i. Foundations · The logo system
Five lockups. One identity.
The brandmark, wordmark and combined lockups work as a family. Reach for the variant that fits the space — never construct your own.
The single reference for how Portfolio Creative looks, sounds, and shows up — across decks, websites, social, print, and partner communications.
Portfolio Creative is a multidisciplinary studio — design, strategy, digital, audio. For over a decade we've hand-crafted brands for small and large businesses across South Africa and the globe. We work as an extension of your team, not a vendor.
We write as a partner, not a vendor. Sentence case. First-person plural — we, our. Second-person to the client. Em dashes are welcomed — they carry the brand's rhythm.
| Lean into | Lean away from |
|---|---|
| Clear, simple sentences | Jargon, buzzwords, agency-speak |
| First-person plural — we, our | I, or impersonal third person |
| Second-person to the client | Calling clients 'customers' or 'users' |
| Verbs of partnership — build, support | Verbs of sale — deliver, leverage |
| Slight wit when it fits | Sarcasm or irony |
| Confidence with proof | Self-aggrandising claims |
The brandmark, wordmark and combined lockups work as a family. Reach for the variant that fits the space — never construct your own.
The minimum clear space on every side equals the height of the brandmark. No text, icon, image edge, or competing logo may enter this zone.
The logo may only appear on approved backgrounds. Each approved surface has a designated logo version. Never place the logo on a background that has not been approved below.
When Portfolio Creative appears alongside a partner brand, both identities must remain visually separate and equal. Never combine, overlap, or visually merge the two marks.
Turquoise and purple sit at exact complementary hues. Use them as flat fields, separated by white space — never gradients, never overlapped.
A tight neutral scale handles 90% of every surface. Status colours are tuned to harmonise — never imported from a stock palette.
Status colours share chroma with the brand — green echoes turquoise, red mirrors purple's heat. They appear in validation and toasts; never as decoration.
Eyebrow → Heading → Lead → CTA. Use this block everywhere — section openers, hero panels, cards, slides.
A tribal-inspired diamond/cross repeat. Use it as a single anchor element — never as a background under body text.
Natural light, honest skin tones, slightly under-cluttered. Slight contrast lift only — no filters, no duotone unless intentionally branded.
Used for narrative moments — process pages, empty states, feature explainers. Never mixed with photography in the same hero.
One stroke weight, one colour — currentColor. Brand colour on adjacent eyebrow text only.
Primary turquoise · Secondary purple · Outline charcoal · Ghost · Text link
Lean toward an asymmetric two-column (5/7 or 4/8) — the image side hangs out of the column grid by 24–48 px to feel art-directed.
Talk to the brand custodians before bending a rule — and propose a change rather than working around the system. Guidelines are most useful when they keep moving.
