Verbal Identity

Develop the verbal identity for "$ARGUMENTS". Create the voice, tone, messaging framework, and language guidelines that bring the brand personality to life in words.

Arguments. $ARGUMENTS may contain the project name and optional flags. Take the first token as <project> and treat --skip-checks as a flag; never include flags in file paths. All paths below use <project>. If --skip-checks is present, skip the prerequisite check and, before writing any artifact, append one line to .metapowers/branding/<project>/skip-log.md: - <ISO timestamp> — <skill name> skipped prerequisite check for <artifact file> — reason: <reason or "none given">.

Prerequisites

Read .metapowers/branding/<project>/01-discover.md and .metapowers/branding/<project>/02-strategy.md. If 02-strategy.md does not exist, tell the user:

Phase 2 (Strategy) has not been completed for "<project>". Run /branding:strategy <project> first, or use --skip-checks to bypass.

Process

1. Read context files:

   • Read .metapowers/branding/<project>/01-discover.md for audience insights
   • Read .metapowers/branding/<project>/02-strategy.md for personality, values, and positioning

2. Define brand voice:

   • Voice is consistent — it's WHO the brand is
   • Describe the voice using the personality traits from Strategy
   • Provide "We are / We are not" examples
   • Example: "We are confident but not arrogant. We are friendly but not casual."

3. Define tone variations:

   • Tone adapts to context — it's HOW the brand speaks in different situations
   • Define tone for: marketing, support, social media, formal communications, error messages
   • For each context: tone description + example copy

4. Create messaging pillars:

   • 3-5 key messages the brand consistently communicates
   • For each pillar: headline, supporting statement, proof point

5. Develop tagline/endline options:

   • Generate 3-5 tagline candidates
   • Evaluate each against the positioning and personality
   • Recommend the strongest option

6. Language guidelines:

   • Preferred vocabulary and phrases
   • Words and phrases to avoid
   • Grammar and style preferences (e.g., Oxford comma, contractions, capitalization)

7. Write the artifact to .metapowers/branding/<project>/03-verbal.md

Output

The verbal identity written to .metapowers/branding/<project>/03-verbal.md. Present a summary to the user highlighting:

• Voice description in one sentence
• Top tagline recommendation
• Messaging pillars overview