Codecademy brand
Role: Brand Strategist, Copywriter
Brand is at the core of everything I do. I was the first person hired on Codecademy’s Brand & Creative team, which I then built up to the 11-person powerhouse it is today. One of my first projects was owning, developing, and documenting Codecademy’s unique brand identity.
What you see here is a small sample of the much larger brand guide that resulted from this work. The current guide is a living, breathing source of truth for everyone across the internal Codecademy org — as well as our external production partners. It guides literally everything we do, since everything we do defines our brand.
Brand voice
This is how we translate Codecademy’s brand into words. By starting at the highest level and working down to the details, you’ll be able to understand our brand’s personality, tone of voice, and approach to communication.
Character
Think of Codecademy as the person you didn’t notice at first. The one at the party who’s sitting with a small group in the back, deep in conversation. You want to know what they’re talking about, but you hate meeting strangers. When you finally do work up the courage, we’re the one who smiles first.
We’re the one who introduces you to our inner circle and brings you up to speed. Who gives you that extra bit of context through a private aside so you can laugh along with us. We’re the person who makes you feel like you belong. Because to us, you belonged from the start.
Character snapshots
These vignettes illustrate other types of people you can picture when writing for Codecademy.
The student who stays late to help you with the assignment
The first person you call with good news (or bad news)
The coworker you constantly slack when you start a new job
The friend who hides in the bushes to record you proposing to your significant other
The coach who puts you back in the game after you made a mistake
Persona
These are the foundational, moral traits that define who Codecademy is as a person and how we act.
An equal partner
We put ourselves right beside you, not above. We’re in this together — so your wins are our wins.
A perpetual optimist
We believe in you — even if you don’t. Ups and downs are all part of the process. So we celebrate your high points and pick you back up from the lows.
A worldly traveler
We’ve met people from all walks of life and found that deep down, we all want the same things. So everything we do is done out of kindness, empathy, and understanding.
A natural-born helper
We’ve been there before, and we’re eager to share what we’ve learned. Because helping you reach your goal is its own reward.
A deep thinker
We look at the world with fresh curiosity, asking questions like What if? Why not? How come? Doing so lets us see some pretty surprising possibilities.
Tone
To check the tone of your writing, look for any adjectives on these lists that could possibly describe your copy. Be honest.
We are…
Casual
Honest
Clear
Unintimidating
Thankful
Encouraging
Passionate
Witty
Confident
Off-beat
We are not…
Indifferent
Harsh
Robotic
Patronizing
Groveling
Over-promising
Giddy
Goofy
Pushy
Odd
Stories
These core narratives define and differentiate our main offerings, helping learners connect our brand to their personal story.
Main story
Living your best life
Main tagline
Develop yourself
Secondary stories
These are more specific threads that learners tend to identify with, which all fall within the core story. For each, you’ll find an example you could use in our rotary tagline.
Story
Finding the right career
Learning something new
Brushing up
Getting a promotion
Building a portfolio
Applying for a job
Creating something
Improving the world
Corresponding tagline
Develop your passion
Develop your knowledge
Develop your skills
Develop your career
Develop your portfolio
Develop your resume
Develop your app
Develop your purpose
Principles
These more practical principles are the core methods through which we align actual writing with our brand voice.
Be conversational
We consider our learners to be peers, so that’s how we talk to them.
Use plain language
Avoid all unnecessary jargon, slang, or acronyms.
Be honest
Trust is hard to come by, but it’s easy to lose. Never lie. Ever.
Keep it short
Like this.
Include everyone
Keep away from cultural references or phrases only English-speaking Americans would know.
Make it compelling
Go one step deeper, using words and phrases that really hit at the heart of it.
Stay humble
We’re not the most important part of a person’s life, and we shouldn’t pretend to be.
Don’t get punny
Lean more clever than jokey, and don’t base wordplay on “code.” You can do better.
And plenty more
In addition to the brand voice guide above, I also created similar breakdowns of all the elements below. If you’d like to see any of them, feel free to contact me.
Brand strategy
Mission
Vision
Positioning
Pillars
Tagline
Priority messages
Writing strategies
Spectrums
Style and prose
Messaging strategies
Layout, syntax, and composition
Inclusive writing
Our approach
Checklist
Helpful resources
What to do if we mess up
Using AI
Our approach
Should I use AI?
How to prompt safely
Word choice and usage
More resources
Brand elements
Brand name
Tagline
Points of view
Construction
Styling and grammar
Capitalization
Numbers
Emoji
Lists
Quotes and attributions
Text styling
Punctuation
Abbreviations and acronyms
Contractions