Style Guide for Messaging Apps

See the Rebellion Broadcast or Movement Broadcast Telegram channels for examples of well-formatted messages

See the Design Programme for fonts, logos, colours, images, icons etc.

Accessibility

See Accessible documents & outreach materials for advice on making your communication accessible, including for considering colour blindness and dyslexia.

Banner Images (for online posts and messages)

• Use Fucxed Caps (the main XR font)
• Colour scheme: use colours from the XR Design Programme (this can include different shades of one colour).
• Limit the words in a visual banner. Put a short title only into the image. Text in images is not fully accessible. Keep the design clean and readable.
• Use one font size for the banner design (or two max). Keep it simple and clear.
• Centralise the text in the image
• Use a consistent margin around the edge of the image for breathing space, so that the text or logo doesn’t sit on the edge of design.
• Check the image and text is in focus. Do not use it otherwise!
• Avoid too many overlays of images or text as it can be overwhelming.
• We advise using black or white text on a background colour for contrast and clarity. Make it clear.
• Consider dimensions (see below).

Content

• Keep messages short. Link out to further information.
• Be consistent in the name and image used for the event/action across all platforms.
• Consider accessibility: It is key in reaching as many people as possible and growing our movement. Mention where people can find out more about physical accessibility.
• Don’t assume knowledge, for example make clear what abbreviations stand for.
• Seek permission before sharing private numbers or email (and don’t share them as a rule otherwise).
• Slow down & check. Your message will land better if the info is accurate.

Links

• Use XR’s link shortener to make links shorter. (You’ll need a Mattermost account to create XR short links. If you don’t have one use TinyURL.)
• Put weblinks on the next line after the text/colon: this is for accessibility as it’s easier to read.
• Don’t use direct (embedded) links on Telegram, share the full hyperlink instead. (Messages are often shared-on to other platforms, which may not support linking.)
• Close linked windows (the cross in top right corner of the message) to reduce the message length and make a neater visual.

Images

• Don’t use an image unless it’s a good one, clear & dynamic with high contrast.
• The dimensions for using an image on Telegram are 1920 x 1005 (the same proportions as a Facebook event header)
• Keep it simple. One image is advised for the best effect - landscape. If you don’t have a strong image then no need to add one.
• Attach an image to the message, rather than posting it before on its own. It will otherwise get lost when messages are forwarded.
• In Telegram, if you have multiple images you can attach them straight to the message and they will automatically form a grid.
• For collages, max 5 images per collage (as a general rule of thumb), otherwise it risks being cluttered. A single image can sometimes be more striking
• Aim for clear images (remember most people will view on their phones)

Example images

Bold and Italics

• Use CAPS in bold for the title of the message (caps and bold because bold doesn't always work when messaged are shared-on to other platforms)
• Dont use italics. Dyslexia style guide and colour blindness info can be found here.

Lists

• Precede lists with a colon
• If lists need to be displayed (ie items on separate lines), consider using a bullet, asterisk or emoji before each item.
• If each item is in complete sentences, end with a full-stop. Otherwise, no punctuation at end of item except for a full stop at the end of the last one
• For in-line lists, separate items by commas; avoid Oxford commas (comma after penultimate item, preceding an ‘and’).

Using Emojis

• Limit the use of emojis. Less is more! Be inclusive in your message format. The visual is as important as the content.
• Don’t frame a message title with emojis or use emojis at the end of a line. The emojis often jump lines when the message is shared to different devices or platforms (Android or iPhone, Signal or Telegram, phone or computer) and can end up looking messy.
• Just use one emoji at the start of the title, if you’re going to use them, and try to colour-coordinate with the header image
• Use one space between image and emoji.
• Consider inclusivity when using emoji skin colours for hands etc. If you want to find more Telegram emojis including additional skin tones check out emojipedia

Spellings

• Citizens’ Assembly; plural - Citizens’ Assemblies
• People’s Assembly; plural - People’s Assemblies
• De-escalation
• Nonviolence, nonviolent
• Wellbeing
• Campsite
• Any more (with a space)
• X-year-old
• XRUK (the hive and its subcircles, as opposed to "XR in the UK", which includes all the nations, regions, local groups, community groups, and so on)

Time

• Use a 24h clock or specify am/pm or AM/PM
• Include a colon, e.g. 17:00 or 05:00pm