BK-logo-lockup-vertical-v3

Brandkit Brand Guidelines

Principles and beliefs we aim to live by
  1. A picture is worth a thousand words, and a brand is worth a thousand pictures.
  2. Nothing is free (Ad funded platforms are problematic - subscription or Brand funded channels are a better more honest solution for media of any kind (e.g. Netflix).
  3. Less is more (meaning that we aim to avoid complexity in our software and messaging).
  4. Solve our customers problems (avoid trendy solutions that don't move the needle for them).
  5. Use plain language and straight talking, no bullshit (be honest, get to the point, avoid verbiage).
  6. Choose authentic brands.
  7. Always give credit (always attribute content to it's owner or creator or source - even if not strictly required).
  8. The best Ad we can make, is a great product that performs a job to be done for our customers, referrals will follow.
  9. Listen well - be the last to speak.
  10. Respect asynchronous work and team communication by taking the time to think and write thoughtfully.
  11. Customers are central to what we do, and we must listen well, but we should remember that we are (usually) the experts in the room, and we serve our customers best when we stick to our fundamental and carefully considered convictions.
  12. You make your own luck (do good work, don't forget to tell folks).
  13. Agree to disagree and then commit (life is full of compromise, get over it and move on).
Brand Identity

Brand name: Brandkit

Tagline: "Home for your brand"

Domains: brandkit.com, brandkitapp.com, brandkit.io, brandkit.co.nz, brandkit.com.au, brandkit.co.uk, brandkit.app

Our Mission: Make the world better, by helping every brand be an Authentic Brand.

Our Vision: Every brand has an easy to access library of authentic brand content to aid their story telling.

Our Core Values: Brands matter, People matter, Honesty, Authenticity, Trustworthiness, Simplicity/Less is more, Aesthetics matter, Respect the special uniqueness of each brand/customer, Be smart, Zag/Challenge the status quo, Value our own expertise

The Brandkit voice

Brandkit's brand voice champions meaningful and honest communication, advocating for brands as essential guides in a world overflowing with information, with a focus on integrity and the power of storytelling to build trust and reputation.

It advocates for purposeful, honest communication and positions brands as crucial in navigating the abundance of information.

Brandkit's voice is thoughtful, advocating for quality and authenticity over quantity, and it underscores the significance of brands in establishing trust and reputation.

The tone is optimistic, affirming the positive role of brands and brand managers in creating meaningful, non-intrusive content.

Strapline/Byline

Brand has three alternative bylines, or straplines. These are:

  1. Home for your brand (primary)
  2. Mind the brand (secondary)
  3. Your brand library in the sky (secondary)

Use as needed - but there you can also modify if needed to suit the situation. e.g. "Home for your photos", "Home for your brand content"

Logo Clearspace

A minimum clear-space is required at all times.

For the icon on its own, a circle of 125% of a circle that intersects all 4 corners of the icon. For the Horizontal Lockup, draw another circle that intersects all 4 corners of the wordmark and expand 125% - then draw a rectangle that intersects the outer circles (as shown) to find the clear-space.
To make this easier to deal with, note that some assets for download have the correct clear-space built into the artwork or image canvas.

Icon clear-space
Icon clear-space
Brandkit® Colour Palette

The general principal with use of colour at Brandkit, in particular in the Brandkit® application and default portal design, is as little colour as possible.

Why? Because Brandkit's job is to house the brand assets and colours of our customers. We want our customers content do be the dominant thing on the page. Therefore our branding, our use of colour must be subtle and unobtrusive.

So we use black and shades of black predominantly. We use Yellow and Purple for highlights and light shades of black, purple and yellow as backgrounds to provide separation between ideas for an easier reading experience.

However for marketing and advertising Brandkit® software or services in 3rd party channels, such as social media, we adopt a brigher more colourful approach and use the secondary Purple and Yellow more. For example we apply a Purple or Yellow filter over photography to given them a distinct look.

 

SPOT U - Process Black U
SPOT C - Process Black C
CMYK U – 0.0.0.100
CMYK C - 0.0.0.100
RGB – 0.0.0
CSS/HEX – #000000
Black
(primary color)
SPOT U - PMS 267 U
SPOT C - PMS 2587 C
CMYK U – 53.65.0.0
CMYK C – 58.76.0.0
RGB – 130.70.175
CSS/HEX – #8246af
Brandkit Purple
(secondary color)
SPOT U - PMS Yellow U
SPOT C - PMS 109 C
CMYK U – 0.0.93.0
CMYK C - 0.9.100.0
RGB – 255,209,0
CSS/HEX – #ffd100
Brandkit Yellow
(secondary color)
Use HEX #f8f8f8
Brandkit Silver
(background color)
Use HEX #eee7f4
Brandkit Light Purple
(background color)
Use HEX #fff8dc
Brandkit Light Yellow
(background color)
Typography

Brandkit is always written as one word, with an uppercase 'B', and a lower case 'k'.
(It should never be written as two words or with an upper case 'k').

Starting in 2023, to celebrate the launch of Brandkit 2, we have selected Inter, complimented by IBM Plex Serif, as our new typefaces.

Inter is a variable font family created by renowned Swedish designer Rasmus Andersson. The font was crafted specifically for computer screens to enhance the legibility of small text sizes. It was first released on August 20, 2017, and was initially known as Interface. It is also regarded as a "neutral" typeface, and a good match for our desire for the Brandkit® brand to be a neutral low key backdrop for each of our customers' brand and content. With our new monochromatic neutrality, we wanted to add a serif font to add a bit of interest to page layouts.

We selected IBM Plex Serif, because it is a perfect match for Inter with similar x-height, apertures and letter forms. As a bonus both are free fonts available on Google Fonts.

Headings and Titles

Change the way the world accesses your brand content.

Inter Semi-bold (600)
Body Copy

Change the way the world accesses your brand content.

Inter Light (300)
Footnotes and Cites, etc

Change the way the world accesses your brand content.

IMB Plex Serif Medium (500)
Screenshots

As a software product/service screenshots are one of the primary visuals we use to market and promote Brandkit. We've developed a standard style of screenshots with text and arrow overlays that we create with Cleanshot screen capture software. We have a standard set of presets in Cleanshot. Contact us if you need these.

Our screenshots look like this:

Brand Portal landing page screenshot

For marketing or feature pages we overlay call-out copy with arrows directly over the image in Cleanshot.

Small detail screenshot

For marketing and help articles we might call out specific details - sometimes with overlays and sometimes without.

For help articles and explanations we often use numbered call outs. Generally we don't use this style for marketing pages or important features.

Photography

Generally we don't edit photography because we want to portray something authentically and honestly.

However when we create social media images or an Ad, where a logo or text is overlaid we want a darker image (for white text) with a "Brandkit" aesthetic using Brandkit purple or for black text using Brandkit Yellow.

We achieve this by applying a coloured overlay with opacity set between 10% to 33% adjusted by eye to give a subtle yet distinguishable purple or yellow hue/tone to images. It should make the logo or text overlay more legible by providing a bit more contrast. Adjust as needed for each situation.

two images - one purplified
Mood Board

See examples of approved usage of the brand identity and suitable image and colour themes here.

Questions

Please contact us if you have any questions.

Join 176,223+ users already on Brandkit

Your story matters. Help your collaborators find your content, tell your story with confidence, and build a stronger brand.

All for a reasonable and fair price starting at US$99/mth. See pricing here.

 

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Statistics above last updated 1 March 2024