Unconventionalists Ltd · Brand guidelines · v1.0 · 7 October 2026

How the brand works

Everything needed to use the Unconventionalists identity consistently: the marks and how to place them, colour, type, voice, the one signature motion, the taglines and where each is used, and the files. Written for us first, and for anyone who makes something with the mark on it.

1 Marks2 Using the mark3 Colour4 Type5 Voice6 Motion7 Applications8 Taglines9 Templates10 Files

In one paragraph

Unconventionalists finds overlooked opportunities and builds companies that run themselves. The brand looks like the notebook of a careful experimenter: a hand-drawn rocket, two colours and a cream page, a serif for what we think and a sans for what we do. It is calm rather than loud, dry rather than cold, and it always says where the people are.

1. Marks

Three assets: the rocket E11, the primary badge C1 (rocket with two orbits) and the secondary badge A3 (rocket in a gear). C1 is the identity. A3 is for fabric, stamps and print where a heavier, rounder device reads better. The rocket alone is for animation and large decorative use.

Primary mark · C1
Secondary mark · A3 (fabric, stamps, print)
The rocket · E11
C1 on paper
C1 on butter
A3 on paper
Horizontal lockup
Unconventionalists
Stacked lockup
Unconventionalists
Endorsement line · for ventures
an Unconventionalists company

2. Using the mark

The rules that keep the mark looking like itself.

Clear space · x = the porthole diameter (⅕ of the badge width)
x
Minimum sizes
C1 print · 20 mm
C1 screen · 32 px
A3 print · 30 mm
A3 screen · 48 px
Rocket · 16 px / 8 mm

Below these sizes use the favicon version (simplified C1, thick orbits, no dashes). Under 16 px use the rocket silhouette only.

Don't

Don't stretch or squash. Scale proportionally only.

Don't recolour. Slate, butter, paper, white or black only.

Don't rotate. The rocket points up. Always.

Don't add effects. No shadows, glows, gradients or outlines.

Don't combine the marks or add a second rocket.

Don't place on busy backgrounds. Give it a flat field of slate or paper.

Unconventionalists

Don't reset the wordmark. It is Libre Caslon Text 400, sentence case.

Don't let the orbits cross the rocket. They pass behind it; use the supplied files.

3. Colour

Five colours, no more. Slate is the brand. Paper is where reading happens. Butter is the single accent and is rationed: the rocket, the ground line, one highlight per screen. Nothing neon, nothing saturated.

Slate#343A46 · hero ground, mark background
Slate deep#262B35 · gradients, footer
Butter#EDD9A3 · the one accent, rationed
Paper#F6F2E9 · reading ground
Ink#1A1D23 · body text on paper

Colour pairs

The combinations that are allowed, and what each is for. Body text is never butter on paper or paper on butter.

GroundMark / display textBody textUse
Aa SlateButter ✓ · Paper ✓Paper ✓ 11.9:1Hero, footer, merch, dark surfaces
Aa PaperSlate ✓Ink ✓ 15.3:1 · Slate ✓ 9.0:1Reading: the log, About, documents
Aa ButterSlate ✓Ink ✓ 13.0:1Highlights, the ground band, stickers. Never a full page.
Aa WhiteSlate ✓ · Black ✓Ink ✓Third-party contexts: LinkedIn, email, documents we don't control
Aa SlateButter as body text ✗Accent only; small butter text is hard to read at length
Aa PaperButter on paper ✗ 1.3:1Never, at any size

4. Type

Two faces. Libre Caslon Text carries anything with a point of view: statements, headlines, the log. Figtree carries anything a person uses rather than reads: navigation, labels, tables, forms. Both are free Google Fonts; both are embedded on the site and must be outlined or embedded in any file that leaves us.

Libre Caslon Text for statements and the log · Figtree for everything functional
Display · Caslon 400Companies that run themselves.
Pull quote · Caslon italicWhat would a company look like if software did the work from day one?
Body UI · Figtree 400Navigation, buttons, tables, captions, forms and anything a person uses rather than reads.
Labels · Figtree 500Entry 014 · Stage 2 of 5 · Validate
Log entry treatment (Fix B) · whole entry in Caslon, labels in Figtree

Entry 014 · Venture 02 · 3 March 2027

Venture 02 failed validation at the pricing step.

We put a landing page, a price and £300 of traffic in front of 1,840 people. Here is what the data said.

41 signed up for the waiting list. None paid when asked. That is the test: interest is cheap, money is not.

The scan that surfaced the idea stays in the record, with the evidence. The agents that built the page are already working on Venture 03.

Type scale

Seven sizes cover everything. Headlines are set tight; reading text is set loose. One italic (Caslon) for pull quotes and the standfirst; no bold Caslon anywhere.

T1 · Hero · Caslon 400Built so we can leave the room.
T2 · Section · Caslon 400Every experiment is a company.
T3 · Entry title · Caslon 400Venture 02 failed validation at the pricing step.
T4 · Reading · Caslon 40041 signed up for the waiting list. None paid when asked. That is the test: interest is cheap, money is not.
T5 · UI body · Figtree 400Navigation, buttons, tables, captions, forms and anything a person uses rather than reads.
T6 · Label · Figtree 500Entry 014 · Stage 2 of 5 · Validate
T7 · Eyebrow · Figtree 600An Unconventionalists company

5. Personality and voice

Experimental and lab-like. We write the way a careful person keeps a notebook: dated, specific, a little dry.

