ebo
brand identity
toolkit
2018 April
This is it! The beginning of our big adventure.
This toolkit is your one-stop shop with everything you need to start creating as Ebo. Take a look around, get to know us, play with our graphic elements and try our voice on for size.
tagline
your own private play school
key message
Creating a world where every child gets to be the chatterbox.
brand concept
common language
Winks, smirks, biiig, looong yawns — some ways of communicating are universal. Others, like saying “hi mom!,” take a bit of practice. We’re finding the common language between kids with disabilities and the world.
manifesto
We believe in a world where every child has a voice.
Where every child gets to say are we there yet?
Where every child gets to be the chatterbox, if they want to.
Where every parent gets to be the hero. Where every parent gets to play the playmate. Where every parent has a choice.
We believe in the joy of discovering language.
For kids of all abilities all around the world.
We’re Ebo, and we make great learning games for kids that need it — wherever they are on the map, wherever they are on their journey.
Ebo. Your own private play school.
design principles
joyful
bold
trustworthy
human
intelligent
part 1
visual identity
the logo
The Ebo logo is built from a series of half circles and a rectangle, distilling the letterforms to their fundamental shapes — an homage to the building blocks of language. The overlapping of shapes and colors signifies the connections that Ebo creates between child, family, and the world by teaching phonics and vocabulary. Lastly, the bright primary red and cyan represent the inherent optimism Ebo has as a company.
Use the English logo below for most locations, except in countries that speak Arabic use the Aarbic logo.
The logo can also be locked up with the tagline like this.
clearspace
Making sure people can read our logo is key. In order to maintain the integrity of the mark please maintain a minimum clear space around the logo equal to the width of the cyan half circle present in both the Latin and Arabic logos.
don’ts
Just like no one likes their hair being messed up–we don’t like our logo getting messed up either. Here are a few simple guidelines for making sure the Ebo logo isn’t stretched, skewed, or transformed beyond comprehension.
Color
Our colors are bright and optimistic. They give a youthful feel to our products and communciations. Our main color is sky blue. Our secondary colors are red and midnight. We never use black. Always use midnight in place of black. Our accent colors are gold, salmon, mint, gray, and pastel blue. It’s important to maintain consistency of color across applications so please use the color formulas listed or better yet download the swatch palette.
Illustrations
We have a flat vector illustration style that is simple and cute. When making new illustration distill each image to its most essential information. Less is more. Each illustration starts with simple geometric shapes: circles, squares, rectangles and lots of rounded corners. Add just enough detail to get the point across. Each illustration should have three–five colors. We have an expanded illustration color palette to keep things consistent.
Preferred illustrators: skinnyships.com
photography
Studio portraits
We have two photographic styles. First, close-up head and shoulders studio portraits of kids — focused on capturing real emotions on bright colored backdrops. Second, in-situtation documentary photos of kids connecting with their families and the world. These utlize natural lighting.
Documentrary
TYPOGRAPHY
GT Walsheim regular, medium, bold
Our primary Latin typeface is GT Walsheim — it is a friendly but precise geometric sans serif. It sports warm curves and wears a broad smile. It was designed by Noël Leu and released by Grilli Type. It was inspired by the lettering of Swiss designer Otto Baumberger. We use three weights of GT Walsheim: bold, medium, and regular.
Graphik Arabic regular, bold
Our primary Arabic typeface is Graphik Arabic, designed by Waël Morcos and Khajag Apelian and released by Commercial Type. It combines the simplified strokes of a grotesque with the structure and proportion of a fluid script. It is a meaningful departure from calligraphic detailing and is a more utilitarian workhorse. We use the bold and regular weights.
Linotte semibold
Our Latin display typeface is Linotte — a rounded sans serif that has slight irregularities which give it a warm and naive look, while its solid geometric construction provides good legibility and a friendly feeling. It was designed by Joël Carrouché. We use Linotte as a headline typeface in Semibold.
Our Arabic display typeface is Teshrin. It has a rational structure but its prominent rounded edges give it a friendly character. It was designed by Kristyan Sarkis and released by Typotheque. We use the bold weight in headlines.
PART 2
verbal identity
voice: who we are
humble changemakers
You’re resolute in your beliefs, but that determination never gets in the way of your optimism. You go to great lengths to ensure rigor, but you know how to explain your ideas, plain and simple.
You may be lofty in your ambitions to change the world, but you keep it light hearted every step of the way. You’re a humble changemaker, after all.
what does it take to be
a humble changemaker?
