BRAND GUIDELINES
THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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RESPECT THE CODE Our brand – the iconic way we communicate and present ourselves – is one of the most valuable assets we possess. With these guidelines, we give you our buried treasure – the nuggets of gold that will allow you to harness the full and daring potential of The Bluebeards Revenge. The following pages will help you to maintain and strengthen everything that we stand for, allowing our customers to easily recognise, remember, and respond to our brand. Trust is built with consistency. And if we are to remain robust and unmistakeably distinctive to our audience, all of our communications must be coined in a consistent tone. That being said, we understand that some rules are made to be broken – the code is more what we call guidelines, rather than hard and fast rules. But this doesn’t mean mutiny. Please respect the work that has gone into creating these guidelines. After all, they resemble the personalities, beliefs and expressions of the real life crew behind our brand. For more information on working with our brand, contact marketing@bluebeards-revenge.co.uk www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk thebluebeards
@thebluebeards
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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3
Our story
TONE OF VOICE 5
How we communicate
9
Our house style
11
Tone of voice do’s & don’ts
LOGO & TYPOGRAPHY 14
Primary & Secondary logo use
15
Clear space
16
Logo colour
17
Logo do’s & don’ts
18
Typography
COLOUR & IMAGERY
www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk
20
Brand colours
21
Photos & Imagery
24
Product Imagery
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE We are The Bluebeards Revenge: a range of men’s shave, beard, hair, and body essentials, created to challenge the anonymity of mainstream brands. During a rum-fuelled evening in winter 2009, our first product was conceived – a heavy-duty shaving cream to challenge the world’s toughest stubble, the dreaded Bluebeard, while holding faceless brands accountable for their failings. It was the belief of the Bluebeard-in-Chief – a tough stubble sufferer himself – that he could create something daringly different for the men of the world; something anti-corporate; something straight-talking. In the summer that followed, he proudly launched our brand to the masses to universal acclaim. And alongside the barber boom, we grew and grew. It was all hands on deck to create products that stayed true to our roots – daringly different – as our range doubled, then tripled, in size. Today, the conviction of the Bluebeard-in-Chief, and the crew he has assembled, has seen the creation of more than 100 striking products. The quality and iconic appearance of these products has seen them endorsed by some of the world’s best barbers. With that support, we exist to make free-thinking guys look and feel great.
www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk thebluebeards
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TONE OF VOICE
THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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OUR TONE OF VOICE IS NOT WHAT WE SAY, BUT HOW WE SAY IT: • It should always express the values and the way the people behind our brand think. • It should always set us apart from the competition. • It should always help us to connect more directly with our audience. • It should always go virtually unnoticed: the aim is for our audience to comment on the brilliance of the brand, not the writing. We express the above every time we communicate with people; whether we’re sending them direct marketing, telling them our story on packaging, or interacting with them online. That’s why it’s so important that our distinctive personality can be seen in everything we create.
www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk thebluebeards
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE? WE ARE NOT FACELESS
WE ARE IN THE MOMENT
WE ARE STRAIGHT-TALKING
We write in the first-person on all
The third-person should only be used
Our brand is not sluggish and slow.
Our brand does not ramble and
Bluebeards-owned channels.
when creating copy for third-party
It’s current, fast-paced and bang
bumble through conversations.
This enables us to establish a more
channels, such as newspapers,
on trend. Whenever possible,
We get straight to the point. And we
personal connection with our
magazines and blogs.
we write in the present tense
do this with the right amount of
to reflect this.
confidence and charm. We achieve
customers, while building authority as we confidently express the
It should read: “The Bluebeards
expertise of the crew that steers
Revenge Sea Salt Spray is an
It should read: “Many congratulations
and medium-length sentences.
our brand.
award-winning styling product
to our ambassador Callum Marks,
Every word must make an impact,
devised to add volume, hold
who is celebrating his new Barber
especially when space is tight.
and texture to limp hair.”
of the Year accolade.”
It shouldn’t read: “Our sea salt
It shouldn’t read: “Last month,
spray is an award-winning styling
our ambassador Callum Marks
It shouldn’t read: “The team at The
product devised to add volume,
celebrated after being named
Bluebeards Revenge works hard
hold and texture to limp hair.”
Barber of the Year.”
It should read: “Our team works
this by using a combination of short
hard to bring you only the best barber-grade styling products.”
to deliver only the best barbergrade styling products.”
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thebluebeards
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE? WE ARE NOT STIFF
WE WATCH OUR WE SPEAK LANGUAGE... MOSTLY HUMAN
WE PLAY WITH CONJUNCTIONS
We take formality with a pinch of salt.
