Building a Global Language System

How We Unified Credit Karma’s Voice and Empowered Designers to Scale It

Creating the voice, tone, and content design infrastructure behind Credit Karma’s next-generation product ecosystem

Structure & Narrative Flow

Context

Fragmented Voice, Fragmented Experience

Problem

Credit Karma had evolved from a single product into a suite of financial tools—each with its own tone, naming conventions, and communication style.

This fragmentation led to:

• Confusing and inconsistent experiences across product verticals.

• Content bottlenecks—writers couldn’t scale to meet design velocity.

• Erosion of brand trust and user clarity.

Goal

Unify brand and product language under a single, scalable voice system that could be used by any designer or PM without central bottlenecks.

Research & Discovery: Listening to Language in the Wild

Actions

• Conducted qualitative interviews and content audits across product teams.

• Partnered with Brand and Research to identify emotional tone drivers (trust, optimism, empowerment).

• Mapped how language patterns shifted between verticals (credit, banking, auto, tax).

Insight

Users responded best to clear, human, confidence-building language—yet the organization lacked the structure and systems to deliver it consistently.

Strategy: Designing the Language System

Solution

Architected a Voice & Tone System that codified how Credit Karma communicates across all touchpoints.

System components included:

• Voice principles grounded in brand values (“Clear, Empowering, Human”).

• Tone matrix for emotional modulation by context (e.g., “Financial crisis” vs. “Goal achievement”).

• Naming conventions for products, features, and system components.

• Content models and microcopy guidelines embedded in design system tools.

• Inclusive language standards and accessibility guidelines.

Execution: Building the Infrastructure to Scale It

To make the system usable across teams, I led creation of an Internal Content Design System that integrated voice guidance directly into design workflows.

Key initiatives:

• Built documentation within the design system library so designers could apply content patterns without needing a writer.

• Developed and standardized notification and message frameworks.

• Created content models, reusable components, and quick-reference tone guidance.

• Partnered with Ops to create versioning, training sessions, and governance models.

Result

The system made every designer a language advocate—scaling human-centered writing across 9 product teams without central bottlenecks.

Outcomes: A Scalable, Human Voice

Quantitative Impact:

• 40% reduction in content-related design cycle time.

• 60% increase in consistency across verticals (measured by content audits).

• Improved user trust and comprehension metrics in usability studies.

Qualitative Impact:

• Designers and PMs adopted the system independently.

• Brand and product now spoke with one voice—clear, inclusive, confident.

• Became the foundation for conversational design and AI content evolution across products.

Reflection: From Craft to Culture

Key takeaway:

This wasn’t just about creating guidelines—it was about designing a shared language system that scaled human empathy.

The system turned writing into an organizational capability, not a department.