Free tool

A brand guideline in two minutes

from one colour and a few answers

Tell it what the business is, who it is for and one colour you already like. What comes back is a working palette with the contrast checked, a type scale, a voice to write in, and rules for using your mark - enough to keep everything you make looking like the same company.

The questions

Tell it about the brand

Five short answers. The colour is the only thing you have to have an opinion about.

1The basics
2Pick up to three words it should feel like
3How should the writing look?
4How should it sound?
5One colour you already like
Everything else is worked out from it, and checked for contrast so the text on it can actually be read.

Nothing is sent anywhere and no email address is asked for. The guideline is worked out in your browser and it is gone when you close the tab - copy it, print it or download it first.

The method

How it is put together

Nothing is invented on your behalf. Every part of the guideline is either your own words rearranged or a calculation you can check yourself.

  1. The positioning line is your own words, arranged

    Nothing is claimed on your behalf - the tool only puts what you typed into the order that reads best.

  2. The palette is built from your colour

    Tints, shades and neutrals are worked out from it in HSL, and the neutrals keep a little of your hue so they do not read as dirty grey beside it.

  3. Every swatch is contrast checked

    The ratio against white and against black is calculated the way WCAG defines it, and each colour is labelled with what may safely sit on it.

  4. The type scale steps by roughly a quarter each time

    That is what stops a page having six headings that all look the same size.

  5. Nothing is sent anywhere

    There is no email field on this page: the guideline is worked out in your browser and gone when you close the tab, so copy, print or download it first.

Worth knowing

What this is and is not

There is no logo in it

A mark is drawn for a business after somebody has understood it. A generated one would look like a brand without being one, and you would find that out later, expensively.

It has not seen your competitors

A palette that is correct in isolation can still be the same blue as the two firms you are trying to be distinguished from.

It is a floor to work from

Everything here is defensible and consistent, which is more than most small businesses start with - and less than a designer will do with a week and a conversation.

Contrast is checked, not taste

The tool can tell you that text will be readable. It cannot tell you the combination is right for what you sell.

FAQ

Questions about the builder

1Why is there no logo?

Because a generated mark borrows more confidence than it earns. Everything else here - colour, type, voice, spacing - can be worked out from rules. A logo cannot, and a bad one is harder to walk back than no logo at all.

2What does the contrast rating mean?

It is the WCAG ratio between the swatch and the text on it. 4.5:1 is the bar for body text, 3:1 for large text. Below 3:1 a colour is for backgrounds and shapes, never for words.

3Can I use these fonts commercially?

The suggested faces are open-source and free for commercial use, and each comes with a fallback stack for machines that do not have it. Check the licence for anything you swap in later.

4Do you keep what I type?

No. There is no form to submit and no address to enter. It is worked out in your browser, and closing the page is all it takes to be rid of it.

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