⚡ Be bold, not insensitive
We are disruptors, after all! We’re not afraid to tell it like it is. We share our knowledge and we put stakes in the ground when we feel strongly. We don’t moralize; we simply share our beliefs.
🤸♀️ Be joyful, not superficial
It’s our job to give families hope! This is a no-sob-story-zone. We bring levity, light and positivity wherever possible.
🤗 Be down-to-earth, not flippant
We are a team of humans (not robots or woodland creatures). This facet of our voice helps us stay humble. It keeps us from using jargon or making lofty, poetic statements so that everyone feels included.
content: what we say
Every piece of content we create, we aim to balance play with mastery, joyfulness with rigor.
There are many different types of content where our voice might show up: error messages, websites, game UI, blog posts, media quotes, social media, legal content, advertising.
tone: how we say it
Our voice stays the same over time, but we adjust our tone to suit the context — just like how you speak slightly differently at a job interview compared to a dinner party.
Sales copy (subscribe)
We can use plain language to avoid confusion.
We’re approachable and friendly (“you get”) to build trust.
Data request (onboarding)
We can use plain, directive language to avoid confusion.
We explain why we’re making a request so the user can make an informed decision.
Website copy
We’re confident in our tone to help the user feel confident, too.
The game experience starts here, so we can be more joyful and fun.
Loading screen content
We’re friendly and lighthearted. It’s no big deal.
We let the user know what we’re doing while they wait so they feel informed.
style: making the rules
capitalization
You’ll notice there are a few rules around capitalization.
Names
Our brand name is title case, except in the logo.
Game names are title case, except when locked up with the logo.
Content
Our primary headlines are always all lower case.
Subheadlines are always sentence case with a period.
plural first person
We are a team of people, and we speak as such. Plural first person gives content a conversational feel. We don't like third person.
✅ do
“We’re Ebo. We make games for kids of all abilities.”
“Let’s take a look at how the game works.”
❌ DOn’t
“Ebo makes games for kids of all abilities.”
“The Ebo tutorial shows users how the game works.”
second person
We can also use second person to speak directly to the reader and draw them in. That’s you! Hello!
✅ DO
“You can tap this button to play.”
“Your child will fall in love with Teemo.”
❌ DON’T
“Users tap this button to play.”
“Children fall in love with Teemo.”
active voice
We prefer active voice. In active voice, the subject performs the action. In passive voice, the subject has an action done to it.
✅do
Your child collected a gem!
We use modeling and feedback to teach phonics.
❌ DON’T
A gem was collected by your child.
Modeling and feedback will be used to teach phonics.
contractions
Contractions help our tone of voice feel conversational and down to earth, rather than stilted or formal.
✅DO
Let’s take a look at how this works.
That’s why give stars for every correct match.
❌ DON’T
Let us take a look at how this works.
That is why we give stars for every correct match.
style: breaking the rules
emoji 🔥
Emoji is a core part of our brand — playing on the idea of common language. Used thoughtfully, they give our content a little extra something special. Think of them as accessories, rather than the outfit.
word stretching
Woooow, our English verbal identity can mimic speech patterns, too! Use your intuition here. Is the word expressing an emotion? Go for it! Just remember to stretch out the vowels, not the consonants.
✅Do
Helloooo!
Oooooh!
Mooore fun!
❌Don’t
Hellllllo!
Ohhhh!
Mmmmore fun!
rebus
We can use images from our illustration palette to represent words or phrases in hero headlines. Rebus work best when the phrase is really simple and well known, so the brain fills in the blanks.
PART 3
characters
A trio of forest creatures named Teemo, Yaya, and Momo are the stars of the Ebo world. Each of them has a unique personality.
Hi, I’m Teemo!
I’m Yaya!
Momo is ready!
the big brother
I’m here to show you the ropes — and keep my friends in check. We’re a team. Together, we’ll explore all the words you want to learn. I like to think of myself as your good natured big brother. Or maybe your fearless leader.
+ Good natured
+ Encouraging
+ Courageous
the sweety pie
I wiggle my ears to remind you to listen, listen! I am your biggest fan. I’m brimming with energy and ready to play. Nothing makes me happier than seeing you get all the answers right. Go! Go! Go!
+ Innocent
+ Supportive
+ Energetic
the class clown
Momo wiggles his tongue to remind you to speak up. Momo doesn’t have too much to say. Momo just wants to make you giggle. Wahey!
+ Goofy
+ Clumsy
+ Laconic
Part 4
gallery
