Typography

English

Use British English.

Spelling rules

• -our, not -or (e.g. colour, not color).
• -ise and -yse, not -ize and -yze (e.g. organise, not organize; analyse, not analyze).
• Double L in a verb conjugation, not single L (e.g. travelled, not traveled).
• AE, not E (e.g. paediatrics, not pediatrics).
• -ence, not -ense (e.g. defence, not defense).
• -ogue, not -og (e.g. dialogue, not dialog).
• -re, not -er (e.g. centre, not center).
• programme, not program.

 

Swiss French

Use Metropolitan French with Swiss French expressions (e.g. septante, not soixante-dix).

 

Swiss German

Use Swiss Standard German (High German with Swiss spelling and expressions).

• ss, not ß (e.g. gross, not groß).
• Example of expression: Billet, not Fahrkarte.

Spaces

No space before any signs other than left parentheses (in French: spaces before specific signs only in print).

 

Signs

• Periods (.): always use them at the end of sentences listed in bullet points; never use them in titles or CTAs.
• Question marks (?): never use more than one at once (e.g. ?, not ??).
• Exclamation marks (!): generally avoid them.
• Ellipses (…): only use them in quotes to indicate the missing end of a thought and when omitting words (e.g. She said: “I don’t know...”; […]).
  • Do not use ellipses after etc. and usw. (in German).
• Hyphens (-): use a hyphen without spaces to link compound words (e.g. first-time user).
• Ampersand (&): only use them for company or brand names (e.g. Johnson & Johnson).
• Lists:
  • For unordered lists: use regular bullet points (i.e. filled circles; e.g. •, not -).
  • For ordered lists: use numbers followed by a dot (e.g. 1., 2.).

Letters

Except in the cases specified below⁠⁠:

• Spell out numbers when they begin a sentence.
• Spell out numbers from one to twelve when part of a sentence.
• Write hundreds, thousands, and millions (round numbers) in full (e.g. one million, not 1,000,000).

 

Arabic numerals

Cardinal numbers

• English: 0.5, 1,000.
• Swiss French: 0,5, 1000.
• Swiss German: 0,5, 1’000.

 

Ordinal numbers

• English: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.
• Swiss French: 1er/1re, 2e, 3e, etc.
• Swiss German: 1., 2., 3., etc.

 

Usage

• Measurements and amounts (e.g. 3 km, 2.1 billion dollars).
• Percentages (e.g. 70%).
• Dates (see below).
• Hours (see below).
• Centuries (e.g. 20th century).
• Legal document sections, pages, etc. (e.g. art. 2, p. 84).
• In addresses (see below).

 

Roman numerals

• Royals (e.g. Louis XIV).
• Volumes, parts, acts, booklets, etc. (e.g. volume III of the Encyclopædia Britannica).

 

Dates

• English
  • DD/MM/YYYY → 30/03/2026 or 30 March 2026.
  • 29 to 30 March 2026 (no hyphen).
• Swiss French
  • JJ.MM.AAAA → 30.03.2026 or 30 mars 2026.
  • du 29 au 30 mars 2026.
• Swiss German
  • TT.MM.JJJJ → 30.03.2026 or 30. März 2026.
  • vom 29. bis 30. März 2026.

 

Times

• English
  • Hour: 6:00 p.m.
  • Duration: two hours and thirteen minutes.
• Swiss French
  • Hour: 18h00.
  • Duration: deux heures et treize minutes.
• Swiss German
  • Hour: 18:00 Uhr.
  • Duration: zwei Stunden und dreizehn Minuten.

 

Phone numbers

Give the country code and add a tel: link: +41 27 922 70 50.

 

Amounts in Swiss francs or other currencies

In general, omit cents for whole numbers.

• English
  • CHF 1,000.
  • 1,000 Swiss francs.
  • CHF 23.50.
• Swiss French
  • 1000 CHF.
  • 1000 francs.
  • CHF 23.50.
• Swiss German
  • CHF 1’000.
  • 1’000 Franken.
  • CHF 23.50.

• Street number: add it always after the street name for Swiss addresses, without comma (e.g. Avenue des Alpes 4).
• Postcode: 3900, not CH-3900.

• Avoid words and sentences in block capitals: it indicates shouting in common online usage and text becomes more difficult to read.

General

• On first mention, spell out any word that might be abbreviated (e.g. first European Union, then EU).

“For example”

• In English: e.g. (no space).
• In Swiss French: p. ex.
• In Swiss German: z. B.

Page

• In English and Swiss French: p.
• In Swiss German: S.

Article

• In English and Swiss French: art.
• In Swiss German: Art.

Avoid contractions unless to report oral speech (e.g. do not, not don’t).