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.