We might be anti-corporate, but
We are a welcoming brand.
We like to use conjunctions (such
While it’s important that we are seen
we’re still careful about the level
As a result, we do our best to limit
as and, but and however) to start
as well-mannered professionals,
of offence we might cause with our
the amount of jargon and technical
some of our sentences. While English
we still want our communications
language; especially if our mums
terminology used in copy.
teachers around the world will tell
to be filled with personality and
are around. Swearing is kept to a
geniality.
minimum in all copy, with only minor
At times, though, it’s impossible
of a sentence, we like to use them
British swears ever making the
to avoid jargon; especially
to make punchy sentence openers.
final cut.
considering our strong links to the
And to break up longer, flagging
barbering industry. When these
sentences. See what we did there?
It should read: “Head over to our YouTube channel and enjoy our new styling video in partnership with Call of Duty: Black Ops 4!
”
you these belong in the middle
When nothing but a heavy-hitting
situations arise, we make sure
swear word will do, standard
to clearly explain any technical terms
practice is to substitute the chosen
at the earliest opportunity.
It shouldn’t read: “We would like
swear for a random combination of
to kindly invite you to visit our
‘special’ characters, such as &#%!.
YouTube channel, where you
This is still only to be used when
can watch our new styling video
context absolutely demands it.
in partnership with Call of Duty: Black ops 4.”
www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk
thebluebeards
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE? HUMOUR - NO FUNNY TITLE HERE
WE TELL STORIES
Humour is important to our brand,
It should read: “We’ve bottled half
Storytelling is a big part of our brand,
but we avoid needlessly crowbarring
of the North Sea – without the
especially when the rum comes out.
a joke into every sentence.
nasty smell – and popped it into
Telling great stories allows us to
Humour should appear naturally.
a spray bottle so that you can
make sure our beliefs and personality
It should help to build meaning,
enjoy matt hairstyles without
resonates with our audience on an
rather than obscure or confuse
leaving dry land.”
emotional level for longer.
things.
These stories are achieved by boiling It shouldn’t read: “If you’re tired
down the elements to their simplest
Our humour is distinctively British
of spending your hard-earned cash
parts, until they exist as universal
and pays homage to our roots. It is
on disappointingly girly products,
concepts that anyone can relate to.
not childish, cutesy or excluding. It is
flogged to you at massive margins,
Have fun with them.
clever, witty, observational, topical,
then stop right there.”
and at times self-deprecating.
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thebluebeards
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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MASTER OUR HOUSE STYLE Our house style will help you to write copy with confidence and credibility. By following the style we’ve laid out below, you can be sure to deliver our message in a consistent and recognisable manner.
BRAND NAME
“Bluebeards” is always to be written
We always feature initial capitals
as one word, not “Blue Beards,” and
and refer to our brand in its entirety
should not feature an apostrophe.
on the first mention: “The Bluebeards Revenge.”
PRODUCTS We use initial capitals when our
Subsequent references
products are written alongside
in the same piece of copy can
our brand name (irrelevant of the
be shortened to either “Bluebeards”
person): “The Bluebeards Revenge
or the acronym “BBR.” When these
Matt Clay” OR “our Matt Clay.”
shortened versions are used, any use of “the” is to be in lower case.
When products are not directly attached to our brand name, we use
If BBR is used as the subsequent
lower case: “To get a textured,
reference, we make sure
natural-looking style you can’t
it is bracketed after the original first
go wrong with a long-lasting
mention: “The Bluebeards
matt clay.”
Revenge (BBR).” www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk thebluebeards
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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MASTER OUR HOUSE STYLE JOB TITLES
EMPHASIS
We use initial capitals only when
PLACES, EVENTS & GROUPS
a job title is immediately before
We use initial capitals when
articles to add emphasis to particular
or after a name: “Managing Director
referring to places, events,
words: “The hold in his hair was
David Hildrew added that the latest
or groups: Bluebeards HQ,
really strong.”
addition to the range had been
Hamilton’s Barbershop, Barber
However, we use bold text in design
a huge hit.” OR “Callum Marks,
Connect, Salon International,
and packaging for emphasis instead.
Barbershop Manager, is the proud
and Lions Barber Collective.
creator of the style.”
TIMES & DATES
We use italics in digital and print
FIGURES We use words for numbers up to
We use lower case at all other times:
We use the 24-hour clock: 14:00,
nine: “We only have five product
“As the shop manager at the hair
not 2pm.
bundles left in stock!”
say.” OR “The newly qualified colour
We write dates in full: November 10,
We use numerals for the number
specialist was pleased with the
1993 not 10th November, 1993 and
10 and above: “We’ve sold more than
end result.”
not in short like 10.11.93.
