skills/dp-archive/archive/brand-identity

brand-identity

SKILL.md

Brand Identity System

A structured reference for producing a cohesive brand visual identity package. Every section provides concrete specifications — pixel dimensions, color ratios, spacing rules — so that generated code (Pillow, reportlab) outputs professional-grade deliverables on the first attempt.


BRAND KIT DELIVERABLE CHECKLIST

A complete brand kit contains these artifacts. Generate them in order; each builds on the decisions of the previous.

# Deliverable Format Key Spec
1 Brand Philosophy .md 3-5 paragraphs, 150-300 words
2 Design Philosophy .md 4-6 paragraphs, aesthetic movement
3 Color Palette defined in spec Primary + Secondary + Neutral, HEX/RGB
4 Typography Scale defined in spec Heading / Body / Accent, 3 font families max
5 Logo — Primary .png 1024×1024, transparent background
6 Logo — Dark variant .png For light backgrounds
7 Logo — Light variant .png For dark backgrounds
8 Business Card .pdf 1050×600pt (3.5"×2" @300dpi)
9 Social Media Cover .png 1500×500px
10 Brand Specification .md Compiled reference document

COLOR SYSTEM

Palette Structure

Every brand uses a three-tier palette:

Tier Role Usage Ratio Typical Application
Primary Brand signature ~60% Logo, headings, CTAs
Secondary Supporting accent ~30% Illustrations, highlights, hover states
Neutral Background & text ~10% accent / rest bg Body text, borders, backgrounds

Specification Format

Define each color with all three notations:

Primary:    #2D5BFF  →  rgb(45, 91, 255)
Secondary:  #FF6B35  →  rgb(255, 107, 53)
Neutral-900: #1A1A2E →  rgb(26, 26, 46)    ← text
Neutral-100: #F5F5F7 →  rgb(245, 245, 247)  ← background
Neutral-50:  #FFFFFF →  rgb(255, 255, 255)  ← white

Contrast Rules

  • Text on background must meet WCAG AA: contrast ratio ≥ 4.5:1 for body, ≥ 3:1 for large text (≥18pt)
  • Logo must remain legible at minimum size on both light and dark backgrounds
  • Never place primary color text on secondary color background without testing contrast

TYPOGRAPHY HIERARCHY

Font Selection

Choose a maximum of 3 font families from the canvas-fonts/ directory:

Role Characteristics Typical Families
Heading High impact, distinctive BigShoulders, Outfit, YoungSerif, Gloock
Body Highly readable at small sizes InstrumentSans, WorkSans, CrimsonPro, Lora
Accent Decorative or monospaced, for labels/captions DMMono, GeistMono, JetBrainsMono, Italiana

Size Scale (pt)

Level Size Weight Line Height Use
H1 48-64pt Bold 1.1× Hero / cover title
H2 32-40pt Bold 1.2× Section headings
H3 24-28pt Medium/Bold 1.25× Sub-headings
H4 18-22pt Medium 1.3× Card titles
Body 14-16pt Regular 1.5× Paragraphs
Caption 10-12pt Regular/Light 1.4× Labels, footnotes

Font Loading (Pillow)

from PIL import ImageFont

FONT_DIR = "/app/skills/canvas-design/canvas-fonts"
heading_font = ImageFont.truetype(f"{FONT_DIR}/Outfit-Bold.ttf", 48)
body_font = ImageFont.truetype(f"{FONT_DIR}/InstrumentSans-Regular.ttf", 16)
accent_font = ImageFont.truetype(f"{FONT_DIR}/DMMono-Regular.ttf", 12)

LOGO DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS

Geometric Construction

  • Build from a maximum of 3-4 primitive shapes (circles, rectangles, triangles, custom paths)
  • Use proportional relationships: golden ratio (1:1.618) or simple ratios (1:1, 1:2, 2:3)
  • Maintain optical balance — geometric center ≠ visual center; adjust by eye
  • Icon should be recognizable at 64×64px (favicon test)

Logo Variants

Variant Content Background Use Case
Primary Icon + Wordmark Transparent Default usage
Dark Dark-colored mark Transparent On light backgrounds
Light Light/white mark Transparent On dark backgrounds
Icon-only Icon without text Transparent Favicon, app icon, small spaces

Export Specifications

Property Value
Canvas size 1024×1024px minimum
Background Transparent (RGBA)
Format PNG-24 with alpha
Color mode sRGB
Padding 10-15% of canvas on each side (icon centered)

Wordmark Rules

  • Letter-spacing: +2% to +8% of font size for brand names (track out for elegance)
  • Weight: Medium to Bold (never Thin for wordmarks — must be legible at small size)
  • Alignment with icon: baseline-aligned or center-aligned, maintain consistent gap

Style Constraints

  • No gradients in the primary logo — solid colors only for maximum versatility
  • No photorealistic elements — geometric/abstract only
  • No more than 3 colors in the logo (primary + secondary + neutral or white)
  • Minimum clear space: 0.5× the logo height on all sides, free of other elements

