Identity Guidelines
Our identity is so much more than just a logo.
It pervades all of our communication, it is a combination of elements which come together to form a language. This language, and mindset, is meant to inspire and give direction to creativity, not hamper it. The guidelines in this document are a design system built to ensure consistency within our identity, while providing flexibility to produce compelling visual communications.
Contents 4
About Us 10
Logo 20
Product Logos 24
Color
32
Typeface 42
Typography 50
Graphic Style 62
Contact
About Us
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Introduction 7
Mission Statement 8
Tagline 9
Personality
_ About Us
Xively offers a platform, tools and services focused on simplifying and accelerating the creation of compelling products and solutions on the Internet of Things.
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Mission Statement Our mission is to provide the tools and services required to enable the Internet of Things to fulfill its promise of transforming the understanding and relationship between people and their world.
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_ About Us
Tagline
The Internet of Things is Open for Business.
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Personality Powerful but not complicated. Secure but not unreasonable. Inspirational but not pretentious. Hip but not alienating. Direct and down to business. Serious but not inaccessible. Experienced but not arrogant. Mature but cutting edge. Human and genuine, not robotic. Relatable and respectful, not preachy.
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Logo
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Master Logo 14
Protecting the Logo 16
Color Variations 18
Alternative Logo
_ Logo
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Master Logo A strong brand is built on the same principle as a strong relationship: consistency. Our logo is the heart of our visual identity, representing us and making us recognisable only as long as it is used consistently. It is our universal signature and should serve as a foundation for all visual compositions. The logo should appear prominently in all communication materials, both in print and on screen.
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_ Logo
Protecting the Logo To maintain a strong and recognizable brand, it is important to be consistent when applying the Logo. It should follow the position, size and color specifications described in this section and should not be manipulated or distorted.
Exclusion Zone To protect the clarity and visual integrity of the Logo, it is protected by an exclusion zone. It must always appear legibly. To make it easy, you can use the “x“ to do the appropriate measurements.
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Size Minimum size specifications ensure that the Logo remains legible in all applications. The Logo should never be reproduced smaller than the indicated minimum sizes.
For print
For digital use
1.6 cm
115 px
0.77 cm
45px
Integrity The following illustration demonstrates a few incorrect and disallowed manipulations of the Logo. It does not cover every possible scenario, and a simple rule of thumb is to always use the Logo in the variations provided.
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_ Logo
Color Variations We designed the Logo to stand out effectively in the main version and also in a few different color variations. These are meant to be used when the Logo is obscured by the surroundings or due to medium requirements. The Logo should not be used in any other color combinations. Refer to the Color section for the color values.
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_ Logo
Alternative Logo We designed an alternative logo to be used internally and in special approved cases. It should be protected in position, size, color and distortion like the Master Logo as described earlier in this document. To obtain approval to use the alternative logo: design@xively.com
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Product Logos
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Introduction 23
Specification
_ Product Logos
Product Logos A Product Logo is a unifying visual touchstone for all of our sub-products, services and departments. Product Logos follow a consistent design, to clearly communicate their hierarchy in relation to the Master Logo. They are intentionally simple for two reasons: to preserve strong consistency across Products, and to easily accommodate new Products in the growing Xively brand.
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TM symbol defines spacing
Light weight with -50 tracking
Cap height is equal to Master Logo x-height
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Color
26
Primary Palette 28
Complementary Palette 30
Color and Type
_ Color
Primary Palette We’ve chosen a color palette that is very focused and sophisticated. Color should be used in small touches to help, not to dominate. The foundational simplicity of our visual identity relies on how precisely, not how prominently, color is applied.
