
Scenario — encouragement after setback
Kids (8–12)Playful theme
Hey — your class starts in 10 minutes! Wanna finish your warm-up?
Hard one, wasn't it? Let's try it again tomorrow — you'll get it.
Teens (13–18)Studio theme
Session in 10 minutes. Pick up where you left off?
That was a tough one. Sleep on it, come back fresh.
AdultsPro theme
Your session starts in 10 minutes.
Difficult chapter. Consider reviewing lesson 3 before continuing.
Style rules
Rule Use Don't
Sentence case "Start a new project" "Start A New Project" Oxford comma "design, code, and ship" "design, code and ship" Numerals for ≥10 "12 lessons", "three sessions" "twelve lessons" Contractions "you're", "we'll", "don't" "you are", "we will" No exclamation points "Welcome back." "Welcome back!" No em-dashes in UI copy commas, periods "wait — and —" Dates "Sat, Nov 18 · 2 pm" "11/18/25 14:00:00"
UI copy in practice
Empty state
No projects yet.
Kick things off with your first project — it'll show up here alongside your lessons.
Start a project
Destructive confirm
Delete "Neural networks"?
This removes all 12 lessons and your saved progress. This can't be undone.
Keep project Delete
Error state
We couldn't save that.
Your connection dropped. We'll try again in a few seconds — or click retry.
Retry now
Vocabulary
We say Not
Lesson Module, unit Project Capstone, assignment Mentor Tutor, instructor Student Learner, user Chapter Section, lecture Session Live class, webinar Progress Completion rate