Strategy & voice
Who it's for, what we say and how we sound.
Positioning
Overzero is a two-person studio (Ieva and Oliver). We set up a growing team's brand base (positioning, voice, visual direction and design system) and build or redesign their product on it, in two-week sprints, delivered in one Base they keep.
Positioning and voice v2 (13 Oct): growing, seed-funded or revenue-backed teams. The storyline is still being reworked.
The feeling
A misty field at dawn with one hand-drawn line through it. Quiet and spacious, like a senior colleague who doesn't need to shout.
lots of white and paper-grey space, big type, one image and one drawn gesture per section. Calm, never cold.
mono labels, hairline rules, exact facts (prices, durations, dates).
contour lines look traced by hand; photos are real places and real people.
Voice
Plain, short, relaxed but professional. A senior colleague across the table. Few words, exact facts, warm.
- Short and concise. No filler, no buzzwords.
- Describe ourselves accurately: designers who build, at home in the technical parts (repo, setup, deployment). Not engineers, and we never touch a client's production code. No seniority we don't have.
- Never blame people for using the tools they have. The AI tools are a real step forward; the point is that everyone has them.
- Playful about the situation, never superior. No looking down, no "AI slop".
- Grounded, not lofty ("soul" was too much). The market talks bluntly; we stay plain and direct.
- No bloat: if it sounds like a billboard line, cut it.
- Public copy has to be understood by someone who has never heard of us. Our internal terms ("brand base") stay internal; "the Base" gets explained the first time it appears.
- Base layer: the
writing-baseskill. All its rules apply unless this section states an exception; the brand voice goes on top.
Traits
Plain and specific
Short sentences, concrete things (a repo, a link, the Monday kickoff, €6,000). Technical words when the topic is technical
Founders are buried in hype; specifics build trust. Shouldn't tip into: curt or cold.
Relaxed, professional
A senior colleague across the table. Contractions, direct questions ("where does the product feel behind the company?")
Two seniors, no agency layer. Shouldn't tip into: sloppy or chummy ("fiddly").
Honest about limits
Says what we can't do before what we can ("If people aren't using your product, a redesign won't fix that")
A redesign can't fix a weak business; saying so earns trust. Shouldn't tip into: hedging or self-doubt.
Light about the situation, warm to the founder
Names how things are without judging anyone ("AI gets everyone to 60%")
Our irreverence is aimed at how things are "supposed" to be done, never at people or their tools. Shouldn't tip into: edgy or superior.
The "feels like you" contrast is part of our core positioning. Use it deliberately and rarely; the writing base otherwise avoids X-not-Y constructions.
Our words
The words that make it sound like us, and the ones they replace.
The market's words, for naming the founder's situation: *consistent* · *trust* · *feel* · *clear* · *what we stand for* · *the last 40%* · *one place* · *stays consistent*. Careful, only when echoing their words: *half baked* · *looks generic* · *design spaghetti* · *janky*. They describe the founder's product, so said by us they can sound like a put-down.
| We say | Instead of | Why |
|---|---|---|
| your product, redesign | prototype, MVP, app | We redesign their real product. "Prototype" only for a clickable preview inside the Base |
| design studio, studio | agency | Two people, no account layer |
| Oliver and Ieva, two seniors | our team, our experts | Accurate, and it's who they get |
| founders, your team, you | clients, users, customers | Who we talk to |
| growing startups and scale-ups; then name the situation (new customers, a growing team, the next round) | post-seed, Series A-ready, investor-ready | Founders describe their situation, not their round. "Post-seed" stays internal |
| the moment your product outgrows its look | pain point, challenge | Their moment, in plain words |
| the Base, your Base (explained at first mention) | platform, portal, solution, brand hub | Plain, and it's the name |
| your brand (positioning, voice, visual direction) | brand base, brand identity, branding package | "Brand base" is internal; we set up the base of a brand, not a full identity |
| a repo next to your codebase, in code | integrated, production-ready | We never touch their production code; their engineers bring it in |
| sprint; monthly (coming soon) | engagement, retainer, project, subscription | Our actual offer names |
| work with you | partner with you, on your journey | Filler |
| build, set up, redesign, show, share | transform, elevate, empower | Say what we actually do |
Examples
Overzero is a two-person design studio. We set up your brand and redesign your product on it, in two weeks, all in one Base you keep.
AI gets everyone to 60%. The last 40% is what people judge: whether your product feels like you, and whether your team knows what to say about it.
We build it in your Base, a repo next to your codebase. Your engineers copy what they need, review it and bring it in.
If people aren't using your product, a redesign won't fix that, and we'll tell you on the call.
Nothing here yet. Your redesigned screens land here as soon as we push them.
Hi Mara, before our kickoff on Monday: what's changed most since you started, and where does the product feel behind the company?
From the reviews
- Relaxed, but professional ("fiddly" was too loose → casual slider 4).
- Cut bloat: no marketing-y sign-offs or billboard lines nobody would say ("That's where we start").
- "Looks, feels and sounds like you" is our deliberate three. Use it, but not often, and don't copy the pattern elsewhere.
- Technical words are fine, sparingly, where the topic is technical (the Base, the repo, the setup). Roughly one in six lines.
- Headlines say what we do in plain words ("Your brand and product, in two weeks."). Process detail (week one, week two) belongs further down the page.
- No opening questions like "Want to…?" and no exclamation marks. Say it as a plain invitation ("Try it yourself: click through our Overzero Base").
- Keep a word when it's accurate, even if it's direct ("judge" stayed).
Nevers
- About ourselves: "guaranteed", "raise faster", "get funded" (honest about limits) · "looks professional" as a promise (it's table stakes now) · "AI-powered", "vibe-coded" as a selling point (we use AI tools; the value is the two people and the work) · "soul" and other lofty words · anything that suggests a rules library or a team we don't have.
- Exclamation marks, "unlock", "supercharge", billboard lines nobody would say out loud.
- Looking down on founders or their tools.
- Stock "team at laptop" photos, 3D renders, AI-generated people, bright gradients.
- Centered headlines, rounded section corners, more than one dark button per view.
From rules/brand.md. Edit it there; this page follows.