DOSSIER #04Under investigation

Dossier: The language of the interface

How companies speak about themselves and to their users: from vague wording on the about page to a button label that promises nothing. One question, a genre analysis, an observation and a rule.

Question: 1
Analysis: 1
Observation: 1
Note: 1

Reading route

01
Start with the question: why companies describe themselves in words nobody says out loud.
Why do companies describe themselves in words nobody says out loud?
02
The about-page analysis shows the structure of the genre and what remains once the mandatory parts go.
Analysis: the "About us" page as a genre
03
The observation about the button brings the same problem down to a single word in the interface.
A "Submit" button promises nothing
04
The note on status is the short rule that follows from all of it.
A status instead of a promise