Intelligence Community Design System

We regularly use abbreviations and acronyms, especially in technology. Write out the words the first time you mention it, then use the short version next time.

For example, write 'Secret Intelligence Service (SIS)' the first time you mention it. Then 'SIS' the second time.

Don’t use ampersands in body text. “And” should be spelled out in sentences and paragraphs. Spelling out “and” improves readability and makes scanning easier. Use ampersands only if they are part of a logo or in a brand name.

A paragraph should be made up of two to three sentences if possible.

We don't use block capitals as they're difficult for people to read.

Capitalise proper nouns and write everything else in sentence case. A proper noun is often a specific place, person or thing.

Sentence case is where only the first letter of the first word in a sentence or phrase is capitalised. Using capital letters for special or important words can be highly subjective and can result in inconsistencies across an organisation.

Only use bold to refer to text from interfaces in technical documentation or instructions – use bold to explain what field a user needs to fill in on a form, or which button they need to select. For example: “Select Continue to open the certificate window.”

Do not use italics. Use ‘single quotation marks’ if referring to a document, scheme or initiative.

Never use underline to emphasise your text because underline is used to indicate hyperlinks.

Don't use full stops in headings, list items (which are not full sentences), buttons or action links.

Do not use footnotes on web pages. They’re designed for reference in print, not web pages. Always consider the user need first. If the information in the footnotes is important, include it in the body text. If it’s not, leave it out.

Not all scenarios will be covered by this guidance – do what makes sense. For example, writing the number in words in the example below.