Gordian Knot Brand Guidelines
a complete guide
Our Mission
To revolutionize technical hiring within the engineering industry by applying evidence-based scientific principles of personnel selection. We aim to improve the fairness, accuracy, and effectiveness of hiring processes for engineering and technical roles. By moving away from traditional, stress-inducing methods like whiteboard tests and brain teasers, we strive to help organizations build more diverse and high-performing teams, leveraging best practices from over a century of research in personnel selection.
Brand Voice
Gordian Knot emphasizes professionalism, expertise, and innovation while being approachable and solution-focused. Communicating a commitment to improving the technical hiring processes through evidence-based methods, thus presenting the company as a trusted consultant that values fairness, diversity, and high performance. The tone is both authoritative and collaborative, inviting organizations to partner with them to achieve better hiring outcomes.
Primary Logo
This is the main version of the logo, with and without the tagline. Tagline or no tagline is used per your discretion, depending on the project. For this project the primary logo is the horizontal version of the logo.
Secondary Logo
These are the other versions of the logo pertaining to how the logo will be used based on purpose and spacing.
Example usage: when the space has a horizontal constraint.
Example usage: the favicon (the little icon of an open tab) for the website page.
Safe Space
This is the minimum space to be used around the logo for legibility. The white space around the logo is equal to the height of the lowercase “a” from the primary logo.
Wrong Logo Usage
These guidelines apply to all versions of the logo.
1. Do not stretch the logo
2. Do not change the logo colors
3. Do not add a stroke
4. Do not alter or add existing elements
5. Do not remove gradient
Typography (for web and print)
Heading - Brandon Grotesque Black (45pt)
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890!@#$%^&*()_+
Button - Brandon Grotesque Regular (18pt)
Subheading - Brandon Grotesque Bold (25pt)
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890!@#$%^&*()_+
Body copy - Brandon Grotesque Regular (20pt)
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890!@#$%^&*()_+
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890!@#$%^&*()_+ Button Alternative - Brandon Grotestque Regular Underline (18pt)
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890!@#$%^&*()_+
Caption - Brandon Grotesque Light Italic (16pt)
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890!@#$%^&*()_+
Body copy Alternative - Brandon Grotesque Bold (20pt)
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
1234567890!@#$%^&*()_+
This is a headline (45pt)
This is a sub-headline (25pt)
This is body copy (20pt). Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
This is body copy alternative, used mostly for any call to action or for emphasis (20pt). Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
This is the text that is used for buttons, slightly smaller than the body copy and usually accompanied by a colored button (18pt).
This is the alternative text for buttons, in the instance that the button color would take away from the importance of the text prior to it or simply not wanting a colorful button but still wanting to make sure the viewer knows there is a link (18pt).
This is a caption (16pt)
Color Palette
White
Hex: #ffffff
RGB: 255,255,255
CMYK: 0,0,0,0
Gordian Gray
Hex: #C9CaCB
RGB: 201,202,203
CMYK: 18,14,15,0
Blueprint Blue
Hex: #8394a4
RGB: 131,148,164
CMYK: 52,35,27,1
iron Bound Steel
Hex: #363C42
RGB: 54,60,66
CMYK: 75,64,56,47
alexander the Blue
Hex: #0d2a49
RGB: 13,42,73
CMYK: 100,84,43,43
onyx Black
Hex: #1d1d1d
RGB: 29,29,29
CMYK: 72,66,65,76
Gradient
linear
Hex: #C9CaCB
RGB: 201,202,203
CMYK: 21,16,16,0
Hex: #0d2a49
RGB: 13,42,73
CMYK: 100,84,43,43
radial
InsIde:
Hex: #C9CaCB
RGB: 201,202,203
CMYK: 21,16,16,0
Outs de:
Hex: #0d2a49
RGB: 13,42,73
CMYK: 100,84,43,43
Mockups
