Brand voice & tone strategy

Rare Colors — Brand Voice & Tone Strategy Case Study
Case Study Brand Voice & Tone / Rare Colors
Client — Rare Colors

LOVE
OUTSIDE
the lines.

Rare Colors needed a voice as distinctive as their diamonds. I developed the brand’s tone and voice strategy from the ground up — rooted in data from user personas and the existing customer base — and packaged it into style sheets and brand guidelines the entire team could use. Not a set of abstract principles, but a practical playbook with real copy scenarios.

Role
Brand Voice Strategist
Scope
Tone & Voice Guidelines
Client
Rare Colors
Rare Colors — Love Outside The Lines campaign
Rare.
Expert-led, not arrogant. We know color diamonds better than anyone — and we invite you in.
Personal.
We speak one-to-one, not broadcast. Every touchpoint feels like a conversation with a trusted jeweler.
Inevitable.
We sell a life upgrade, not just a product. The language hints at legacy, milestones, and investment.
01 — The Challenge

A BRAND WITH
NO SHARED LANGUAGE

Rare Colors had beautiful product and a growing D2C presence, but no documented voice. Different team members wrote differently. Social sounded different from email. Ads didn’t match the site. There was no single source of truth for how the brand should sound — and for a luxury jeweler selling to discerning consumers, inconsistency is expensive.

02 — The Approach

DATA FIRST.
VOICE SECOND.

The voice didn’t come from gut instinct — it came from the audience. I analyzed user personas and current customer data to understand who Rare Colors was actually talking to, then built a voice framework around what those people respond to. The result was a set of style sheets and brand guidelines with practical copy scenarios: what to say, what never to say, and the difference between the two.

Uniquely You, Undeniably Rare Colors Campaign Direction
Rare Colors — Of The Earth, For The Few Brand Positioning
Rare Colors — A Night At The Museum email Copy in Action
01
Persona & Customer Analysis
Mined user persona data and existing customer behavior to understand who the brand is speaking to — and what language resonates with them.
02
Voice & Tone Framework
Developed the core voice pillars, tone spectrum, and guardrails — defining what the brand sounds like, and critically, what it doesn’t.
03
Style Sheets & Guidelines
Packaged everything into shareable brand guidelines with practical copy scenarios — ready for internal staff to reference across every channel.
03 — The Framework

NOT ABSTRACT.
PRACTICAL.

The guidelines weren’t a deck of mood boards and adjectives. They were built to be used: side-by-side copy examples showing the right way and the wrong way. What “authoritative” sounds like in an email subject line. What “intimate” looks like in a social caption. What the brand would never say, and why. The team could pick it up and write on-brand copy without a briefing call.

04 — Application

ONE VOICE.
EVERY CHANNEL.

The voice framework now informs everything Rare Colors puts out — from paid social and email campaigns to product descriptions and website copy. It gave the brand director a tool to align internal and external contributors, ensuring the consumer experience feels cohesive whether they find Rare Colors through an Instagram ad, a Google search, or a friend’s referral.

KEY
DELIVERABLES
What shipped.
i
Brand Voice & Tone Framework
Core voice pillars, tone spectrum, and guardrails — rooted in user persona data and customer research. Defines how the brand sounds across every touchpoint.
ii
Internal Style Sheets
Shareable brand guidelines with practical copy scenarios, do/don’t examples, and channel-specific direction — built for staff to reference without needing a creative brief.
iii
Copy Direction & Scenarios
Real-world copy examples across social, email, ads, and product pages — showing the voice in action with side-by-side right/wrong comparisons.
Rare Colors × Brand Voice & Tone Strategy Portfolio