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Brand Orientation

Ink, paper, and one shot of crimson.

Our identity is deliberately restrained. Two neutrals carry every layout and a single accent does the pointing — so everything we publish looks like it came from the same firm.

Principles

Four rules that govern every layout.

Dark by default

Near-black ground, off-white type. The dark surface is the identity — never invert a layout without a reason.

Weight does the work

Montserrat from Light to ExtraBold. Hierarchy comes from weight and scale — pair a bold name with a light descriptor.

Crimson points, never decorates

One accent, used sparingly: a square marker before a heading, a rule, a full band. It directs attention; it is not ornament.

Photography carries the craft

Real venues, real teams. Black and white for people at work; full colour for spaces and food.

Logo

One mark, two treatments.

Use the lockup on ink or on paper. Never place it on a photograph, never rotate it, never recolour the mark.

Black Duck Ventures

Primary — paper on ink.

Black Duck Ventures

Reversed — ink on paper.

Palette

Five values. That is the whole palette.

Crimson is an accent, never a background for body copy. Every other value below meets a 4.5:1 contrast ratio in its intended pairing. Do not introduce new colours without sign-off.

  • Ink

    #0A0A0A

    Primary background, dark surfaces

  • Paper

    #FFFEF4

    Primary text, reversed surfaces

  • Crimson

    #F63562

    Accent — markers, rules, bands

  • Slate

    #1C1C1C

    Muted panels, card surfaces

  • Graphite

    #B7B6AE

    Secondary text, captions, metadata

Typography

Scale and weight carry the hierarchy.

Display / 60

Building ventures

Heading / 36

Building ventures

Subhead / 20

Building ventures

Body / 16

Building ventures

Caption / 12

Building ventures

Voice

Write like you would say it out loud.

Short sentences, concrete nouns, no manufactured urgency. When in doubt, cut the adjective.

  • Do

    We are the outliers. We are Black Duck.

    Do not

    We are a leading, world-class, best-in-breed organisation.

  • Do

    We don't just move products; we move the industry forward.

    Do not

    We leverage synergies across the value chain.

  • Do

    Hard work, fueled by passion.

    Do not

    We foster a culture of engagement and empowerment.

  • Do

    #1 pizzeria in the Philippines, five years running.

    Do not

    One of the most acclaimed pizzerias in the region.