Curiousnot scattered: evidence over novelty
Methodicalnot bureaucratic: five stages, one page each
Candidnot provocative: say what happened
Drynot cold: understated humour, no sarcasm
Unconventional in methodnot weird for its own sake

How we write

  • Like a lab notebook: dated, specific, past tense. Say the number if there is one.
  • Name what the agents do; never invoke "AI" as magic. No "revolutionary", "disrupt", "unlock".
  • Always say where the humans are. It's a feature.
  • Sentence case everywhere. No exclamation marks.

Architecture

  • Endorsed: ventures keep their own names and identities.
  • Every venture carries the C1 mark and "an Unconventionalists company".
  • Shutting a venture down is an outcome of the pipeline, published like any other.

Writing: do and don't

Like this

Venture 02 failed validation at the pricing step. 1,840 visitors, 41 sign-ups, no payments. The idea stays in the record with the evidence.

The agents scan 400 sources a week. A person reads the shortlist on Friday and picks one.

Running since March. Nobody has logged in since April.

Not like this

We're thrilled to announce our revolutionary AI-powered platform is disrupting the venture landscape!

Our cutting-edge autonomous agents unlock unprecedented value at scale.

No humans required. Zero headcount. The end of work.

  • Say where the people are. Every description of automation names the human decision that remains. It is the premise, and it is the reassurance.
  • Never frame people as the problem. No "minimal humans", "no humans", "headcount". The joke, when there is one, is about us.
  • Numbers over adjectives. If there is a figure, use it. If there isn't, say what happened.
  • Past tense for the log, present tense for the company. Entries record; pages describe.
  • Sentence case everywhere, including headlines and buttons. No exclamation marks. No emoji.
  • Name the agents' work ("the scan", "the build", "the validation"), never "the AI".
  • Failures are published in the same voice as successes. Shutting a venture is an outcome of the pipeline, not a secret.

6. Motion: the lift-off

One signature movement, used once per visit on the dark hero. Smoke rolls along the floor and climbs; the rocket waits, then goes, leaving a short dashed jet. Everything else on the site moves quietly or not at all. Respects reduced-motion settings.

Website hero, dark · plays when scrolled into view and repeats every 8 seconds
Built so we can leave the room.Companies that run themselves.

7. On real things

Reference applications. Merch carries the mark and the four-word line; the site, LinkedIn and signatures carry the brand line over the description.

Hoodie back · A3
UnconventionalistsBuilt so we can leave the room.
Hoodie back · C1
UnconventionalistsBuilt so we can leave the room.
Tote · logo over name
Unconventionalists
Business card
Paul CachiaFounder
hello@unconventionalists.com
unconventionalists.com
Embroidered patch · A3
Rubber stamp · A3, one colour
Website header
Unconventionalists
  • Why
  • How it works
  • Ventures
  • Log
Get in touch
Avatar and favicon · 96, 48, 24px

8. Taglines

One brand line, one plain description, and three lines with specific jobs. Do not invent new ones for individual pieces; pick from these.

Brand line
Built so we can leave the room.

Site hero, LinkedIn headline, email signature, decks. Usually sits over the description.

Plain description
Companies that run themselves.

The second line under the brand line. Stands alone wherever wit is wrong: legal, investor documents, footers, metadata.

Merch line
Business as unusual.

Stamp, patch, business card, stickers, hoodie if a short line is wanted. Anywhere four words win.

Manifesto line
The future of work is less of it.

Heading of the ventures manifesto page and posters only. Not a signature, not a tote.

Section heading · ventures and log
Every experiment is a company.

Heads the ventures/log section. Earns its keep each time a new company is published.

Body copy
Companies for people with other plans.

A sentence of About-page copy, not a tagline. Use once.

9. Templates

The three pieces most likely to be made again: the hero, the endorsement for a venture, and the email signature.

Hero · brand line over description
Built so we can leave the room.Companies that run themselves.
Venture endorsement · footer of every venture site
an Unconventionalists company

Mark at 2.2em of the text size, text in Figtree with the name in Caslon. Links to unconventionalists.com. Ventures keep their own identity above this line.

Email signature
Thanks,
Paul
Paul Cachia · Unconventionalists Ltd
Built so we can leave the room.
unconventionalists.com

Mark as a 40 px PNG on white, name in bold, tagline in italic. No other images, no quotes, no colour.

10. Files

Masters live in the website repository under brand/ and are mirrored in Drive, 01 Brand & Design. SVG is the master format; export PNG at the size needed.

FileWhatUse on
badge-c1-slate.svg / -butter / -blackPrimary mark, single colour, transparentPaper, white, light grounds (slate); dark grounds (butter); one-colour print (black)
badge-c1-on-slate.svg / -on-butter.svgPrimary mark on a filled squareAvatars, social, anywhere a background is needed
badge-a3-slate.svg / -butter / -black / -on-slateSecondary mark (gear)Patches, stamps, hoodie, print
rocket-e11-slate.svg / -butter / -white / -blackRocket, standard weightAnimation, large decorative use, dividers
rocket-e11-medium-slate.svg / -butterRocket, heavier strokesSmall sizes, embroidery, anything under 40 px
favicon.svgSimplified C1 on slate rounded squareBrowser tab, app icon, under 32 px
FontsLibre Caslon Text (400, 400 italic), Figtree (400, 500, 600)Google Fonts, SIL Open Font License. Outline before sending artwork to printers.

Version 1.0, 7 October 2026. Changes to this document are recorded in the brand decisions log. Questions: hello@unconventionalists.com.