Brand Book v1.0VJ Shades
A fun digital creative studio making websites and brands people enjoy looking at, enjoy using, and actually act on.
The “Shades” Concept
Everybody sees the same internet. We hand people a different pair of shades.
“Shades” works three ways, and all three are on purpose. Shades of colour — every project gets its own hue pulled from one loud family. Shades as attitude — cool, a bit cheeky, sunglasses-on confidence. Shades as a lens — we change how a brand is seen, and how it sees its own customers.
The funnel is the design
- 01 HOOK
- 02 CURIOSITY
- 03 STORY
- 04 WORK
- 05 PROOF
- 06 TRUST
- 07 DESIRE
- 08 ACTION
Logo & Mark
Wordmark lockup
Two lenses, two colours, one attitude. Clear space = one lens width on all sides. Minimum size 24px tall. Never gradient it, never rotate past 8°, never outline the letters.
Favicon: the shades alone, cropped tight, on paper or ink. The letters drop out below 32px — the silhouette is the recognisable bit.
Colour: Pick Your Shade
var(--shade-red)
Alarm. Hooks. Big claims.
var(--shade-yellow)
Energy. Backgrounds. Highlights.
var(--shade-blue)
Craft. Calm. Long reads.
var(--shade-green)
Proof. Results. Yes.
var(--shade-pink)
Play. Personality. Surprise.
var(--ink)
Every line, every shadow.
Rule of three: one loud shade dominates a section, one supports, ink does the rest. Never more than three shades competing in one viewport. Ink outlines everything — 3px, no exceptions. Shadows are hard, never blurred.
Typography
DISPLAY / Archivo Black
SHOUT IT
Headlines only. Uppercase, tight tracking, huge. If it fits comfortably, make it bigger.
ACCENT / Instrument Serif Italic
whisper it back
The wink. Used for one-liners, taglines and punchlines that sit under a shout.
BODY / Space Grotesk
Everything you actually read. Set at 16–18px, generous line height, max 70 characters a line. Quiet enough to be useful, weird enough to still feel like us. Numbers, labels and specs run in monospace.
Graphics & Visual Language
Hard edges
3px ink borders, 6px offset shadows. No blur, no soft glow.
Sticker logic
Badges, pills, seals and rotated labels slapped onto blocks.
Colour blocking
Full-bleed bands of one shade. Sections announce themselves.
Motion with jokes
Marquees, hover tilts, one thing on every page that misbehaves.
Personality
Creative
We'd rather be weird than forgettable.
Funny
Jokes in the copy, never in the invoice.
Confident
We show the work, not the buzzwords.
Curious
We ask about your margins, not just your moodboard.
Young
Internet-native. Fast. Currently online.
Slightly crazy
The idea that scares you a little is the one.
…and dead serious about the work
Serious about quality. Serious about UX. Serious about business. Serious about conversion. The personality sells the click. The craft keeps the client.
Tone of Voice
We say
"Your site is pretty. It's also not selling anything. Let's fix the second part."
We don't say
"We leverage synergistic omnichannel brand solutions."
We say
"Give us your worst page. We'll make it your best one."
We don't say
"Please find attached our proposal for your kind consideration."
Short sentences. Second person. One joke per three facts. Never punch at the client — punch at boring websites.