BUSINESS CARD SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions

Property Value
Standard size 3.5" × 2" (89mm × 51mm)
Pixel size @300dpi 1050 × 600px
reportlab points 1050pt × 600pt (1pt = 1px at 72dpi, use 252pt × 144pt for true size, or scale up)
Bleed area 3mm (9px @300dpi) beyond trim on all sides
Safety margin 6mm (18px @300dpi) inside trim — all text/logos within this

Information Hierarchy

Arrange content in this priority order:

  1. Logo — occupies 20-30% of card width, positioned top-left or centered-top
  2. Name — largest text element on card, 14-18pt
  3. Title/Role — 2-4 words maximum, 10-12pt
  4. Contact details — ordered: email → phone → website → address, 8-10pt
  5. Tagline (optional) — bottom edge or back, 8-9pt italic

Layout Rules

  • Use one side only (single-sided design) unless explicitly requested otherwise
  • Maintain clear spatial zones: identity zone (top) + contact zone (bottom)
  • Horizontal rule or whitespace to separate zones
  • All contact info left-aligned for scan-ability
  • Logo and name can be on opposite sides (left/right) for visual balance

reportlab Output

from reportlab.lib.pagesizes import landscape
from reportlab.lib.units import mm

# Business card size
CARD_WIDTH = 89 * mm   # 3.5 inches
CARD_HEIGHT = 51 * mm  # 2 inches
BLEED = 3 * mm
SAFETY = 6 * mm

SOCIAL MEDIA COVER SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions

Platform Size Safe Zone
Universal cover 1500×500px Center 1080×360px
LinkedIn banner 1584×396px Center 1080×360px
Twitter/X header 1500×500px Center 1080×360px

Use 1500×500px as the universal size — works across platforms with minimal cropping.

Safe Zone

The outer 15% on each side may be cropped or obscured by profile pictures and UI elements. All critical content (brand name, tagline, key visuals) must fit within the center safe zone:

┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│ ░░░░░░ CROP ZONE ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │
│ ░░ ┌────────────────────────┐ ░░ │
│ ░░ │    SAFE ZONE           │ ░░ │
│ ░░ │  1080 × 360px          │ ░░ │
│ ░░ └────────────────────────┘ ░░ │
│ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │
└──────────────────────────────────┘

Content Guidelines

  • Brand name: prominent, centered or left-aligned within safe zone
  • Tagline: one line, positioned below or beside brand name
  • Visual elements: geometric patterns, color blocks, or abstract shapes from the design philosophy — extend to full bleed
  • No small text: minimum 24pt for any text on cover (reads on mobile)
  • Background should use brand colors; avoid busy photographs that compete with text

CROSS-DELIVERABLE CONSISTENCY RULES

These rules ensure visual coherence across all brand artifacts:

  1. Color values are immutable — define once in Phase 4, copy-paste exact HEX values everywhere. Never approximate.

  2. Font families are shared — the same heading/body/accent fonts appear on logo wordmark, business card, social cover, and spec document.

  3. Logo placement scaling:

    • Business card: logo width = 20-30% of card width
    • Social cover: logo height = 40-60% of safe zone height
    • Spec document: logo displayed at 200px wide in header
  4. Spacing system — derive all spacing from a base unit (e.g., 8px grid):

    • xs: 4px, sm: 8px, md: 16px, lg: 24px, xl: 32px, xxl: 48px
  5. Visual weight balance — if the logo uses thick geometric shapes, business card and cover should echo that weight (bold fonts, solid color blocks). If the logo is delicate/thin, other deliverables match (light fonts, fine lines, ample whitespace).


BRAND SPECIFICATION DOCUMENT FORMAT

The final .md document compiles all brand decisions into a referenceable guide:

# [Brand Name] — Brand Specification

## Brand Philosophy
[3-5 paragraphs from Phase 2]

## Design Philosophy
[Movement name and description from Phase 3]

## Color Palette
| Role | Name | HEX | RGB | Usage |
|------|------|-----|-----|-------|
| Primary | [name] | #XXXXXX | rgb(r,g,b) | Logo, headings |
| Secondary | [name] | #XXXXXX | rgb(r,g,b) | Accents |
| Neutral Dark | [name] | #XXXXXX | rgb(r,g,b) | Text |
| Neutral Light | [name] | #XXXXXX | rgb(r,g,b) | Background |

## Typography
| Role | Family | Weight | Sizes |
|------|--------|--------|-------|
| Heading | [font] | Bold | H1:48pt H2:32pt H3:24pt |
| Body | [font] | Regular | 14-16pt |
| Accent | [font] | Regular | 10-12pt |

## Logo Usage
- Minimum size: 64px width
- Clear space: 0.5× logo height on all sides
- Approved variants: Primary, Dark, Light, Icon-only
- Never stretch, rotate, or recolor the logo

## Deliverable Files
| File | Format | Dimensions |
|------|--------|-----------|
| logo-dark.png | PNG | 1024×1024 |
| logo-light.png | PNG | 1024×1024 |
| business-card.pdf | PDF | 3.5"×2" |
| social-cover.png | PNG | 1500×500 |
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