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.
Building and partnering.
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.
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.
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.
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.
02B –
The icon
The icon is a visual shorthand for the wordmark and useful in all situations where the full wordmark is too large.
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.
Clear space guidleines apply to the icon as well.
If the icon is housed within a holding shape, please adhere to the folowing clearspace guidelines.
02D –
Logo sizing
In order to maintian legibility, the wordmark and icon should never appear smaller than these minimum sizes.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
Please use DM Serif Text as a Google substitute for Cambon.
Please use Montserrat as a Google substitute for Sharp Sans.
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.
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.
Global
01 - Black and White only.
02 - Capture global locations and exteriors of architecture.
03 - Create compositions that lean toward the absract.
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.
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: