brand guidelines

This is how Unstuck Engine looks and sounds.

Use this as a reference when creating anything - from product UI to social posts to conference slides.

Logos

We have two logo versions:

Full logo - Symbol + "Unstuck Engine" text

Use for: Website headers, presentations, marketing materials, anywhere there's space

Sign logo - Just the symbol

Use for: Favicons, app icons, social media avatars, tight spaces where text won't fit

Logo usage rules

Minimum size:

Full logo: 150px width minimum (any smaller and text becomes unreadable)

Sign logo: 32px minimum

Clear space:
Maintain space around logo equal to the height of the symbol on all sides. Don't crowd it with other elements.

What NOT to do:

Don't change colors (use provided versions)

Don't rotate or skew

Don't add effects (shadows, gradients, outlines)

Don't place on busy backgrounds where it's hard to read

Don't stretch or compress (maintain proportions)

Background colors:

Primary: Use black logo on light backgrounds

If you need logo on dark background, create white version

Avoid placing logo on mid-tone colors where contrast is poor

File formats:

Use PNG for digital (web, presentations)

Use SVG when available (scalable, crisp at any size)

Use high-res PNG for print

Colors

Our color palette from light to bold:

Color	Hex	Usage
Light Purple	#d6d9fc	Backgrounds, subtle accents
Soft Purple	#a189e5	Secondary elements
Charcoal	#171e2e	Primary text, dark UI elements
Deep Black	#15131e	Headers, emphasis
Off White	#f7f7fa	Light backgrounds
Brand Purple	#8057d9	Primary brand color - CTAs, links, key elements
Bright Green	#00d586	Success states, positive metrics
Coral	#fe5d45	Warnings, alerts, urgent actions
Magenta	#c33fdf	Highlights, special callouts
Gray	#d0d5dd	Borders, disabled states, neutral elements

Primary brand color: #8057d9 (Brand Purple)

Use this for: CTAs, links, active states, key brand moments

How to use colors:

Text:

Primary text: #171e2e (Charcoal) or #15131e (Deep Black)

Secondary text: #d0d5dd (Gray) at lower opacity

Light backgrounds: #f7f7fa (Off White) or #d6d9fc (Light Purple)

UI elements:

Success: #00d586 (Bright Green)

Warning/Error: #fe5d45 (Coral)

Info/Highlight: #c33fdf (Magenta)

Disabled: #d0d5dd (Gray)

Backgrounds:

Primary: White or #f7f7fa

Accent sections: #d6d9fc (Light Purple)

Dark mode: #171e2e or #15131e

Typography

Fonts:

Atyp Display - Headers, titles, hero text

Atyp Text - Body copy, UI text, everything else

Font sizes (approximate guide):

Hero: 48-72px (Atyp Display)

H1: 36-48px (Atyp Display)

H2: 28-32px (Atyp Display)

H3: 20-24px (Atyp Display)

Body: 16-18px (Atyp Text)

Small: 14px (Atyp Text)

Tiny: 12px (Atyp Text)

Line height:

Headers: 1.2-1.3

Body text: 1.5-1.6

Font weight:

Regular for most body text

Bold for emphasis (use sparingly)

Voice & Tone

Who we are

Direct, not corporate

We say "You're wasting time on bad-fit leads" not "Suboptimal resource allocation may impact pipeline efficiency"

Confident, not arrogant

We say "We know because we use our own product" not "Obviously we're the best"

Educational, not salesy

We say "Here's why multi-dimensional scoring works" not "Buy now, limited time offer!"

Honest, not hype

We say "This takes 60 seconds if you skip customization, 5 minutes if you don't" not "Instant setup!"

Conversational, not casual

We say "That's the value we create" not "That's like, totally the value we create, ya know?"

What we sound like

We write like we talk - Short sentences. Contractions (we're, don't, isn't). No jargon unless necessary.

We're provocative when it matters - "Volume-based GTM is broken" not "Traditional approaches may have limitations"

We back claims with data - "87% still active after 6 months" not "Most users love it"

We admit what we don't know - "We're still figuring this out" not "We have all the answers"

We respect intelligence - We don't over-explain. If you're reading our handbook, you're smart enough to connect dots.

