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t
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f
W l c t g c
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Dear Father, Let the world kno
that Seriffa
has lv.75
SLAY THE
DRAGON
fallen.
YOU ARE THEIR ONLY HOPE. ADVENTURE AWAITS YOU TRAVELe
You fight so that all may be I will find out what happened... No matter the cost.
FREE
HONOR
You won’t forget us... right? Never. Not once. Don’t you see? We’re one and the same. I swear I’ll never forget you guys. Promise. It’s
time to fulfill a prophecy
It takes more than strength to be a hero, kid. What are you willing to give up? For someone who doesn’t even know you? For someone you hate? Someone who
WAR
the
The Tavern has stood in that same spot for generations, signaling legendary men to their fate. Quests await those wanting good fortune. But not all is as it seems with the mysterious patrons...
seek the
A sword thought to be that of legends now sits at your side, having chosen you and only you to wield it. You are destined to save the entire kingdom.
And when you’re done, if you happen to survive, your strength will be immeasureable.
out
fight.
village of sansalsi has fallen to a horde of goblins. they are requesting assistance from any heroes willing story to help, with promises of YOU great rewards being offered, WERE including large sums of gold MEANT and formal knighthood. to TO HAVE apply, visit the local tavern!
Fight for those that cannot
HELP US, HERO!
ou understand, don’t you?
f you don’t save the world ,nobody will.
this world is fallen. it is up to you to pick up the pieces, traveler.
THIS WEAPO has been passe down from GE to GENER AT
IS ON THE
We held as long as we could, but the enemy gave us no choice but
FIGHT TO YOUR LAST BREATH. NEVER SURRENDER. ALWAYS TRIUMPH
Keeper of the Worlds... That’s who you ar
Table Of Contents pg. 06 - 07 pg. 08 - 09 pg. 10 - 11 pg. 12 - 13 pg. 14 - 15 pg. 1 6 - 17 pg. 18 - 19
mission statement logo logo variations typography colors design elements stationary
Black Dragon’s Journal on Branding & Design is a comprehensive look into our design process and guidelines, to assist our various designers in upkeeping the brand that we have set for ourselves. This information should be considered absolutely and unmistakeably correct until the end of the marked date.
All rights reserved. Black Dragon: Merchant & Exports, as well as any featured portion of this booklet (including images, logos, designs and statements) are protected and (in some cases) registered trademarks or copyrighted material. No portion of this booklet may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without the express written consent of the company. Printed at Generic Penguine Company, in Seattle, Washington. Distributed by Penguine Distribution. This booklet was designed by Brian L. Wagner (Jr.). For questions, comments, or inquiries, please contact him at www.brianwagnerjr@gmail.com.
Why do we involve ourselves in fantasy? Why do millions of customers enjoy immersing themselves in roleplaying games, in comics, in videogames, in books or movies? And even prior to that, what is humanity’s facsination with adventure, from the oldest Odyssey to the modern novel? It’s a question Black Dragon has concerned itself with from the very inception of our company. It’s the same reason humanity has had the urge since the dawn of time to do anything: to be bold, to explore, to better ourselves or others. We seek adventure. Create paths for others to follow. To make our own paths. This feeling, this primal need is what we seek to provide to our customers. By providing high quality fantasy-adventure inspired authentic goods, we focus on selling the idea of adventure to the bold, the youthful, the adventerous. By offering products that either remind the consumer of their favorite gaming experiences or directly reference medieval-inspired fantasy, we provide something nobody else has before. Our products tell stories, intricate tales, and even adventures. We only hope that you, too, will seek your own adventure.
logo Inspired by the shape that a wax seal or stamp would leave, the company logo features a dragon-like crest shape in the center. The entire logo feels as though it would fit on a merchant company’s banner. It also sells the brand identity in seconds: adventure, fantasy, authenticity. dos and donts
Adding a texture to the logo is acceptable, but requires approval.
Cropping certain elements may be allowed on approval.
BLACK DRAGON Merchant & Exports
Rotation is unacceptable!
Yellow, green, or other unapproved color changes are unacceptable!
Modifying the type or imagery is unacceptable!
Stretching or skewing the logo outside of the intended aspect ratio is unacceptable!
logo variations
It is almost always recommended to use our main logo. However, there are certain situations where a variation may compliment the intentions of a project. 1. Use a white version of the logo if the intended placement is too dark for the black logo. This is true for any approved logo uses. 2. Remove the typography in the logo if: • The logo’s text cannot fit the intended space. • The design calls for the symbol by itself (a flag, banner, sign, etc) 3. Use just the dragon if: • It’s for a wax seal, stamp, or embossment • The design specifically calls for it by itself (a custom texture page) 4. You may use a simplified circular logo shape if the project involves precision cutting via a machine. 5. You may display the logo in a sideways arrangement if and only if the intended placement is too thin for a traditional logo placement, such as for a pen or extremely thin advertising banner. This is subject to approval and we do not allow this arrangement otherwise.
