Flexing our voice

We’re all about meeting people where they are. Using flex in our voice gives audiences confidence that we understand their needs. So think about the person you’re writing for and what they need from us.

This isn’t about stepping out of character. Zalando is Zalando, wherever we meet people.

How we flex

We do ✅

  • Keep our relaxed basics everywhere.  

  • Flex contrasting patterns and unexpected details to the proposition, market and message. 

  • Make an exception for crisis comms. This needs to be more formal than our day-to-day writing.

We don't ❌

  • Sound formal – even in serious moments.
We can talk about difficult topics but do it 
in an informal way.

  • Change our voice. We always speak Zalando.

  • Reinvent our voice for different markets, individual channels or other languages

When we flex our voice

We can stay true to our personality and meet our audience in the moment they’re in. It’s all about how we flex our three voice qualities: relaxed basics, contrasting patterns and unexpected details. 

The key is knowing when to keep things simple, and when to make a statement.


We do this based on whether we’re writing to inform or entertain – or somewhere in between.

When we want to inform

  • People might be looking for: details, news or reassurance

  • We want to: guide people to what they need, in a way that’s clear, helpful and effortless

  • So we: use relaxed basics to get our point across, with touches of contrasting patterns and unexpected details

  • e.g. investor comms, FAQs, partner onboarding

When we want to entertain

  • People might be looking for: style ideas, inspiration or amusement

  • We want to: make people feel something, offering an element of surprise to stay on people’s minds

  • So we: lean into the expressive parts of our voice. Dial up the contrasting patterns and unexpected details – but don’t skip the relaxed basics

  • e.g. stories, social, out-of-home marketing

A lot of moments will hit somewhere in the middle. Here we want to show some personality through contrasting patterns and unexpected details – but make sure we're still big on clarity.

  • e.g. annual report, role descriptions, product details page 

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