articulate

Designs UX copy, error messages, empty states, and voice frameworks for product interfaces.

Updated Aug 20, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/ishfuseini/usecase-gen --skill articulate-ishfuseini
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: articulate
Source: https://github.com/ishfuseini/usecase-gen/tree/main/agent/skills/articulate
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/ishfuseini/usecase-gen --skill articulate-ishfuseini

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Product teams often ship interfaces with inconsistent, confusing, or generic copy — vague error messages, dead-end empty states, and CTAs that don't tell users what will happen. This Skill provides a systematic discipline for UX writing and content strategy so every word in a product is clear, consistent, and actionable. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Voice and Tone Frameworks: Define 3-5 voice principles with boundaries and a tone spectrum across contexts (onboarding, errors, success states) so any writer produces consistent copy. - Error Message and Empty State Design: Structure error messages with what happened, why it matters, and what to do; design empty states that onboard, guide, or recover rather than dead-end. - Microcopy and Content Modeling: Build pattern libraries for tooltips, placeholders, confirmations, and CTAs, plus structured content models that are localization-ready and reusable across contexts. - Use Case: A team preparing a new checkout flow uses this Skill to write the CTA hierarchy, validation error messages, empty cart state, and confirmation dialog copy — all aligned to a defined voice framework and tested for readability and translation readiness. ## Quick Start Review the error messages and empty states in my onboarding flow and rewrite them following UX writing best practices.

Frequently Asked Questions about articulate

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I write good error messages for my product?

Structure every error message with three components: what happened specifically, why it matters to the user, and what to do next. Scale tone by severity — helpful for validation errors, empathetic for system failures, and explicit about consequences for destructive actions.

How do I create a voice and tone framework for a product?

Identify 3-5 product attributes, translate each into a voice principle with clear boundaries on both sides, then map how tone shifts across 4-6 contexts like onboarding, errors, and success states. Document with real do/don't product copy examples, not abstract adjectives.

What should an empty state say in a UI?

An empty state should explain why it's empty and what to do next, varying by type: first-use states onboard toward a first action, no-results states suggest adjusted searches, cleared states celebrate and redirect, and error-caused states explain the failure and recovery path.

How do I write UI copy that translates well to other languages?

Avoid concatenated strings, idioms, culturally specific humor, and date-relative phrases like 'yesterday'. Build relative dates from timestamps at render time, and design layouts for 20-35% text expansion in languages like German and Finnish.

What reading level should product copy target?

Aim for an 8th grade reading level (Flesch-Kincaid) for consumer products, with sentences under 25 words, active voice, and concrete language. Plain language benefits all users, including stressed, distracted, or non-native readers and screen reader users.

What are the limits of UX writing guidance versus flow design?

UX writing covers what screens say, not how screens are sequenced or structured. If users remain confused after copy improvements, the issue is likely a flow or information architecture problem requiring journey mapping or taxonomy work instead.