Brand Book
Table of Contents
1
The Logo
2
Visual Identity
3
Applications
Clear Space
Typography
Stationary
Proper and Improper Usage
Colour Considerations
Mockups Website
Image Style Graphical Elements
A Look Into...
Attributes
Simple
Friendly
Fun
Home gardening should be simple to understand, it should not be difficult. Plum is meant to be that simple one-stop destination for all your gardening needs. The brand is simple and clean, just the way you and your garden should be. Don’t sweat the details, we’ll take of that for you. Just enjoy the experience.
Gardening should not be daunting, and nor are we. Plum believes in being open, in being a community. We strive to provide the friendliest experience possible. The plants you grow become your friends, and we want to be a part of that experience. We’ll always take the extra step for you in order for you to feel welcomed and belonging.
Definitely our most important aspect! Why do we do all this if we don’t have fun doing it? It is our key motivator, our key driver. Have fun with the gardening experience with Plum, we sure have fun being a part of it. Gardening is an enjoyable experience, and if it isn’t already fun for you, then we’ll make it a fun experience for you.
The Logo
Logo Guidelines
Clear Space No other graphical elements are allowed to enter thise area around the logo. Use the lower case ‘m’ as a reference (as shown in the diagram provided) to judge the amount of space necessary to leave. Background colour changes are allowed as long as there is enough contrast for the logo to be clearly recognized.
Logo Guidelines
Proper Usage 1. Whenever on a white background, always use the logo with it’s appropriate blue colour. Never change into any other colour. 2. You can invert the colours so the logo is white with a blue outline. 3. In some cases, solid black may be used, only if appropriate. Try to use the logo with colour as much as possible. 4. The logo can be used in white with any background, as long as there is high contrast. Background colours, however, should stay in the blue range without crossing into other colours. 5. The same applies to an outline stroked logo. 6. It would be best to keep the background colour as close as possible to the original logo blue. 7. In cases of using photography as a background, any of the above uses are appropriate as long as the logo prominently stands out and does not blend into the background.
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Logo Guidelines
Improper Usage 1. Do not use overlaying repititions of the logo, especially if it hinders reading the actual logo. 2. Always keep the logo either in straight horizontal or vertical, never keep it on a diagonal. 3. Do not put any kind of pattern within the logo itself. Logo should be clean and easily legible. 4. Never cut out parts of the logo. 5. Do not pair the logo with any background colour that would risk legibility of the logo. 6. Never use overcomplicated backgrounds. 7. Bland colour combinations should be avoided at all cost. If it’s depressing, burn it with fire. 8. Do not use gradients that use more than one colour. Keep it to one colour tone, preferably the original logo colour. 9. Do not use different sets of colours per letter in the logo.
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Visual Identity
Typography
Headers
Subheaders
Body Copy
Nexa Bold
Nexa Light
Montserrat
For main headers we use Nexa Bold. This compliments the same Nexa family of fonts we use for all headers and subheaders. The boldness of the font allows it to pop and stand out among it’s lighter family members. The Nexa family is a very playful font, especially the G. This font was chosen with that playfulness in mind.
We use Nexa Light for subheaders. When working with subheaders and body copy, the contrast between the two allow for a more interesting display. The lightness accentuates the simple and fun feeling of Plum very well and thus acts as a reoccuring element in our works.
We use Montserrat for the body copy because it compliments the lightness of Nexa Light subheaders. This creates a distinguishing contrast in both content and titles. Content legibility is important, so Montserrate was chosen with this in mind. For the readers to easily view body copy and distinguish it from the other counterparts.
Colour Consideration
Soft Colours
PANTONE 283 C Use of soft light colours is highly recommended when thinking of colour swatches or something similar to do use in graphics. The logo itself should stay in this blue and only this blue. When pairing the logo to a background, use different hues or shades of blue, as long as there is contrast. The other soft colours are for graphical uses, they do not directly relate to the logo itself and should not be confused with it.
PANTONE 585 C
PANTONE 4535 C
Graphic Elements
The U Curve Many elements of our graphic design revolve around the curved growth stem from the U of the logo. We can use this in various ways, as you may have noticed so far throughout the brand book. The curve should be the dominant element to use from the U. Whenever using the graphic, it should not be blatantly obvious that we are taking the stem of the U. So do not, for example, ever place the entire U onto the page as a graphic. This could easilty confuse readers into thinking our logo starts with U. Only use the curves and shapes provided from the letter, never more than 1/8th of the letter.
Graphic Elements
Brand Book Examples
Image Style
Simple Friendly Fun Any photographs should always abide by our key three attributes: simple, friendly and fun. All of our imagery revolves around these three factors and should always be put into consideration. Some ways of doing this would be the use of natural lighting. Posed photography is okay to use, as long as the model does not seem forced into doing something they don’t want to. If we forced anyone to do anything they didn’t want to, our attributes would be all for nothing. Graphic overlays can also be used when appropriate and not totally distracting to the photograph. The two should fit well together and work as one. Photographs should always set a positive tone and mood. Again, this is all a fun experience, not only for us, but for the people that work for us and the people we work for.
Image Style Simple
Image Style
Friendly
Image Style
Fun
Applications
Business Cards
Stationary
3.5 in x 2 in Montserrat; size 7
Envelope Front Letterhead A4 size paper 8 columns 1p0 gutter space 3p0 margin space Montserrat; size 9
#9 Commercial Envelope 8.875 in x 3.875 in Montserrat; size 8
Mock Up
Website Homepage