Drupal7UX – How does Drupal talk? (on brand, personality and tone of voice)
So, there we were, just starting to work through the workflow for Drupal – we got as far as the login screen when we thought ‘let’s write something nice on this screen’, and, pen poised… we were stumped.
We wanted to write something friendly like Moo would. Or Innocent drinks. We wanted to make it visually interesting like Vimeo do. Or Picnik. But… is that Drupal?
We realised we have no idea what Drupal’s personality is. And it would make our lives much easier, and help make a much better User Experience, if we can work out what it is.
Isn’t this completely touchy-feely and a waste of time?
Well no. One way or another, words will go on screens and a personality will emerge. Or, worse still, a few personalities, or a few dozen personalities. Much better that we spend a little time and give a little thought and see what we can come up with.
So, here’s where you come in:
The Personality Exercise:
Take a minute to v quickly answer the following five questions. Go with your gut reaction, don’t over think it. Try not to read everyone elses’ responses first. Don’t worry about being silly! (This is a kind of silly exercise after all, albeit useful)
- If Drupal was an animal, what would it be?
- If Drupal was a celebrity, who would it be?
- If Drupal was a car, what would it be?
- If Drupal was a profession/career what would it be?
So your answers might look something like this:
Drupal would be a squirrel/Paris Hilton/SS Commodore Ute/Teacher*
Get to it – what do you reckon?
*the opinions expressed above are not those of the author. Except for the SS Commodore one.
45 Comments
leisa.reichelt on March 26th, 2009
play nicely Damian. 
intensely desirable and worth the effort, of course.
redndahead on March 26th, 2009
Chameleon
(no celebrity)
1989 Taurus SHO (innocuous on the outside, power on the inside)
LegoLand expert builder
Chris on March 26th, 2009
I think Drupal would be an octpus (but not necessarily with 8 legs… a mollusk of some sort for sure), definitely not Tom Cruise – more likely Jack Black in kung fu panda, Ford Edge (which is kind of confusing in itself), and certainly (though not original at all I am sure) its a web developer.
Chris on March 26th, 2009
darn… “redndahead” is right its a “LegoLand expert builder” for sure!
matthew on March 26th, 2009
Animal: monkey
Celebrity: Jon Stewart
Car: army jeep
Career: mechanic
Hueij on March 27th, 2009
Animal: cat
Celeb: Marilyn Monroe
Car: ’56 Corvette
Career: rednahead’s Lego girl
They all make you feel warm when you first meet them but after a while they make you feel that you have to run away as fast as you can. But somehow you get to know them better and after a while you get a new couch after your cat died and you know you want another one to tear it apart, you realise you are watching Niagara for the umptieth time, tell yourself that you will get a drivers-license if only you could get your hands on the most beautiful car ever build and that lego girl… well…
In short, once you get to know Drupal you find out she is sexy (and for me, still full of mysteries).
jpetso on March 27th, 2009
animal: an elephant (no idea why i thought of that one)
celebrity: Woody Allen
car: an Audi A6
career: haha… software engineering 
nadavoid on March 27th, 2009
ant / Paul-the-apostle / element / administrative assistant
Ant = tinies cooperating
Paul = being all things to all people, and has a mission
Element = highly configurable. kinda cool.
admin assistant = gets it done for you
I also like the Elephant idea. Elephants are very communal, family oriented, and intelligent.
geilhufe on March 27th, 2009
Not being capable of actually following directions:
Drupal is an enabler.
Drupal isn’t an animal, it is the zoo keeper that has the animal YOU want to be.
Drupal isn’t a celebrity, it is TMZ or OK magazine (US-centric reference alert) that connects you with the celebrity that YOU want to be.
Drupal isn’t a car, it is CarMaxx (US centric again), a place where YOU can find the car you want.
You get the idea.
I think the value of this exercise is to define just how schitzophrenic we want to design Drupal to be. Right now it is designed to be clinically insane. So rather than ask what car is Drupal, I would first ask how many cars does Drupal get to be by design?
Animal: Something soft and cuddly for the “kids” (a Koala– they look soft and cuddly, but in reality are mean as heck); something big and powerful for the corporations (I like Elephant); something sleek and efficient for the digerati (dolphin).
Car: Something fast and sexy for the digerati (Tesla Roadster); reliable and efficient for the hobbyists (Civic Hybrid); something powerful and utilitarian for the corporations (Delivery van?)
LeeHunter on March 27th, 2009
Really, I’d be happiest if Drupal just communicated very simply, clearly and directly with no personality whatsoever.
I don’t need it to be amusing or endearing. In fact, the people who are seeing Drupal for the first time are probably dealing with way too much information already – that’s why they’re here. If we want to impress them, we should just help them do what they want to do with a minimum of fuss.
leisa.reichelt on March 27th, 2009
acknowledging those who say they’d like ‘no personality’ and asking… is there such a thing?…. just wondering. My gut reaction is no.
