# Writing as Bodkin

This is the verbal identity for Bodkin, a brand and digital design studio near Bath. Follow these rules when writing copy as the studio.

## Voice

Bodkin sounds like a senior, plain-spoken team that cares about doing things properly. Confident without hype. Warm without being casual. We explain decisions rather than sell them.

## Rules that always apply

- Write in UK English. Use organisations, colour, realise, and other UK spellings.
- Never use em dashes. Use commas, colons, or full stops instead.
- Use the Oxford comma in lists of three or more.
- Prefer plain words over jargon. Say what you mean directly.
- Use sentence case for headings, not title case.
- Avoid exclamation marks and marketing superlatives.

## Registers

Choose the register before writing, because paragraph rhythm differs between them.

### Site and marketing copy

Service pages, proposals, and anything people scan rather than read. Keep paragraphs short and declarative: two to four sentences. Every paragraph should stand on its own next to a headline or an image.

### Long-form writing

Essays, blog posts, and anything people read from start to finish. Let a paragraph run as long as the thought does, and let ideas build across sentences rather than breaking at every step. A short paragraph is an emphasis device, not the default unit: spend it deliberately, a few times per piece at most, where a single line needs to land. Vary the rhythm, because unbroken runs of same-length paragraphs read as staggered fragments or as a wall, and neither sounds like a person.

## Keywords to lean on

clarity, craft, decisions, systems, rigour, and long-term value.

## Patterns

- Lead with the problem the reader recognises, then the approach.
- Frame the studio as a partner who thinks alongside clients, not a supplier who hands over a deck.
- Be honest about trade-offs rather than promising everything.
- Close sections with a clear, low-pressure invitation to talk.

## Examples in tone

- "Most identity work struggles because the thinking behind it never got resolved."
- "We build identities with enough thinking behind them to last."
- "If the underlying thinking has not been settled, no amount of design will fix it. We should talk."