Visual identity
Source: Brand Style Guide v0.1 (trlibrary.com/brand). The PDF is the authority and is highly visual. This page states every rule that can be put in words. For how something should look, check the PDF.
Logo
| Version | Use |
|---|---|
| Primary logo (stacked) | First choice whenever space allows: signage, publications, merchandise, social |
| Horizontal logo | Only when the layout makes stacked impractical, or vertical space is needed for photography or messaging: website headers, digital interfaces, sponsorship placements |
| Boxed lockup | Secondary. Busy backgrounds, stickers, patches, labels, small standalone graphics. Dark Gray, Dark Forest, Night Sky or White only |
| Favicon / app icon | The TR monogram in Dharma Gothic E Bold, all caps, on a solid brand background color |
Marketing & Communications makes the final call between stacked and horizontal.
Files: see assets/. Use only supplied artwork.
Clear space and minimum size
- Clear space on all sides: the width of two "T" characters from "Theodore" in the wordmark.
- Minimum width: 0.85 in stacked, 1.25 in horizontal.
- The supplied SVGs have no clear space built in. Add it in your layout.
Logo color by background
| Background | Logo color |
|---|---|
| White | Dark Gray, Dark Forest or Night Sky. Black when appropriate |
| Dark Gray, Dark Forest, Night Sky | White preferred; a grounding or accent color in specific applications, with enough contrast |
| Grounding or accent color | Dark Gray. Black in select applications |
| Photography | Complement the image; keep contrast |
Use the colorway files supplied. Do not recolor a logo file yourself.
Never
Recolor · use multiple colors · distort · rotate · curve · crop · outline · reverse · add elements, type or effects · change transparency · remove parts · recreate it in another typeface · place it over a complex background · use it without enough contrast.
Co-branding
Library logo first, then a thin vertical divider, then the partner logo, unless the partner is the primary organizer. Divider and partner logo each sit two "T" widths apart. On dark backgrounds the Library logo and divider reverse to white. Prefer the stacked logo.
Supporting marks
- TR Brand Mark: TR initials encircled by the institution's name. Social, merchandise, seals, stamps.
- TR Values Mark: the TR initials ringed by the four Values. Publications, environmental graphics, merchandise, apparel.
- Elkhorn Mark: drawn from T.R.'s Elkhorn Ranch cattle brand, ringed by the Values. Merchandise, environmental and lifestyle uses.
Unlike the logo, marks are meant to overlap imagery and large type.
- Minimum size 0.75 in (measure the visible mark, not the file's bounding box).
- Rotate up to ±25°. Keep more than 50% visible when cropped, with as many full words as possible.
- Marks may be recolored in any approved brand color with enough contrast. White is decorative only on grounding and accent colors.
Color
The palette "should behave more like a landscape than a rainbow."
Background colors (one per composition, plus white)
| Name | Hex | RGB | CMYK | Pantone C (U) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Forest | 27, 69, 50 | 100, 35, 73, 51 | 7484C (7484U) | |
| Night Sky | 9, 42, 77 | 100, 83, 38, 33 | 654C (541U) | |
| Dark Gray | 37, 40, 42 | 74, 65, 62, 67 | 426C (4280U) | |
| White | 255, 255, 255 | 0, 0, 0, 0 | — |
Grounding colors (support and structure)
| Name | Hex | RGB | CMYK | Pantone C (U) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sand | 209, 204, 189 | 14, 12, 18, 2 | 7534C (7534U) | |
| Deep Orange | 231, 128, 93 | 6, 61, 67, 0 | 4011C (158U) | |
| Bright Forest | 143, 199, 149 | 46, 2, 53, 0 | 2255C (2255U) | |
| Gray Sky | 153, 173, 197 | 38, 20, 11, 0 | 536C (536U) |
Accent colors (emphasis, sparingly)
| Name | Hex | RGB | CMYK | Pantone C (U) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset Pink | 243, 96, 121 | 0, 83, 33, 0 | 709C (191U) | |
| Sunset Orange | 252, 146, 78 | 0, 61, 100, 0 | 2025C (2018U) | |
| Sunset Yellow | 249, 214, 53 | 0, 16, 93, 0 | 128C (107U) | |
| Spring Green | 135, 187, 65 | 60, 1, 100, 0 | 368C (2293U) |
Use CMYK for standard print, RGB and hex on screen, Pantone C for spot color, screen printing and embroidery, and Pantone U only on uncoated stock.
Sunset Pink is reserved for the Values and select moments of emphasis.
Deep Orange means "act." On screen it marks things people can click. Don't put it on decorative pills, badges or labels that only look like buttons.
Principles
- Start with one background color.
- Build with purpose: a background and one supporting color is usually strongest. Add a third only when it helps communication.
- Grounding colors support; accent colors emphasize.
- Limit the palette to two color families.
- Favor contrast over quantity.
- When a photograph is the main visual, treat it as the background color and add one grounding or one accent color.
Proportions (across a whole piece or campaign): 75–85% background or white · 15–25% one supporting color · 5–10% a third color only if needed.
Approved pairings
- Night Sky + Deep Orange
- Night Sky + Gray Sky
- Dark Forest + Sunset Yellow
- Dark Gray + Gray Sky
- Three colors: Night Sky + Deep Orange + Gray Sky · Dark Forest + Sunset Yellow + Sand
Never
- Black as a neutral. Use Dark Gray. Black only for body copy or when production requires it.
