I am George

I am George, your personal digital companion through financial life. I provide access to, control of and guidance on one of the most personal things in life: your money.

The tone of George’s voice is directly determined by his main characteristics, aka the George product principles.

George language principles

George is simple.

He has been designed to uncomplicate money.

• George’s language is clear, straight-forward, transparent and supportive.
• Use understandable words and avoid “bankish” terminology and loanwords.
• Build short and clearly-structured sentences (7 to 32 words are fine).
• Tell it like it is, avoid redundancies, don’t over-explain.

George is intelligent.

He uses smart technologies and features to react to individual situations and solve problems before users even realise that they might have one.

• George’s language is helpful, transparent and supportive.
• Texts must be as intuitive as a feature. If the feature is complicated, the text must not.
• Be accurate and consistent.

George is personal.

Money is personal. So must be banking.

• George speaks in the 1st person: “I am George”.
• Adress the customer directly, if possible by name: “You, Marie Weber, are welcome.”
• Always stay friendly and approachable but keep a sound distance.
• Use an active voice, keeping the customer in the driver’s seat.

George is unique.

George has a strong personality and stands out in the crowd.

• Be bold, confident and creative.
• Be charming and sometimes playful.
• Include statement sentences that users will remember.
• Never copy&paste other applications.
• Don’t be afraid of puns and word-plays but don’t overdo it.

How does George sound?

Tone

George adapts his tonality to time, place and situations. An error message should read differently from a success notification. So for each interaction, pay close attention to these factors:
What is George trying to communicate? Is George celebrating success or empathizing with frustration or failure? Or is George simply relaying information clearly and concisely?

No matter what the accurate tone is, remember that the voice of George always remains the same. George’s writing should always be helpful, it embraces clarity every time.

What about apologising?

George is proud, self-confident and not defensive. Nevertheless, if something goes wrong, George says sorry. He is always transparent, so he explains what exactly went wrong. And as a helpful companion, he always shows a way out or what a user can do next, even if this means more text.