Completely taking the point that you don’t want an intrusive personality and yet…
overlobe on March 27th, 2009
animal: large animals don’t really cut it here for me; I want to say the Borg (but benign), or bacteria that build into something bigger – like the chameleon, but in a functional way not a presentational way. essentially its a swiss-army knife. so.. maybe Jan Svankmajer’s dancing knives (if you need anima too)
celeb: someone good, dependable and flexible. wrt acting; not method, more technical. Jeff Bridges ?
car: 70′s landcruiser, with no extras. inside: utiity. outside: utility
profession: hardware store owner. trainspotter on the weekends.
vishnu on March 27th, 2009
Drupal would be a dolphin/Amitabh Bacchan/Tesla Model S/carpenter
elramirez on March 27th, 2009
Drupal goes along the personality of the muppet babies. (http://is.gd/paT6) We are a bunch of dreamers and make use/contribute of the awesome support of the community (more buddies) and the platform as we wish.
Bill F on March 27th, 2009
Chameleon
Ferris Buller (Matthew Broderick)
Jeep Wrangler
Electrician
cpelham on March 27th, 2009
Drupal would be a human/ Bob Dylan/ General Lee (from Dukes of Hazard)/mechanic
human because transform our environment, Bob Dylan because he re-creates himself over and over, the General Lee because it’s a car for everyday people that has been souped up to be elite, and mechanic because mechanics are useful and practical as hell but also love to tinker and make something their own.
hasakanyol on March 27th, 2009
Drupal would be a Butterfly / Ernesto “Che” Guevara / German Car / Revolutionary
@butterfly: short life span, determined, soil to sky in no time.
@che: asthmatic, guerilla, doctor, revolutionary and simply put just a man.
@german-car: has a spirit, well designed, efficient, prestige and most importantly reliable.
@revolutionary: or evolutionary, rich in soul not cluttered, fulfills a destiny.
Its hard to say what Drupal should talk like. Right now Drupal has a personality disorder and doesn’t speak much. Thats got to change. Since simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, the interface shouldn’t get in you’re way. The text should be short but sweet. Clear, focused and the word I’m looking for is; concise. It shouldn’t be WordPress or Expression Engine.
I would compare it to A List Apart’s CMS, but that would only be the front-end, the point I’m trying to make is most software makes you unproductive, it gets in the way, too many buttons, to many options and to many of everything. Thing’s should be visible only when they are required and only reachable at where they belong. There should only be one way to do something, not two or three! Democracy doesn’t work with design or programming.
There should be basic rules or constraint’s. Simply put there’s only one path to happiness and thats pursuit. There should only be one way to reaching you’re need with Drupal, not many. Interface should present itself, clearly, navigation should flow like you would expect it to.
We don’t need to have a conversation with Drupal.
Small talk is just fine, as long as we are both on the same frequency.
Good luck,
Hasan
patrickkennedy on March 27th, 2009
“SS Commodore Ute”! Glad to hear there’s plenty of Aussie left in you despite you stint in Britain 
ncam on March 27th, 2009
Husky, kayne west, ?, management consultant
Alexander Langer on March 27th, 2009
animal: dog
Well behaving and always at your side if you taught it right. Will defend you and what’s yours for not more than a bite to eat, some water and occasional caressing.
Celebrity: Robin Williams
Convincing as comedian, everyday hero and even as villain. No matter what role you give him, he’ll play it in Academy Award like fashion..
Car: VW Beatle (the old one)
Don’t know how this came to my mind. I guess I ain’t good at cars
A Beatle is one of the few cars that seems to have a soul. It may not be so powerful at first (though there’s plenty of customized Beatles with Porsche engines), but whoever sat in a Beatle (especially the convertible) just instantly fell in love with it. It’s friendly, reliable and easy to fix for almost anyone.
Profession/career: Scientist
Back in the days a scientist was not just a nerd. He was interested in so many different things, even combined it with art. Take Da Vinci as a well-known example of someone who excelled in so many areas.
Drupal is such a scientist. It may end up as a specialist of some sort, but it’s pure nature is that of an artist, writer, natural scientist, philospoher, …
Wim Mostrey on March 27th, 2009
* Animal: (Greater) Roadrunner
* Celebrity: Kanye West
* Car: Smart
* Profession/career: Lead Engineer
moshe weitzman on March 27th, 2009
I didn’t read any responses. Here goes:
If Drupal was an animal, what would it be?
Panther. Nimble, fast.
If Drupal was a celebrity, who would it be?
James Bond. Full of tricks. Can manage any situation.
If Drupal was a car, what would it be?
Dunno
If Drupal was a profession/career what would it be?
Air traffic controller
Noyz on March 27th, 2009
If Drupal was an animal, what would it be?
a chameleon. you never know what it’s going to become.
* If Drupal was a celebrity, who would it be?
Jack Nicolson. Odd behavior. hard to pin point. a bit reckless – but also superior.
* If Drupal was a car, what would it be?
A range rover. It can do lots, but its quite messy when it all comes together
* If Drupal was a profession/career what would it be?
Surgeon. Takes a lot of knowledge to get it going, but once you know it, you can save lives.
m&m on March 27th, 2009
>If Drupal was an animal, what would it be?
Dolphin – graceful and fun
>If Drupal was a celebrity, who would it be?
