guidelines for the logo, brand, and colours.
contents
themes 3 logo 4 space 6 displaying 8 colours 11 typography 12
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themes
delicate & twee: Thistle & Lace is something you want to be gentle with, preserve, and keep as a memory of something you don’t want to forget. It’s deceptively simple, but complex due to it’s organic nature. intricate & detailed: Thistle & Lace takes time, is worth the cost, and pays attention to detail. So too, must the brand. The more accurate and precise the application of the brand is, the more people will subconciously associate Thistle & Lace with quality. refined & stylish: Thistle & Lace elevates. It helps bring a cohesive and unpretentious ideal to a celebration, and does it without taking the focus away from what’s being celebrated. Thistle & Lace doesn’t look for attention, it adds attention to what’s important.
Brand Guidelines 3
the logo
The Logo: Whenever possible, this is how the logo should look. “thistle” should be stacked on top of “& LACE” with the appropriate letters intertwining and joining. It should stand out on banners, when displayed with other brands, and whenever it appears with other media. It should retain the colours, and if it needs to be reduced, people should refer to this guide to make sure they do it properly. 4
Brand Guidelines 5
space
Protect the Logo: Thistle & Lace is a careful logo, with a delicate flower sprouting from within. That means it needs to breathe, and can’t be restrained by objects moving into it’s space. The ideal distance is one capital vertical E, and the minimum distance is one capital horizontal E. Any closer, and that thistle will feel awfully uncomfortable.
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space
When Space is Tight: Sometimes you need to display the logo in spaces that have very restricting heights. Instead of reducing the size of the logo to make it difficult to interpret, you can use a horizontal version, that fits long spaces well and still retains the elements that make you want to celebrate the brand. Same rules for protecting the logo apply!
Brand Guidelines 7
displaying
Light Background
Pattern Display
Displayed on white, light abackgrounds, light colours.
The logo should only be displayed on a pattern with a filter over it, to dull the effect of the pattern.
Dark Background
Gold & Mono Display
Displayed on black, dark backgrounds, light colours.
If an image behind the logo uses the gold colour or a similar colour, reduce the logo to one colour. Either black or white, whichever shows up best.
Gold Background Displayed on colours similar to the ampersand/thistle colour.
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displaying
Light Background
Pattern Display
Make sure you don’t use the light logo on a light background - it’ll get lost!
If the pattern is too loud, you shouldn’t put the logo over top without dulling the pattern.
Dark Background
Gold & Mono Display
Make sure you don’t use the dark logo on a dark background - it’ll get lost!
Don’t use the 2 colour logo on a background containing one of the colours. Even if it’s legible, it will look messy.
Gold Background
Skews and Tilts
If you use a gold background, don’t use the gold in the logo!
Don’t compress, stretch, tilt, skew, slant, separate, move elements, or do anything that would comprimise the logo. It’ll make people dislike the brand without knowing why.
Brand Guidelines 9
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colours Thistle & Lace has a simple, easy to understand and easy to replicate set of primary colours - a monochrome, and a colour. When it’s displayed on the web, the gold is displayed as a gradient, to give it depth and to create the illusion of it reflecting light and creating a shine effect. On print, that can be achieved by using gold foil, actual leafed gold printed on paper that reflects as metal. That’s an expensive option, and the alternative is to use a solid colour. Why? Solid colours reproduce more accurately than gradients on more surfaces, and gradients can create something called “banding” - the colours printing separately in succession instead of blending.
pantone neutral black c
gradient or pantone 458 c
pantone 7632 c
Not just black - Neutral Black! This is technically a dark, dark grey, similar to charcoal. Pure black is stark, harsh, and rich, which doesn’t suit the soft, twee aesthetic of the logo and the gold colour.
When gold is used, there’s two options. A preset gradient (Thistle Gold, #da9627, to Thistle Light, #fbe582), or the Pantone colour specified, Pantone 458 C, that spans the full length of the ampersand and the thistle.
Pantone 7632 is the L-Channel opposite of Neutral black. L stands for Lightness, so it’s simply shifting the lightness from 18% to 82% - and this is the closest corresponding colour. On a dark background, shifting from the Neutral Black to this shade is easier on the eyes compared to white, retains the feel of the brand, and doesn’t look stark against the eye.
If necessary though, solid black is a fine alternative to Neutral Black. If you’re printing at very, very small sizes, solid black is a safer option, because there’s no risk of registration being off when printed.
RGB: 35, 34, 34 CMYK: 70% 66% 65% 72.5% Hex: #211e1e
Whenever the logo is used by itself online, the gradient should be used. When it’s used on an image or texture, it’s up to your discretion. When it’s used in print, typically the solid is safer, to prevent banding and colour issues. On business cards, etc, a foil can be used if you want - but be careful, those can be expensive.
RGB: 220, 197, 85 CMYK: 16% 17% 81% 0% Hex: #dcc555
At small sizes, or when using minimal colours for printing, using solid white is a fine alternative. Over patterns and images, it’s up to your discretion!
RGB: 216, 201, 202 CMYK: 14% 19% 14% 0% Hex: #d8c9ca Brand Guidelines 11
typography Dago: Dago is a script font with a handwritten look, designed to connect every letter without keeping the same baseline for all characters, or the same x-height. The result is a playful, unstructured and drawn look, that helps create a delicate, twee feeling to the letters. This is a display font, and it quickly becomes unlegible when it’s used for full sentences and paragraphs. As a wordmark though, it catches the viewers attention. This is a modified version of the font, extending the “t” to the left, and adjusting some of the elements in the letters themselves.
Crafty Script (Alternative 1): Not all ampersands create flow and motion, but Crafty Script is designed for just that. This symbol creates motion, has an elegant slant, and allows the other words to connect by weaving in and out of the shape. When combined with the thistle, this creates an elegant, flowing structure, unifying the symbol.
Amatic: In order to give the logo weight, Amatic is used as an anchor to ground the shapes. Amatic is a heavy, almost clumsy font, that pairs well with such a delicate font like Dago. Without Amatic, the logo would risk looking floaty and lack impact - this makes sure everyone takes you seriously, and differentiates this logo from the sea of other brands looking for a similar feel.
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typography
Brand Guidelines 13
typography
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 1234567890 sphinx of black quartz,
judge my vow!
Museo Slab: Museo Slab is an ideal candidate for headers, short lines of text, phrases, and hero text - anywhere you want to really highlight something, let your hero be Museo Slab! With friendly, approachable ascenders and serifs, elegant curves, and an antique typewriter inspired shape, this will bring the quirky, friendly feel of the brand and still make a big impact.
Yes headers pull quotes short lines of text anywhere that needs attention
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No long text body copy big descriptions anywhere that needs time
typography
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 1234567890 sphinx of black quartz,
judge my vow!
Museo Sans: Museo Sans is modern and legible, but unique. It has higher than average ascenders, lower than average descenders, and shares a rounded look similar to Museo Slab. Anywhere you need an easy to read font, use Museo Sans! All the readability of it’s reserved cousins without the boredom of a “classic” font. It can be substituted for Calibri, Helvetica, or Arial if necessary.
Yes long text body copy big descriptions anywhere that needs time
No headers pull quotes short lines of text anywhere that needs attention
Brand Guidelines 15
Thistle & Lace Last updated 2017