5,000 hair gels in collaboration with
salon, Sophie Collins had the final
The Lions Barber Collective.” We use lower case for seasons: spring, summer, winter,
We use metric measurements when
and autumn.
discussing sizes, especially our products: “Our Sea Salt Spray comes in a 200ml bottle.”
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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AMBITIOUS BARBER-GRADE DURABLE DISTINCTIVE ELITE FETCHING HIGH-PERFORMANCE HIGH-QUALITY ICONIC LONG-LASTING NATURAL RUGGED STYLISH STRONG STURDY SMOOTH TEMPTING TOP-NOTCH AND TOUGH
WE ARE...
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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ARTIFICIAL COMMON CREAMY DELICATE DIVINE FOAMY GLAMOROUS INDULGENT INFUSED IRRESISTIBLE LAVISH LUSCIOUS LUXURY/LUXURIOUS MANLY NOURISHING RICH STUNNING OR WEAK WE ARE NOT...
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USING OUR LOGO & TYPOGRAPHY
THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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PRIMARY & SECONDARY LOGO Let us introduce you to our iconic logo, Skully. You’ll find him adorning our catalogue of products and across Primary logo.
all of our digital and printed material.
This logo is used wherever possible and
Our primary logo (top left) always
always includes
uses the skull and crossbones with
the text.
the text: “The Bluebeards Revenge”. When not suitable (on thinner, wider assets, as an example) the secondary logo with the right-edge text (bottom left) should be used. Secondary logo.
Skully should never be used without
This logo is used whenever
the support of our brand name:
space does not
“The Bluebeards Revenge”.
allow for the Primary logo to fit. The secondary logo always includes the text
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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CLEAR SPACE Ever been in a really busy bar, eagerly waiting to quench your thirst, and that guy comes over and starts breathing down your neck
Using our
impatiently? Don’t be that guy –
primary logo, use the height
nobody likes him! Instead, respect
of the “R” to
our space.
determine the distance to any other design
It should work exactly the same when
element.
you use Skully; make sure you leave enough space for our logo to shine daringly. To achieve and maintain this, use the R from Revenge to determine the distance between our logo and anything else in your design. Using our
Still confused? See some examples
primary logo,
on the left.
use the width of the “R” to determine the distance to any other design element.
www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk
thebluebeards
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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LOGO COLOUR Take a second to imagine what ‘British Racing Green’ looks like.
Primary logo
You can all see it, right? That’s the
Primary logo
to be set in
to be set in
white or silver/
blue against
foil against
pale/white
darker/colour
background.
backgrounds.
power of consistent colour. Our signature Skully logo should always be presented in Bluebeards’ Blue on pale and white backgrounds. But there are a few other ways you can use it. When placing Skully against
Secondary
a dark background, it should
logo should
Secondary
also be set in
logo to be set
blue against
in white against
pale/white
darker/colour
backgrounds.
backgrounds.
always be presented in solid white. Skully can also be used in metallic silver/foil against these darker backgrounds for a true sense of bling! For info on the exact colour shades we use, see the colour section of this guide on page 20.
www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk
thebluebeards
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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LOGO DO’S & LOGO DON’TS
Do; use the logo
as we intended,
Don’t; stretch
full and
the logo dispro-
Don’t; crop the
proportionately.
portionately.
logo in any way.
We understand that some rules are meant to be broken. Nobody likes a goody two-shoes after all. That being said, when you look great,
Do; use the
Don’t; use the
Don’t; use
logo in flat blue
logo in weird
gradients or
or white as
and wonderful
effects inside
intended.
colours.
the logo.
dos and don’ts, we can all make sure our logo stays daringly distinctive. Almost as distinctive as you: with your fancy graphic designer haircut and super-unique gourmet coffee.
Do; use the logo
in striking fluo/
Don’t you dare
Do; use the
metallic colours
use a drop
logo in black
ONLY if 100%
shadow! Unless
& white only if
necessary and
you’ve time
limitations in
approved by
travelled back
print apply.
Bluebeards HQ!
to the early 90’s.
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you feel great. And with a few simple
Do; use the
logo as a
Don’t; use the
clever design
logo as a design
Do; have fun
element ONLY
element that
and enjoy
when a full
impairs the
working with
logo is visible
legibility of
our signature
elsewhere.
the text.
Skully logo!
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
SWISS721 BT BLACK CONDENSED
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WHICH TYPEFACE?
