Brand guidelines · Version 1.0 · 2026
The brand, and how to use it.
This is the guide for my own consultancy — the same deliverable clients get from the brand phase: the rules, why they exist, and worked examples, so anyone on a team can apply them without having to ask.
01
Essence
The promise
From idea to market.
- For
- Founders and businesses with an AI idea, or an AI product that isn't selling yet.
- Does
- Takes it through four phases — idea, design, build, go to market — with one person accountable from start to finish.
- Feels like
- A well-made instrument: precise and technical, but warm to the touch.
- StraightSays what it costs, what it does and what it won't do.
- Hands-onShows the working thing, not a deck about it.
- CraftedConsidered down to the button press — a painter's eye on a product.
02
Voice
Write like a senior engineer explaining it to a smart friend: short sentences, real numbers, no hype.
Specific over impressive
Do“Your report lands in your inbox in about two minutes.”
Don't“Lightning-fast, AI-powered insights.”
Plain words
Do“In a week we'll know whether it's worth building.”
Don't“We'll validate the opportunity space and unlock synergies.”
Honest about limits
Do“AI isn't the right tool for this part. A form is.”
Don't“AI can transform every part of your business.”
- Australian spelling: optimise, colour, organisation.
- Sentence case for headings and buttons: “Book a consult”, not “Book A Consult”.
- Numerals for numbers: “4 builds”, “2 minutes”, “2.5%”.
- Never present a made-up result as real. Simulations are labelled “Simulated”.
03
Logo
The mark is the device in miniature: a screen of signal over three hardware keys — blue for thinking, orange for action, green for results.
- Clear space: half the mark's height on every side, with nothing inside it.
- The wordmark is Bricolage Grotesque, weight 600, in Paper on dark and Ink on light.
- Don't stretch or squash it
- Don't recolour the keys
- Don't place it on busy imagery
- Don't add shadows or effects
04
Colour
A dark, warm base with one blue accent. Every other colour has a single job — if it isn't doing that job, it isn't on the page.
- Ink
#121014Base. Backgrounds and dark surfaces. - Paper
#EFE9DFLight sections, and main text on Ink. - Signal blue
#6F86FFThe accent: the italic phrase, links, focus rings. On Paper use#3F52D6. - Power orange
#FF6A2BAction. One per screen, on the primary button only. Never as text on Paper. - Win green
#4FF08FResults only: revenue, success, “shipped”. - AI amber
#FFB547The AI at work, and warnings.
Proportion on a typical screen
Ink 70 · Paper 20 · Blue 6 · Orange 2 · Green 1 · Amber 1
| Text | On | Contrast | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper | Ink | 15.7 : 1 | Any text |
| Signal blue | Ink | 5.9 : 1 | Any text |
| Power orange | Ink | 6.6 : 1 | Any text |
| AI amber | Ink | 10.8 : 1 | Any text |
| Win green | Ink | 12.8 : 1 | Any text |
| Ink | Paper | 15.2 : 1 | Any text |
Deep blue #3F52D6 | Paper | 5.1 : 1 | Any text |
| Power orange | Paper | 2.4 : 1 | Never |
05
Type
Four families, each with one job. All are free, self-hosted and open source.
-
Aa From idea
Headlines and the wordmark. Tight, confident, never above two lines per phrase.
-
to market.
One accent phrase per heading, always the last phrase. Never for body text.
-
The product built and wired into your real data.
Everything people read: paragraphs, buttons, navigation.
-
PHASE 02 · DESIGN
Small labels, data and the device screen. Never for sentences.
06
Components
- Keycap button. It presses down like hardware. Use one primary (Paper) keycap per view; the dark keycap is for secondary actions.
- The orange dot marks the primary action. Only one on screen.
- Text links for everything else: underlined, turning blue on hover.
Mono label · sets the context
Headline in plain words, accent last.
- Heading pattern: a mono label above, then the headline. The accent phrase is the payoff, so it comes last.
07
Motion & imagery
- Ease out. Things arrive quickly and settle gently: 0.35–0.85s, never bouncy except a pressed key.
- Reveal from a mask. Headlines slide up line by line; content rises in, staggered.
- Respect reduced motion. If someone has asked for less motion, show still frames instead.
- Real over stock. Show real product screens and the device, never stock photos of people pointing at laptops.
- Glow on dark only. The CRT glow belongs on Ink. On Paper everything stays flat and crisp.
- Label simulations. Anything illustrative but not real says “Simulated” on it.
08
How to use it.
Making something new — a slide, a social post, a landing page? Work through these in order.
- Start on Ink. Use Paper only for long reading or to break up a page.
- Write the headline in plain words, then set the last phrase in the blue serif accent.
- Add a mono label above it to say what this is.
- Give it one action: the Paper keycap with the orange dot. That's the only orange.
- Check every text colour against the pairings table. If it's not there, don't use it.
- Read it aloud. If it sounds like an ad, rewrite it like you'd say it.
AI development & sales
2Your AI idea, sold.
Idea, design, build and go to market — one consultant, start to finish.
4 Book a consultFor developers · design tokens
--ink: #121014; /* base */
--paper: #efe9df; /* light surfaces, text on ink */
--blue: #6f86ff; /* accent · #3f52d6 on paper */
--orange: #ff6a2b; /* one primary action */
--green: #4ff08f; /* results only */
--amber: #ffb547; /* the AI, warnings */
--font-display: 'Bricolage Grotesque';
--font-accent: 'Instrument Serif' italic;
--font-body: 'Instrument Sans';
--font-label: 'JetBrains Mono';The brand phase
Want one for your brand?
Every brand engagement ends with a guide like this one — built for your team, plus a session showing them how to use it.