01 ............................ Our Brand

02 ............................ The Logo

03 ............................ Color Palette

04 ............................ Typography

05 ............................ Photography

06 ............................ Tone of Voice

07 ............................ Contact

ESSENCE BRAND GUIDELINES – v1

01 –


Our brand

The  following document has been created as a reference to guide the outward communication and design of the Essence brand. It introduces our new identity and explains the guiding principles for using the elements of our brand. 

The way we look, sound, and behave is a reflection of who we are. The Essence brand identity is more than a single mark—it is a rich system that works to balance technology and design with personality and approachability.

01A –


Brand pillars

Strength in numbers.

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Building and partnering.

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Data is at the core of Essence, informing not only our client-facing work, but our internal processes and quantitative culture. When questions arise, we show you the math. 

Essence partners with technology leaders to build transformative platforms, processes and tools that help us make advertising more relevant and valuable. 

Guiding decision-makers.

Fewer, better ads.

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Essence's data-driven insights, plans and experiences guide challenger brands to the top and help business leaders stay there. 

In a world of message proliferation, Essence increases business results while decreasing advertising noise. 

01B –


Design principles

Creative tension.

Simple, but rich.

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The quest to strike the ideal balance - whether between data and creativity or personalization and privacy - is the foundation for our design system.

We specialize in making complex topics easier to understand. Our design system prioritizes elegant simplicity.

Quiet power.

Radical.

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It’s a big deal helping industry titans solve their biggest problems — but we approach

our work with humility and curiosity. This balance of strength and softness comes through in our design decisions.

Flipping the script, challenging the status quo, creating positive change, and making old ways obsolete. 

02 –

Our logo

Our logo is a valuable element of our visual identity. The following examples are intended to demonstrate how to use the logo across a variety of situations to ensure that  it is always presented in the best light.


02A –

The wordmark


We’ve evolved our script based logo into a wordmark that embodies the meaning of ‘Essence’.


Using all seven font weights in Sharp Sans, the new Essence logo conveys our ability to help our clients get

to the most efficient - and most valuable - articulation

of an idea.


The mark can also be animated to convey to ebb and flow of data.


Download
wordmark wordmark-hover

02B –


The icon


The icon is a visual shorthand for the wordmark and useful in all situations where the full wordmark is too large.

Download
icon icon-hover

02C –


Clearspace

guidelines


A minimum area of clear space must always surround the Essence wordmark. This area of isolation allows the wordmark to stand out by ensuring that any copy, additional identities, or other visual elements are kept clear from the logos.


clearspace-wordmark clearspace-wordmark-hover

Clear space guidleines apply to the icon as well.  

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If the icon is housed within a holding shape, please adhere to the folowing clearspace guidelines.

app-icons app-icons-hover

02D –

Logo sizing


In order to maintian legibility, the wordmark and icon should never appear smaller than these minimum sizes.

logo-sizing

02E –  


Unapproved

uses


The success of the brand depends on the Essence logos maintaining a consistent appearance in all communications.  


In order to preserve the integrity of the logo, the following examples illustrate how it should not be used.


01 - Do not change the color of the logo or elements of the logo.


02 - Do not put the logo in a container or shape.


03 - Do not overlay gradients or effects.


04 - Do not rotate the logo.


05 - Do not skew or alter proportions of the logo.


06 - Do not place the logo on low contrasting colors.


07 - Do not place the logo on busy or complicated backgrounds.


08 - Do not add effects to the logo.

unapproved-usage

03 -


Color palette

Our brand colors have been carefully selected to balance our approachable personality with our technical aesthetic. 

The colors defined here are meant to capture the purest emotional intent of our palette, allowing a consistent relationship across digital and printed applications.

International Orange


Hex - EA533C

RGB - 234 / 83 / 60

CMYK - 02 / 83 / 88 / 00

Pantone - 7625C

Warm Gray


Hex - 9F9F9B

RGB - 159 / 159 / 155 

CMYK - 40 / 32 / 36 / 01

Pantone - 422C

Light Gray


Hex - E6E6E2

RGB - 230 / 230 / 226

CMYK - 09 / 06 / 09 / 00

Pantone - Cool Gray 1C

White


Hex - FFFFFF

RGB - 255 / 255 / 255

CMYK - 0 / 0 / 0 / 0

Pantone - White

Black


Hex - 000000

RGB - 0 / 0 / 0

CMYK - 60 / 40 / 40 / 100

Pantone - Black 6

03B –  

Color pairing


These examples demonstrate the correct versions to use in specific cases according to color and contrast.



01 - Black on White


02 - White on Black


03 - Int'l Orange on White


04 - White on Int'l Orange


05 - Black on Light Gray


06 - Black on Warm Gray


color-pairing

04 –


Typography

Consistent use of typography is a critical to bringing a brand to life.

Our system pairs a serifed headline font (Cambon) with a versatile, geometrically-grounded secondary

typeface (Sharp Sans).

04A –


Headline text

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cambon-title cambon-hover

Cambon is a contemporary flared serif layering different visions that emerged around the turn of the 20th century. 

The focal point is located somewhere between the great intuition of Louis Perrin (1795-1865), who dared to look backward, and the raw virtuosity of Berthold Wolpe (1905-1989).


- From General Type Studio

04B –

Secondary text

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sharp-sans-title sharp-sans-hover

Sharp Sans is designed to look great in any context. Beneath the sleek and minimalist forms of this flagship geometric sans-serif, is a magnitude of fastidious design considerations. 

Sharp Sans is understated in its perfectionism, and warm in its neutrality. Designed for ultimate utility.


- Sharp Type Foundry

04C –


Substitues

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When Cambon and Sharp Sans are not available or applicable, please defer to the use of the following Google fonts:

DM Serif Text


AaBbCcDdEe

AaBbCcDdEe

montserrat

Please use DM Serif Text as a Google substitute for Cambon.

Download Spectral

Please use Montserrat as a Google substitute for Sharp Sans.

Download Montserrat

05 –


Photography

Photography plays a key role in the overall content and appearance of our brand. Our selection of photography should be honest, approachable, purposeful, and thoughtful.


All included photography is copyright protected and meant for reference only, not for use.

People


01 - Capture natural and authentic poses.


02 - Capture diversity of gender and ethnicity when possible.


03 - Avoid front-flash.


04 - Use large key light when shooting seamless brand color portraits.




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Places


01 - Utilize natural lighting and use fill when applicable.


02 - Macro to micro views of environments and details.


03 - Utilize a shallow depth of field for variety and contrast of imagery.

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Global


01 - Black and White only.


02 - Capture global locations and exteriors of architecture.


03 - Create compositions that lean toward the absract.




Download Photos
essence_global_01

06 –


Tone of voice

Essence's voice defines the way we speak and write – it is integral to set ourselves apart as a brand and manifest our values in the real world. Voice captures the constant characteristics of our personality - what makes us distinctly "Essence."

Talk like a person.

Collegial and professional.

Helpful and informative.

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The strength of our work gives us the confidence to communicate in an authentic, straightforward way. It’s our job to translate the complexity of our work into actionable insights for our clientele. 

The Essence personality is “warmly collegial.” We’re curious, open-minded and thoughtful. The tone should be friendly, but never snarky or silly. 

Essence provides clients with the knowledge and perspective to market more effectively. Being helpful is essential to our business. The Essence approach is to respectfully inform and educate, never “teaching down” to our clients, who are often domain experts in their own right. 

Thank you.


We appreciate your commitment to maintaining the visual standards of the Essence brand.


If you have any further qestion regarding these brand guidelines, please contact:



brand@essenceglobal.com