SWISS721 BT Black Condensed is used for headlines. Leading should be tight and kerning
We primarily use Swiss721 BT and the equivalent condensed (for when
considered.
space is a bit tight) in all copy. This is used in either Roman or Bold weight, depending on the requirement.
SWISS 721 BT ROMAN OR CONDENSED Swiss 721 BT Roman or condensed SWISS 721 BT BOLD OR CONDENSED Swiss 721 BT Bold or condensed
SWISS721
We also use Swiss 721 BT
is used for
Condensed Black as our headlines
main copy. Condensed
and title texts. This is always set to
equivalent
uppercase and leading should be
may be used when space is an issue.
kept tight with attention paid to kerning. Occasionally, when looking for
DK Knucklebones
DK Knucklebones
something a bit more badass, we use DK Knucklebones – which sounds
may be used as an alternate highlight font
awesome, right?! Just be sparing with this one – with great power
sparingly.
comes great responsibility, and all that.
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thebluebeards
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COLOUR & IMAGERY
THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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Bluebeards’ Blue
COLOURS
CMYK 100 57 0 40
At The Bluebeards Revenge,
RGB
0 67 122
we pride ourselves on being striking
HEX
#00447C
and eye-catching.
PMS
654c
Main use colour:
To make sure this reign continues,
Secondary use colour:
we have chosen an impressive range
Rebel Yellow
of colours to use.
CMYK 0 38 100 0 RGB
255 170 0
HEX
#FFAA00
PMS
130c
Bluebeards’ Blue is our primary colour. It should be used wherever possible, contrasted with white and some areas of black.
Alternate use colour:
Barber Grey
Rebel Yellow can be used as an
CMYK 0 0 0 40 RGB
167 169 172
HEX
#A7A9AC
PMS
654c
alternate and highlighting colour. It should be used sparingly, though, and only as an accent colour. Barber Grey is used as another accent colour. It should also be interchanged with foil silver, when bling is not merited.
www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk
thebluebeards
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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PHOTOS We use photography that captures the action of barbers as they work. Often these images feature a shallow depth of field to really focus on what is important – the intensity of the relationship between the barber and their work. Shallow depth
We like to use images that show our
of field creates focus on the barber and their work.
products in their natural habitat too. That means they can be seen on the workstations of barbers, or in the hands/homes/lives of the men and women who use our products. Any photography associated with our brand should be processed to be heavy on blue tones, strong in contrast, and lightly de-saturated
A strong vignette and slight drop in saturation ensures attention is well directed.
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thebluebeards
to emphasise our darker side. A strong vignette to highlight the subject of the shots is recommended as well, but never to the detriment of the composition.
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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PHOTOS Like everyone, we have our likes
and dislikes. When capturing
Do; delve into
Do; use
excitement.
old wood,
The most
brickwork,
interesting
industrial metal
stories happen
and working
on the less
environments.
trodden path.
danger and
photography for our brand, it’s important to make sure the imagery is contextualised properly. We champion things like wood, old stonework, copper piping, and grungy metals. We’re absolutely cool with graffiti and tattoos too, but we hate misspelt tags by wannabe
gangsters. We’re not keen on that dodgy dolphin ink you got slapped
Don’t; align
us with the
Don’t; use
kind of soft
marble, shiny
comforts you’d
plastic or fancy
expect from a
glass displays.
pampered
These don’t fit
spa day.
to our feel.
on your ankle during a wild summer holiday in Magaluf either. That’s best kept to yourself… Naturally, our products work best alongside working environments and the eclectic backgrounds of barbershops. They look less at home when in the polished and pruned surroundings of a fancy salon.
www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk
thebluebeards
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THE BLUEBEARDS REVENGE - BRAND GUIDELINE
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PRODUCT IMAGERY In your websites, catalogues, and in the press, you might need to show off our daring products absolutely (and unashamedly) stark naked. And we’re ok with that; the Our Soap Stack, bright colours,
Our Cut-Throat
flat on imagery
Razor, again
which shows off
no shadow
the product and
and simply
nothing else.
portrayed.
Bluebeards range was designed to be strong and confident after all! When this need arises, make sure to show the full product un-cropped and in its entirety. We’re ok with a little drop shadow, but let’s not go crazy. Let’s steer clear of dodgy reflections too. Basically, our products look best with no cheap Photoshop frills and gimmicks – just
Products like the Matt Paste have removable lids to show the contents inside, if possible show off the product as well as the packaging.
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a crisp white background. Products like merchandise can be just as easily displayed on a model. But we’re ok with them on their own too.
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