Joanna Hofer

Capitalization Audit

Case Study

Spreadsheet shows notes on capitalization usage findings for page titles, subtitles, tab labels, tooltips, drop-down labels, and button text.

Platform capitalization audit spreadsheet

Overview

The capitalization style we were using was inconsistent across the teacher-facing ed tech platform, but due to its massive scope and intricate design, we weren’t sure how to proceed. We wanted to make and enforce capitalization rules with future additions to the design, but we needed data to support our recommendations.

RequestLog how we use capitalization across the platform
My RolesAuditor, editor
Timeline1 month
ResultVisibility into capitalization usage; starting point from which to make decisions going forward

Process

  1. Review platform
  2. Add column headers (for UI elements)
  3. Add row headers (for individual pages, sections)
  4. Record capitalization usage; note inconsistencies, errors
  5. Follow and explore all links (on pages, modals, tooltips, popovers)
  6. Share with supervisor

Highlights

We wanted to know what capitalization conventions had been applied to the copy across the platform. I audited the copy and microcopy, noting both the current state and inconsitencies and errors. To share my findings, I created an Excel spreadsheet that showed the capitalization used on every screen, modal, popover, and tooltip in the platform. I used a color scheme to highlight inconsistencies, questions, and errors.

The main categories I audited were titles, headers, tabs, links, labels, buttons, tooltips, tooltip titles, drop-down menus and elements, form labels, and placeholder text.

Spreadsheet section shows notes taken on capitalization usage on main navigation menu, titles, and subtitles.

Spreadsheet columns showing capitalization findings for page titles on the Ed Sign-In page

Spreadsheet section shows notes taken on capitalization usage on form labels, placeholder text and radio buttons.

Spreadsheet columns showing capitalization findings for form labels and placeholder text

Spreadsheet section shows capitalization usage notes on links, toggles, and buttons.

Spreadsheet columns showing capitalization findings for links and buttons

Spreadsheet section shows notes on capitalization usage on tab labels, tooltips, and drop-down labels.

Spreadsheet columns showing capitalization findings for tab labels, tooltips, and drop-down labels

Spreadsheet section shows organization of capitalization notes by platform section, indicating where these findings can be located and viewed, by section, page ID, Page title, Page subtitle, etc.

Zoomed out view of the capitalization audit spreadsheet

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