- Deep Orange and Sunset Orange in the same composition.
- Two background colors together (Night Sky with Dark Forest).
- Dark Forest with Sunset Pink (fails contrast).
- Four or five colors just because they exist.
Contrast
Computed from the hex values (WCAG 2.x). AAA ≥ 7 · AA ≥ 4.5 · AA large ≥ 3 (18 pt and up, or 14 pt bold) · Fail below 3.
| Text color | on Dark Forest | on Night Sky | on Dark Gray | on White |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Forest | — | 1.3 Fail | 1.4 Fail | 10.8 AAA |
| Night Sky | 1.3 Fail | — | 1.0 Fail | 14.5 AAA |
| Dark Gray | 1.4 Fail | 1.0 Fail | — | 14.8 AAA |
| White | 10.8 AAA | 14.5 AAA | 14.8 AAA | — |
| Sand | 6.7 AA | 9.0 AAA | 9.2 AAA | 1.6 Fail |
| Deep Orange | 3.9 AA large | 5.3 AA | 5.4 AA | 2.7 Fail |
| Bright Forest | 5.6 AA | 7.5 AAA | 7.7 AAA | 1.9 Fail |
| Gray Sky | 4.7 AA | 6.3 AA | 6.5 AA | 2.3 Fail |
| Sunset Pink | 3.5 AA large | 4.7 AA | 4.8 AA | 3.1 AA large |
| Sunset Orange | 4.8 AA | 6.5 AA | 6.6 AA | 2.2 Fail |
| Sunset Yellow | 7.6 AAA | 10.1 AAA | 10.4 AAA | 1.4 Fail |
| Spring Green | 4.7 AA | 6.4 AA | 6.5 AA | 2.3 Fail |
What this means:
- On white, set text in Dark Gray, Night Sky or Dark Forest only. No grounding or accent color passes as body text on white.
- Deep Orange on Dark Forest passes for large text only.
- Sunset Yellow and Sand are the most legible accents on dark backgrounds.
Use this table for contrast decisions. It is calculated directly from the hex values, so it stays exact if a color changes.
Typography
Dharma shouts, Clearface speaks, Frutiger whispers.
| Typeface | Role | Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Dharma Gothic (E Bold, E ExBold, M Bold) | Headlines, titles, calls to action | ALL CAPS only. Tracking 0 to +30. Leading 80–85%. No italics, never slanted or stretched. Never body copy |
| ITC Clearface (Regular, Bold, Heavy, Black) | Body, subheads, pull quotes | Body 9–11 pt. Sentence or title case. Italics for titles, quotations, emphasis |
| Frutiger Next (Light, Regular, Medium, Bold + italics) | Captions, credits, citations, labels, footnotes | 10 pt or smaller; 8 pt standard. Leading 125–130% |
| TRPL Gothic | Wayfinding, donor recognition, environmental signage headlines only | Custom Dharma variant. All caps, tracking +20 to +30. Match existing signage mechanicals |
| Teddy Regular | From T.R.'s handwriting. One or two words, short textural phrases | Marketing & Communications approval required. Custom-track every letter. Never a signature, never body or headlines |
Fonts and substitutes
The brand font files are in assets/fonts/.
They are licensed commercial fonts. Downloading them from this repository does
not give you a license. Anyone using them must hold a license for their own
use (or work under the Library's license as a contracted partner, confirmed by
Marketing & Communications). Read the font README before installing.
Only when the brand fonts are unavailable, use the approved substitutes and say that you substituted:
| Brand font | Substitute |
|---|---|
| Dharma Gothic | Impact |
| ITC Clearface Regular, Italic, Bold, Bold Italic | Georgia Regular, Italic |
| ITC Clearface Heavy, Heavy Italic | Georgia Bold, Bold Italic |
| Frutiger Next (all weights) | Arial |
For Frutiger Next Bold, check the current Brand Style Guide; until it is confirmed there, ask Marketing & Communications.
Typesetting
- No hyphenation, anywhere.
- Left aligned, ragged right. Center only short headlines and invitations. Never center or right-align body copy. Avoid justified text.
- No first-line indents. Space between paragraphs.
- Hang quotation marks outside the text block on pull quotes. Give historic T.R. quotes their location and year.
- Avoid widows and orphans, especially single words on the last line of a headline.
Graphic elements
- Ephemera: monochrome cut-outs drawn from T.R.'s journals, letters and specimen collecting (leaves, plants, wildlife, objects, documents), with a gradient map in one grounding color. Source images at least 3000 px per side. They should feel collected, not decorative.
- Values as texture: cropped, layered, enlarged or repeated, as a set, in Dharma Gothic E Bold (or Teddy Regular with approval).
- Textures: sparingly. Layered imagery, ephemera, type and color create most of the depth; when more is needed, architectural textures tied to the Library's physical and historical character, used photographically.
- Patterns: special use (retail, apparel) only, drawn from authentic sources (T.R.'s cattle brands, North Dakota botanicals, Badlands forms). Never generic Western or Americana motifs.
- Frames and borders: generally don't. Imagery layers and overlaps.
- Icons: support only, at small scale, on the established grid, with a 10 pt stroke.
- Illustration: historic, handcrafted, organic (linocut, engraving). Never cartoonish, overly modern, or changing the historical character of what it shows.