Minds / Brand Guidelines
A clear identity. A little character.
Simple forms. Thoughtful words. A familiar face. The principles that keep Minds recognizable wherever it appears.
One identity. Two marks.
The lockup introduces Minds. The emblem carries the identity into smaller, familiar spaces. Both use the original artwork.
The lockup
Use the full Minds lockup when introducing the brand: a presentation cover, a publication, a partner page, or a first appearance. Keep the emblem and wordmark together in their supplied proportions.
The emblem
Use the emblem where Minds is already identified, or where space is limited: navigation, app icons, avatars, and a closing signature. Keep the opening and stepped silhouette intact.
Give the mark room to breathe.
Clear space keeps the silhouette readable. Let the identity stand apart from nearby text, edges, and other marks.
Clear space
Reserve at least one quarter of the mark’s height on every side. Use more space in hero compositions and editorial layouts. Measure from the outer edge of the supplied artwork.
Minimum size
For digital use, keep the emblem at least 20 px high and the full lockup at least 28 px high. For print, start at 6 mm and 8 mm respectively, then check a physical proof for legibility.
Scale and placement
Scale proportionally. Align the artwork to the layout, not to an imagined bounding box around the word. At very small sizes, use the original solid emblem rather than the drawn Helm variant.
Quiet color. Clear hierarchy.
Minds starts in black and white. Neutral surfaces give the work room. Color has a specific job when the interface needs to communicate a state.
White
#FFFFFF
Paper
#FAFAFA
Ink
#171717
Black
#000000
Use contrast with intention.
Use ink artwork on a light field and white artwork on a dark field. Avoid placing marks over busy photography or a changing bright region of an animation. Protect text contrast throughout the entire scene.
Let color mean something.
Reserve interface accent colors for links, focus, evidence, or meaningful states. A small spectral accent may appear as a craft detail. Do not recolor the identity to match a campaign or use an all-purpose gradient behind every feature.
The voice has a shape.
Geist is the Minds type system. Sans carries the conversation. Mono brings clarity to the details that need to stay exact.
GEIST SANS / REGULAR · MEDIUM · SEMIBOLD
Use Sans for headlines, prose, navigation, and interface labels. Headlines are large and deliberate, usually medium weight. Keep line breaks balanced and give prose enough line height to breathe.
GEIST MONO / REGULAR · MEDIUM
what-comes-next
Use Mono for commands, identifiers, code, and technical values. Keep it selective. Long explanations belong in Sans, even when the subject is technical.
Readable scale
Website body copy starts at 16–18 px; detailed controls generally use 14 px. Small labels should support the page, never carry the only explanation.
Confident spacing
Use a 4 px spacing foundation. Give major chapters more separation than individual paragraphs, and align related information to a common grid.
The original wordmark
The supplied wordmark is artwork. Do not recreate it by typing “Minds” in Geist or another typeface. Use the official SVG whenever possible.
The emblem, awake.
Helm is the face of the Minds operator. The existing emblem gains two vertical eyes inside its opening. Nothing more is needed.
A small gesture goes a long way.
Keep the original outer silhouette and opening. The eyes are two equal vertical strokes. They glance together within that opening. A blink compresses their height around the center while preserving their width.
Use a solid mark for navigation and chat sizes. A drawn outline can accompany an editorial moment. Do not add a mouth, limbs, a hat, a separate head, or accessories. Helm belongs to the same identity system as the emblem.
Let a greeting finish. Respect reduced motion and the site’s character-motion preference. Helm should never obscure a control or stand in for a real success, error, or security state.
Powerful ideas. Plain words.
The Minds voice is thoughtful, direct, and human. Help someone understand what the product does and why it matters before asking them to learn its vocabulary.
Lead with the human outcome.
Say what someone can do before naming the mechanism. “Remember the decision from last week” opens the door. An implementation name can follow when it helps explain the work.
Be precise about capability.
Separate a demonstrated operation from an illustration, and a configured deployment from an architectural direction. A source is evidence to inspect, not a guarantee of truth.
Make technical language earn its place.
Explain an unfamiliar term on first use. Use exact API names in references and code. Use ordinary language in headlines, prompts, and explanations.
Keep confidence grounded.
Write with conviction about the purpose. Support claims about performance, availability, security, and customer results with current evidence and the relevant scope.
Keep it unmistakably Minds.
Use the official files as supplied. Consistency makes the identity stronger than a collection of one-off interpretations.
Preserve the form
Do not stretch, rotate, skew, crop, outline, or redraw the original mark. Do not change the relationship between the emblem and wordmark.
Keep the artwork clean
Do not add shadows, bevels, gradients, textures, or decorative strokes to the official logo. Authored product scenes may use a separate dimensional treatment; the downloadable identity stays flat.
Protect the meaning
Do not combine the mark with another company’s identity or imply an endorsement. Ask Minds before creating a partner lockup, merchandise, or a modified brand asset.
Use “Minds” for the platform, “a Mind” for a dedicated instance, “Akasha” for the engine, and “Helm” for the operator. On first mention, identify the product with minds.sh.