A common misconception about microcopy is that if we want to sound human, being funny will automatically do the trick.
This approach, along with the current awareness to the importance of microcopy, has brought up quite a few cases of “trying too hard” microcopy, where it feels like the writers were trying so hard to be Joe Cool that they forgot they were writing for UX.
Overreaching microcopy is trying to be the showstopper, instead of serving its purpose and helping users.
Related: The invisible pieces of microcopy you’re forgetting
This isn’t to say that humor is bad; it’s an incredible tool for emotional attachment, improving UX, and driving action. For more about this, I highly recommend reading Clifford Nass’s The Man Who Lied to His Laptop and what he found about humor in interfaces.
So what’s the right way to use...
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