Tone by context

Marketing (website, ads):

Provocative but backed by data

Direct about problems and solutions

Examples: "Most B2B tools give you single-dimension scoring. We don't."

Product UI:

Clear and concise

Helpful without being condescending

Examples: "Turn on your first signal source" not "Let's get you started on your amazing journey!"

Docs/Help Center:

Technical but accessible

Step-by-step when needed

Examples: "Configure your ICP by setting attributes and weights"

Social media:

More casual, can start with lowercase

Short, punchy

Examples: "precision > volume" or "single-score systems assume all buyers are the same. they're not."

Internal (handbook, Linear):

Direct and honest

No sugar-coating

Examples: "This isn't working. Kill it."

What we don't say

❌ "Leverage synergies"

✅ "Use what works together"

❌ "Best-in-class solution"

✅ "Here's what we do differently"

❌ "Revolutionize your workflow"

✅ "Stop wasting time on bad-fit leads"

❌ "Cutting-edge AI-powered platform"

✅ "Multi-dimensional ICP scoring"

❌ "Reach out to learn more"

✅ "Start a free trial, see if it works"

Writing Standards

Numbers:

Always use digits: "5 minutes" not "five minutes"

Exception: Start of sentence if unavoidable: "Five features shipped this week"

Large numbers: "10,000 leads" not "10K" (be precise)

Dashes:

Short dash with spaces: "PLG - not SLG"

Never em dash: ❌ "PLG—not SLG"

Hyphens for compound words: "multi-dimensional" "sales-led"

Capitalization:

Product features: Title Case when it's a proper name ("First-Party Signals")

General concepts: lowercase ("lead scoring" not "Lead Scoring")

Our motions: Capital letters ("PLG" "SLG" "ELG")

Sentence case for headlines: "How we make users happy" not "How We Make Users Happy"

Social media exception:

Can start with lowercase for casual tone

Example: "precision beats volume every time"

Contractions:

Use them: we're, don't, isn't, won't, can't

Sounds more human than formal

Oxford comma:

Yes, always: "Product, activation, and retention"

Lists:

Use bullets when order doesn't matter

Use numbers when sequence matters

Keep parallel structure (all start with verb, or all start with noun)

Bold/Italic:

Bold for emphasis on key points (use sparingly)

Italic for definitions or foreign words

Never use ALL CAPS for emphasis (except in very casual social)

Image & Visual Style

Photography:

Real screenshots over stock photos

Authentic over staged

Show actual product, actual data (anonymized if needed)

Icons & Graphics:

Simple, clean

Consistent stroke weight

Use brand colors

Charts & Data Viz:

Clear labels

Use brand purple (#8057d9) for primary data

Other palette colors for comparison

Don't overload with data - one insight per chart

Spacing:

Give elements room to breathe

White space is good

Don't cram everything together

Examples in Practice

Marketing headline (website)

✅ "Stop guessing which leads to call. Score them."

❌ "Revolutionize your lead prioritization workflow with AI-powered insights"

Product UI button

✅ "Turn on signals"

❌ "Activate your signal monitoring dashboard"

Error message

✅ "Can't connect to Apollo. Check your API key and try again."

❌ "An error has occurred. Please contact support."

Social media post

✅ "single-score systems can't tell the difference between a perfect-fit decision maker and a bad-fit intern. we can."

❌ "Our revolutionary multi-dimensional scoring engine leverages advanced algorithms!"

Docs title

✅ "Setting up your first ICP"

❌ "ICP Configuration Best Practices and Implementation Guide"

Internal Linear task

✅ "Fix onboarding bug - users can't skip step 3"

❌ "Address potential UX friction point in user activation flow"

When in doubt

Ask yourself:

Would I say this out loud to a colleague? (If no, it's too formal)

Does this sound like everyone else? (If yes, make it more direct)

Am I hiding behind jargon? (If yes, use plain language)

Does this respect the reader's intelligence? (If no, simplify without dumbing down)

The ultimate test:
If it sounds like it was written by a corporate marketing team, rewrite it.

If it sounds like a human explaining something to another human, ship it.

Related: Our culture - Why "Overeducate, Not Oversell" shapes how we communicate

See also: Positioning & Messaging - How we talk about competitors and differentiation (coming soon)