Brand Craft

Core Philosophy

1. Archetype first, aesthetics second. Every visual decision flows from the brand's archetype and personality. Colors, fonts, and logos that don't reinforce the archetype create cognitive dissonance.
2. Constraint breeds quality. A brand needs 1 primary color, 2 fonts, and 1 logo type — not endless options. Decisive constraints produce cohesive identities; optionality produces mush.
3. Machine-readable over PDF-pretty. Output brand identity as structured JSON with CSS tokens. PDFs look nice but can't feed design tools, theme generators, or other AI agents.
4. Generate, don't describe. Use AI vector generation (QuiverAI Arrow, Recraft V4) to produce actual logo SVGs — not descriptions of what a logo could look like. Ship assets, not briefs.
5. 60-30-10 always. Primary color 60%, secondary 30%, accent 10%. This ratio prevents visual chaos in any brand system.

Quick-Start: The Brand Sprint

"I need a brand from scratch"

1. Discover — Ask 5 key questions to understand the brand:
   • What does the brand do and for whom?
   • What 3 words describe the desired personality?
   • Who are the top 3 competitors?
   • What brands (any industry) feel like what you want?
   • What must the brand absolutely NOT feel like?
2. Define — Map answers to archetype + personality profile -> See references/brand-sprint.md for the full discovery framework -> See references/archetype-visual-map.md to select archetype
3. Direct — Derive visual direction from archetype:
   • Select primary color from archetype palette
   • Build full color system (9-shade scale + neutrals + accent) -> See references/color-strategy.md
   • Select heading + body fonts matching archetype personality -> See references/typography-system.md
4. Design — Generate logo concepts:
   • Choose logo type (wordmark, combination mark, abstract, etc.)
   • Generate SVG logos via QuiverAI Arrow or Recraft V4
   • Create variants (full, icon, mono, reversed) -> See references/logo-creation.md
5. Deliver — Output complete brand identity:
   • Brand identity JSON (machine-readable)
   • CSS design tokens
   • Brand guidelines document (Markdown or HTML) -> See references/brand-output.md

"I need a color palette for my brand"

1. Identify archetype or personality direction
2. Select primary color using color psychology table
3. Derive full palette: primary scale (9 shades) + secondary + accent + neutrals
4. Validate WCAG contrast (4.5:1 minimum for text) -> See references/color-strategy.md -> See references/archetype-visual-map.md for archetype-specific palettes

"I need a logo"

1. Determine logo type from brand characteristics
2. Craft prompt using logo prompt template
3. Generate via QuiverAI Arrow (best quality) or Recraft V4 (cost-effective)
4. Optimize SVG with SVGO, generate variants -> See references/logo-creation.md

"I need brand guidelines"

1. Collect brand decisions (archetype, colors, fonts, logo)
2. Generate brand identity JSON
3. Output as Markdown brand guide, HTML page, or CSS design tokens -> See references/brand-output.md

Decision Trees

Archetype Quick-Select

Brand Personality	Primary Archetype	Secondary Option
Trustworthy, expert, knowledgeable	Sage	Ruler
Bold, achievement-oriented, strong	Hero	Explorer
Disruptive, rebellious, authentic	Outlaw	Creator
Innovative, transformative, visionary	Magician	Creator
Warm, nurturing, supportive	Caregiver	Innocent
Fun, playful, irreverent	Jester	Explorer
Elegant, sensual, premium	Lover	Ruler
Down-to-earth, relatable, honest	Everyman	Caregiver
Free-spirited, adventurous, independent	Explorer	Outlaw
Pure, simple, optimistic	Innocent	Caregiver
Authoritative, prestigious, exclusive	Ruler	Sage
Creative, imaginative, original	Creator	Magician

Logo Type Selection

Signal	Recommended Logo Type
Short, unique name (1-2 words)	Wordmark
Long name or acronym	Lettermark
Global brand, language-neutral needed	Abstract mark or Brandmark
New brand building recognition	Combination mark
Heritage, institutional feel	Emblem
Family/consumer audience	Mascot
Maximum flexibility needed	Combination mark

Color Strategy Selection

Brand Direction	Color Harmony	Why
Professional, corporate	Monochromatic (blue)	Trust, cohesion
Bold, energetic	Complementary	Maximum contrast
Natural, approachable	Analogous	Harmonious, calm
Playful, diverse	Triadic	Vibrant, balanced
Balanced with pop	Split-complementary	Contrast without tension
Luxury, minimal	Monochromatic (dark)	Sophistication

Reference Files

File	Contents
references/brand-sprint.md	Rapid brand creation process, discovery questions framework, personality profiling (Aaker dimensions), positioning statement formula, archetype quick-select, creative brief output
references/archetype-visual-map.md	All 12 brand archetypes with complete visual DNA: colors (hex values), shapes, typography direction, imagery style, brand examples, SVG prompt hints, blending rules
references/color-strategy.md	Color psychology, industry conventions, cultural considerations, 6 harmony rules, 60-30-10, palette construction from single hex, neutral scales, WCAG accessibility, programmatic generation
references/typography-system.md	Type personality associations, font selection by brand personality, Google Fonts recommendations (6 categories), pairing rules, hierarchy system, type scale ratios
references/logo-creation.md	Logo taxonomy (7 types), selection criteria, design principles, AI generation with QuiverAI Arrow and Recraft V4 (code + prompts), variant generation, SVG optimization, iteration strategy
references/brand-output.md	Brand identity JSON schema, CSS design tokens, Tailwind theme generation, Markdown brand guide template, HTML brand page template, dark mode specs, color scale generation code