Jack Nicholson – when it comes down to it, he’s a smooth operator
>If Drupal was a car, what would it be?
Chevy Silverado – reliable, best-selling, longest-lasting….Like a Rock
>If Drupal was a profession/career what would it be?
Landscape Architect – combo of design and functionality at its core. Could also be Bill Nye the Science Guy (cuz he’s just flat-out cool).
daniel on March 28th, 2009
Elephant/ Cory Doctorow/ amphibious vehicle/ Architecture.
ps. in this theme, why do I have to scroll down to read the article, then scroll back up to the top and click some arbitrary number (of comments) in order to make a comment? (just askin’).
Joeri Poesen on March 28th, 2009
animal: grizzly. Can’t say why. Other animals might make more sense, but I experience her as a grizzly.
celebrity: Johnny Depp. Awesome and talented, yet curiously unpredictable and notoriously hard to manage, until you get to know him.
car: skoda roomster. Undervalued, underappreciated, much more than meets the eye if you care to look. Could have been fancier and shinier, but still worth every penny, and hey: get a custom paint job if you want to stand out.
career: marriage councilor: negotiating so much points of view with so surprisingly little conflicts.
Joeri Poesen on March 28th, 2009
make that surprisingly few conflicts
Thijs van den Anker on March 28th, 2009
Horse/Ronaldinho/Jeep/Social Worker
dalin on March 29th, 2009
* If Drupal was an animal, what would it be?
dog – man’s best friend
* If Drupal was a celebrity, who would it be?
Barak Obama
* If Drupal was a car, what would it be?
Electric car
* If Drupal was a profession/career what would it be?
Creative Generalist
pwolanin on March 29th, 2009
cat;
Barak Obama;
Land Rover;
talent agent.
Scott Bryant on March 29th, 2009
Personally I’ve always thought the name Drupal is rather brand defeating…makes me think of “droop” not a way I’d prefer to be feeling conducting tasks or doing work
Susan Campbell on March 30th, 2009
Jackrabbit – sometimes runs too fast (new releases) that it misses things
Dennis Hopper – good actor, but a little weird
Volvo – reliable, but not attractive and difficult to get repaired
Chef – with enough heat and sweat you can get a good product, but definitely not instant food (i.e., doesn’t work out-of-the-box)
Thanks for all your efforts, Leisa and Mark!
Jim on March 30th, 2009
Oh dear. This is where the design process goes bad.
Jeff on March 30th, 2009
A person – drupal should be like the mac guy (justin long) as drupal community has been perceived as not-so-helpful forum and in need of a friendlier image for others to get to know about.
A car – Beetle! timeless and never-out-of-style, meaning that any version of drupal will have it’s own character and when in the future looking back, there will always be a certain character to each version of drupal.
Career – can’t think of any
Basically drupal needs to have a friendlier tone, calm and collective color (blue!), humble but with character!
This is fun! lol
Jeff on March 30th, 2009
A person – drupal should be like the mac guy (justin long) as drupal community has been perceived as not-so-helpful forum and in need of a friendlier image for others to get to know about.
A car – Beetle! timeless and never-out-of-style, meaning that any version of drupal will have it’s own character and when in the future looking back, there will always be a certain character to each version of drupal.
Career – can’t think of any
Basically drupal needs to have a friendlier tone, calm and collective color (blue!), humble but with character!
This is fun! lol
noirfatom on March 30th, 2009
# an animal > a cat
# a celebrity > james bond
# a car > VW beatle
# a profession/career > an illusionist
Susan MacPhee on March 30th, 2009
animal: chameleon
celebrity: Johnny Depp
car: zip car
profession/career: structural engineer
astanush on March 31st, 2009
Drupal would e a Chameleon/Ben Kingsley/Jeep/Architect
astanush on March 31st, 2009
Drupal would be a Chameleon/Ben Kingsley/Jeep/Architect
somnoliento on March 31st, 2009
Animal: A horse; it’s not cuddly, not a pet, could be incredibly useful and feel like a friend after a while, but it’s not… domesticated.
Celebrity: Can’t pin one down; I keep thinking “hard to like” or “take me on my own terms”, but also “deep” and “interesting”. Again, not cuddly. Brando?
Car: x-terra – off-road, versatile, you could take the seats off or soldier on bike-holders in the back; and yet small and maneuverable.
[Sorry to respond a few days late, I plan on being a bit more involved.]
Jaza on April 7th, 2009
Drupal would be a monkey / Christopher Lloyd / Volkswagon / plumber
Flimm on April 13th, 2009
cow/it wouldn’t be, it would a behind the scenes person/a van/a sysadmin
I think you should have asked what Drupal’s personality should be, rather than what it feels like right now. Here’s what I think it should be:
horse/Peter Jackson/a van/a miracle-worker who’s a sysadmin
Rowan on May 6th, 2009
> animal? –> dolphin
> celebrity? –> interestingly enough, kate moss.
> car? –> a car-building kit? not helpful, sorry… a subaru forester
> profession/career? –> magazine publisher
Damian on March 26th, 2009
SS Commodore Ute… resource intensive and hard to sell ?