Formatting Tips

In this section, you’ll find details on punctuation, capitalization, and list formatting guidelines to assemble your submission perfectly and maximize its chances of getting selected

Punctuation

Hyphen. Hyphens should only ever be used to hyphenate compound words or phrases.

<aside> 💡 ✅ A single-column layout ❌ En dashes [ – ] are never used.

</aside>

Em dashes. Em dashes should be used to signal pauses in speech, as glorified parentheses, or to introduce explanations. They should be followed and preceded by a space.

<aside> 💡 ✅ Contrasting colors, underlines, overlays — all these tools can help the active tab stand out.

</aside>

Oxford comma. Oxford comma should be used in all instances in which there are at least three items listed in a series, including in headlines/headers.

<aside> 💡 User-oriented products consider the needs, goals, and motivations of users.

</aside>

Use colons to introduce lists only followed by a space.

<aside> 💡 Adapt the logo for different purposes: websites, social media, or app stores.

</aside>

Ellipses. Use the ellipsis character “…”, not three periods followed by a space.

<aside> 💡 ✅ So… [single ellipsis character] peculiar. ❌ So... [dot-dot-dot] peculiar.

</aside>

Exclamation marks. Only use with bright, funny, or positive messages followed by a space.
Parentheses. Restrict their use to alternative forms, “fun facts,” and non-essential clarifications. You can also use parentheses when you mention certain symbols. In all other cases, use em dashes instead. Otherwise, if something isn’t important, don’t write it ****at all.

<aside> 💡 ✅ the property and value are divided by a colon (:).

</aside>

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Punctuation