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Pantone+ 292 C C55 M16 Y0 K10 R94 G176 B229 #5EB0E5
Pantone+ 291 C C37 M8 Y1 K0 R158 G206 B235 #9ECEEB
Pantone+ 7543 C C43 M29 Y25 K0 R165 G174 B182 #A5AEB6
Pantone+ 7541 C C13 M7 Y8 K0 R223 G229 B230 #DFE5E6
Pantone+ Process Blue C C100 M35 Y0 K0 R0 G133 B207 #0085CF
Pantone+ Black 6 C C81 M71 Y59 K76 R17 G28 B36 #111C24
Pantone+ 7545 C C77 M60 Y44 K26 R81 G98 B111 #51626F
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_ Color
Complementary Palette The Complementary Palette provides a variety of colors to be used when there is a specific, actionable purpose and when other typographic methods alone fail to convey the necessary distinction. This palette shouldn’t be used for decorative purposes.
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Pantone+ Red 032 C C0 M93 Y76 K0 R243 G40 B55 #F32837
Pantone+ 151 C C0 M60 Y100 K0 R255 G121 B0 #FF7900
Pantone+ 116 C C0 M18 Y100 K0 R255 G203 B0 #FFCB00
Pantone+ 7480 C C86 M0 Y78 K0 R0 G195 B117 #00C375
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_ Color
Color and Type To maintain consistency and legibility, we’ve developed color and type combinations that are an harmonious blend, while retaining the necessary contrast. When coloring type or using a background color, these standard combinations should be used.
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Text Text Text Text
Text
Text
Text
Text
Text
Text
Text
Text
Text
Text
Text
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Typeface
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Corporate Typeface 36
Typeface Weights 38
Typeface Specimens 40
Special Cases
_ Typeface
Proxima Nova by Mark Simonson
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Corporate Typeface The Xively typeface is Proxima Nova by Mark Simonson. It should be used in all textual elements in visual communications. Proxima Nova is a hybrid that combines modern proportions with a geometric appearance. The humanist traits in a rational structure make it a sophisticated, legible but also relatable typeface.
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_ Typeface
Typeface Weights Proxima Nova is remarkably versatile, and it is available in a wide range of weights. This allows for a full range of creative expression.
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Thin
Thin Italic
Light
Light Italic
Regular
Regular Italic
Semibold
Semibold Italic
Bold
Bold Italic
Extrabold
Extrabold Italic
Black
Black Italic
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_ Typeface
Typeface Specimens Proxima Nova Thin abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890£&@?!/+(.,:;) Proxima Nova Light abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890£&@?!/+(.,:;) Proxima Nova Regular abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890£&@?!/+(.,:;)
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Proxima Nova Semibold abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890£&@?!/+(.,:;) Proxima Nova Bold abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890£&@?!/+(.,:;) Proxima Nova Extrabold abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890£&@?!/+(.,:;) Proxima Nova Black abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 1234567890£&@?!/+(.,:;)
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_ Typeface
Special Cases In cases where Proxima Nova cannot be used due to technical limitations, fall back to the following typefaces, in order: Neue Helvetica, Helvetica and Arial.
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Typography
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Typographic Style 46
Scale 48
Rhythm
_ Typography
Typographic Style Our identity is strongly defined by its typographic style. This is driven by strong principles that emphasize cleanliness, readability and objectivity. Contrast, proximity and alignment should be used as primary methods to convey the intended hierarchy of a message. This is an integral part of the mindset that drives the graphic style in our identity. The examples are a guide only. Each job needs analyzing individually.
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Kicker
Title
Supporting Title Body Text Caption
14pt, Semibold, Small Caps, 50 tracking
84pt, Bold, -20 tracking
24pt, Bold, -10 tracking
10pt, Regular 8pt, Bold Italic
Title
Supporting Title Body Text Caption
48pt, Bold, -10 tracking
24pt, Regular, -10 tracking 10pt, Regular 8pt, Bold Italic
Title Supporting Title Body Text Caption
36pt, Bold, -10 tracking 18pt, Regular, -10 tracking 12pt, Regular 10pt, Bold Italic
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_ Typography
Scale Our typographic scale provides a set of balanced and harmonious typeface sizes that help create a consistent visual hierarchy across our communications. Although we provide a wide ranging scale, a layout should not be overcrowded with different typeface sizes. Keep it simple and creatively explore other ways of drawing emphasis, such as weight, color and style.
