# Content Strategy

How to write, not how to lay out. Good typography with bad content is just "polished mediocrity". This document covers the writing principles.

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## Core principles (all documents)

### 1. Data over adjectives

- ❌ "Delivered significant business growth"
- ✅ Write the specific numbers and deltas

Every sentence should survive the follow-up question "how much, specifically?". If you can't answer, don't write it.

### 2. Judgment over execution

Junior writes "what they did". Mid writes "how they did it". **Senior writes "why they made that call, and what they predicted correctly"**.

- ❌ "Led the platform build-out"
- ✅ Write what judgment you made and how it was proven right

### 3. Distinctive phrasing over industry clichés

- ❌ "Embrace the AI era, pioneer digital transformation paradigms"
- ✅ Say it in your own words, skip the industry vocabulary

**Distinctive phrasing is memorable**. A line you invented beats a line borrowed from an earnings call. It sounds like a person thinking, not a deck regurgitating.

### 4. Honest boundaries

- If you didn't do it, don't claim it
- If you don't know the exact number, don't invent one. Write a vague but honest magnitude
- Attribute collaborators

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## Per-document strategies

### One-Pager

**Single purpose**: the reader grasps the point in 30 seconds.

**Structure**:
1. **Headline** (serif display) + one-line subtitle (sans body)
2. **Metrics** - 3-4 cards, numbers first
3. **Core argument** (1-2 paragraphs)
4. **Key evidence / roadmap** (3-5 short bullets)
5. **Next step / contact** (footer)

**Rules**:
- Total: 200-350 words
- All section headlines should work as a standalone outline - reading just the headlines should deliver the gist
- Data must fill 30%+ of the body
- No opening ceremony ("In recent years, as technology has rapidly evolved...")

### Long Document

**Structure**:
1. **Cover** - big title + subtitle + author + date
2. **Contents** (auto-generated or hand-written TOC)
3. **Executive Summary** (≤ 1 page + 3-5 takeaways)
4. **Body** - chapters that each stand alone as an essay
5. **Appendix / references** (if applicable)

**Rules**:
- Every chapter opens with a "claim paragraph" (2-3 sentences summarizing the argument)
- After long paragraphs (>5 lines), intersperse callouts / quotes / figures to relieve eye fatigue
- Highlight key data / conclusions with `<span class="hl">`
- Use "chapter breaks" (blank page + chapter number) between major sections

### Letter

**Structure**:
1. Letterhead (sender info, top right or centered)
2. Date (right-aligned)
3. Recipient salutation (left-aligned)
4. Body (3-5 paragraphs)
5. Sign-off ("Sincerely," / "Best regards,")
6. Signature (serif 500)
7. Enclosures (if any)

**Rules**:
- Minimal - no decorative elements
- Body prefers serif (editorial feel)
- Slightly larger type (11-12pt body) - this will be read, not scanned
- Paragraph spacing ≥ 10pt

**Common use cases**:
- Resignation / notice
- Recommendation letter
- Formal collaboration proposal
- Personal statement

### Portfolio

**Structure**:
1. **Cover** (name + one-line positioning + contact)
2. **About** (half-page introduction)
3. **Per-project 1-2 pages**:
   - Project title + type tag + date range
   - One-line description
   - 2-3 hero images (if applicable)
   - Role + challenge + outcome
4. **Selected works list** (additional projects as a short list)
5. **Contact** (return to contact details)

**Rules**:
- Visuals first, text supports
- Every project's outcome must be quantifiable
- Photos > design mockups > code screenshots (the more abstract, the better)
- Don't list every tech stack - a mono tag row is enough

### Resume

The most constrained document type in kami.

**Hard constraints**:
- Strictly 2 A4 pages
- Every project follows three-part: Role / Actions / Impact
- 5 core skills, each with at least one brand-color emphasis
- Team size, tech stack, narrative voice must stay consistent throughout

**Key sections**:
- Header + 4 metric cards
- Summary (~50 words)
- Timeline (3 steps - long-range evolution signal)
- 3-5 core projects
- Public work / impact (optional)
- 5 core skills
- Education

**Metric card selection rule**:
- 1 card on **time** (years, consistency)
- 1 card on **scale** (team, users, projects, or other quantifiable scope)
- 2 cards on **results** (quantifiable external proof)

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## Coupling rules (layout × content)

### Emphasis rhythm

Across any document:
- ≤ 2 emphasized items per line
- Emphasis must be a **quantifiable number** or a **distinctive phrase**
- Do not emphasize adjectives

### Number formatting

| ✅ | ❌ |
|---|---|
| 5,000+ | 5000+ (missing thousands separator) |
| 90% | 90 % (space before percent) |
| ~$10M | $9,876,543 (false precision reads fake) |
| 2026.04 | April 2026 (when horizontal space is tight) |
| -> | → |

### Emphasis is not bold

Use `color: var(--brand)` alone - don't also add `font-weight: bold`. Bold breaks the single-weight design language.

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## Pre-ship checklist

Run through before every draft:

- [ ] Any jargon like "leverage / unlock / embrace / pioneer"? Cut.
- [ ] Does every paragraph's first sentence stand alone? If not, that paragraph has no claim.
- [ ] Are all numbers verifiable? If asked "where did this come from", can you answer?
- [ ] At least one **distinctive phrase** (not industry boilerplate)?
- [ ] Every emphasized (brand-colored) span is either a number or a distinctive phrase? If not, remove the emphasis.
- [ ] Paragraph lengths even? No paragraph over 5 lines?
- [ ] Number format consistent (commas, percent signs, arrows)?
- [ ] Page count within the document's constraint (resume 2, one-pager 1, letter 1)?

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## Writing references

- **Paul Graham's essays** - short, direct, judgmental. The gold standard for essayistic writing.
- **Stripe Press books** - print-grade typography paired with deep content. Where to learn the craft of the single sentence.
- **Minto's Pyramid Principle** - conclusion first, evidence below. The shape of every one-pager and exec summary.
- **Ben Horowitz's blog** - how to write technical and business judgment in prose ordinary people can read. The template for long-doc voice.

None are required, but reading any one of them will move the dial on both your writing and your judgment.