Typography When selecting a typeface for any project, consider the feel of the company: historical, handwritten, rugged. We seek to set an aesthetic that is heavy in texture and is reminiscient of the Middle Ages and roleplaying games. Serif typefaces are recommended but not necessarily required.
logo
El Capitan
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz 1234567890!
body
Averia
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz 1234567890!
Averia Serif
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz 1234567890!
design & secondary body
Fell (All Variations)
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
IM Fell (All variations)
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
colors We prefer to let the texture of the paper do the talking, so generally we keep our colors to pure blacks and whites. However, there are certain cases where this isn’t the case (such as in our packaging design). In these circumstances, we recommend people stick to the following color schemes. main color schemes
Red & Browns C14 M100 Y100 K4 C30 M96 Y100 K4 C30 M86 Y100 K4 C21 M57 Y100 K28 C14 M100 Y100 K52
One of our most common color themes is the crisp mix of blacks, reds, and browns. Generally the paper will be textured brown or tan, and the red and black are printed on top in crisp ink. Vibrant, rich reds and darker tone browns are preferred. The overall look should be connected to the aesthetic identity our brand has.
Golden Shine C3 M18 Y93 K0 C8 M22 Y93 K0 C16 M33 Y100 K4 C16 M33 Y100 K36 C16 M33 Y100 K60
Gold is a huge standard in many roleplaying adventures, and historically gold has always been important and valued by mankind. It represents the idea of ‘gaining’, as by obtaining gold you obtain wealth. It only makes sense that golden colors might be involved in our products from time to time.
Dark Leather C8 M14 Y27 K0 C62 M64 Y63 K53 C64 M68 Y65 K69 C15 M15 Y0 K93 C9 M15 Y0 K90
Brown leather is not the only thing we put out. Some of our customers prefer darkened, black leather. The choice of rogues and adventurers alike, darkened leather displays a sense of mystery and professionalism. We’ll often use this color scheme as the basis for a background, for designs such as brochures or websites.
pantone color handling When dealing with Pantone color printing, we prefer richer color to subtle or washed out colors. Deep reds and sharp yellows. We even have a preference for the way black appears on the page. Here are some example choices for Pantone Coated colors:
black 6 c black 3 c cool gray 7 c
101
c
109
c
136
c
200
c
704
c
477
c
161
c
7568
c
479
c
148
c
design elements When you think about ‘adventure’, what comes to mind? That is the question we seek to cater to with our design elements. With texture, typography, photography, and illustration, we hope to sell to our customers the idea that we can capture the adventure they seek with our products. Keep in mind that examples can have a variety of color: these examples are simply black and white for the visual effect it has on the paper. Typographic Pattern Composed of several references, quotes, and psuedo-quotes, this design is incorporated almost everywhere: in our stationary, our packaging, even our products themselves. It is a testament to the brand identity we seek to convey.
save the world
Certain rules must be followed in creating this design: 1. All typefaces and typographic elements must fit the handwritten, textured typographic guidelines mentioned before in the identity document. 2. Variation in the arrangement of type must be made, but the overall shape must be evenly distributed and shaped. In other words, while most type should go straight down, some should go in a different direction to add variety. 3. Type should sit in rotations of 0o, 90o, 180o, 270o, or 360o only.
Photography There is a very essential thematic concentration in our photography: the sense of scale, of grand adventure. A mixture of real life, people from all backgrounds coming together. We like to feature ‘regular people’: no idealized models, no fashionistas. Meanwhile, the environment of the shot should be basic, but with potential for expanding, such as an empty field. The photo should feature our supposedly mundane world hiding a landscape of unexplored lands and tales to tell. When you take a photo for a project, examine our provided examples: does your photo give the viewer a sense of exploration? Is it the proper midevil-inspired fantasy rather than sci-fi or other thematic backgrounds? Does it fit with our aesthetic?
Textured Symbols Playing with texture is something our company enjoys. After all, leather is all about texture, isn’t it? So, it’s not uncommon for certain designs to have a rich texture, either digitally or physically. We tend to stick to texture that either could exist or did exist and would be prevalent in earlier society. This includes (but is not limited to) stamp, leather, rough paper texture, paint brush, and wood.
stationary One of our core tenants at Black Dragon is authenticity. We want every inch of our brand to breathe our dedication to sticking to our aesthetic: textured paper, old school printing styles, harsh black inks... Follow these general guidelines for printing assignments.
Our Business Card Thick paper consistency, such as cardboard, heavy card stock, or other brown textured paper. Harsh ink printed black. Beveling and foil options are encouraged but are dependent on costs and level of employee. Ask for thickness specifics if not sure.
Letterhead & Envelope It’s important that the paper used in any official documents is either papyrus or some other comparable tan or brown colored cardstock paper. However, in situations where paper runs out, where we are mass printing, or in any other situation where the option isn’t as important, regular printer paper is suitable. The same is true of our envelope design. We prefer to send out textured envelopes as well, and in certain cases, even use a wax seal or other old school sealing methods to complete the look. We encourage our designers to come up with new ways to fit our aesthetic desires, so if a particular paper or design combination catches our eye, the letterhead may change based on approval.
project for print design 4 created by brian wagner