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A A A A A A A A A
108pt
96pt
84pt
72pt
60pt
48pt
36pt 30pt 24pt
A
18pt
A
14pt
A
12pt
A A
10pt 8pt
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_ Typography
Rhythm When typesetting body text, it is important to consider the spacing and arrangement as the reader descends the page or document. This is especially relevant when typesetting long stretches of text. These will inherently have a pulse with a particular rhythm, effected by the balance of line length and line spacing, also known as leading. An optimal line length oscillates between 50-75 characters, each job will require adequate adjustment. For leading, or line spacing, it should be between 1.2 and 1.5 times the point size set for characters.
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Line length
50–75
Line spacing (leading)
characters
1.2–1.5
times the character point size
Not too wide By typesetting your body text with longer lines, the reader will have a harder time focusing on the text and struggle going back to the beginning of the next line. This is caused by the fact that it is difficult to get an idea of where a line starts and ends. The longer lines also cause fatigue due to the increased number of continuous words. Returning to the beginning of a line allows your mind to re-energize, which should happen often.
Not too narrow
Not too crowded
By using a narrow column of text, the eye will have to travel back too often. These short lines tend to stress people, and also encourage the act of skipping, where the reader jumps to the next line before finishing the current one (potentially missing important words and concepts).
This stretch of text is set with too little line spacing. It is causing the block of text to look congested and crowded. The line spacing of the body should make it easy for the reader to find the beginning of the next line without causing unnecessary stress, or making it harder and uncomfortable to read.
Not too spaced In this column, the lines are too far apart from each other, which leads to difficulty for the eye to find the beginning of the next line. It also easily causes a break in thought, a disconnection between the lines.
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Graphic Style
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Introduction 54
Shapes 56
Graphical Elements 58
Photography
_ Graphic Style
Graphic Identity The story behind Xively is very powerful, any object that surrounds us can be connected and extended into the digital world. Our graphic identity explores the bridging of these two worlds. It is an harmonious balance of natural vibrance and digital rationality. Simplified forms and grid based layouts help consolidate the feeling of rationality, reliability and order. Photography should be used to represent the world around us and it should look natural, not fabricated. Graphic elements such as charts and diagrams should be kept simple in design and follow the Xively color palette described earlier in this document.
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Natural Vibrance
Digital Rationality
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_ Graphic Style
Shapes A visual composition should not contain organic shapes and it should instead be composed with geometric forms, with a preference for the two dimensional space. The use of geometry aids in communicating the idea and feeling of sturdiness and order, which is paramount to how we present our products and services.
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Dual line weight
Single line weight
Better for bigger sizes
Better for smaller sizes
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_ Graphic Style
Graphical Elements Charts, diagrams and other visualizations are usually complex in nature, so it’s important not to overcrowd them with unnecessary elements. Keep the design simple and understandable. Accuracy should never be compromised to improve aesthetic qualities. A common example is unnecessary rounding or inappropriate use of ellipsis.
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_ Graphic Style
Photography Photography in our graphic identity plays an important role in communicating the bridge of the physical and the digital worlds. The dynamic nature of a photograph provides the organic features to contrast with the geometric elements described earlier. When photography is used, it should look natural and professional. Use simple, engaging and high quality imagery.
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_ Graphic Style
Overlaying and Colorizing A great way to illustrate the bridge between the physical and digital worlds is to use overlaid information with photography. When using this technique, please ensure that logos and text have enough contrast to make them readable. Another technique that can be explored is colorization. It should match the primary blue and if used in conjunction with overlayed text, you must ensure it is readable.
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design@xively.com 320 Summer Street Suite 100 Boston, MA 02210 USA 13-21 Curtain Road London EC2A 3LT UK
Identity Guidelines