# Swift & Hale brand notes

Swift & Hale plc is a fictional company created by CHS for demonstration. Names, figures and products are invented.

These notes cover the same ground as the guidelines page (`index.html`) in plain text, for designers and for the agents that build the catalogue and the annual report.

## The idea

The name has two halves and so does every walk. Swift is setting off: the bird, and getting out sooner. Hale is coming back: healthy, as in hale and hearty. The brand line joins them: **Out sooner, home well.**

The brand should be as plain and useful as the kit. It is premium because it is careful and quiet, so it never needs to shout.

## Logo

- **The swift.** A swift seen from the path below: a crescent of wings and a forked tail. The wings are the space between two circles, and the body tapers into the tail.
- **Wordmark.** SWIFT & HALE in Chivo Bold capitals, tracked +0.06em, converted to outlines.
- **Lockups.** Horizontal (default), stacked (square spaces), the swift on its own (icons, stamps, tickets), and an app icon.
- **Clear space.** The height of the capital H in the wordmark, on every side.
- **Smallest sizes.** Horizontal lockup 30mm or 120px wide. Stacked lockup 18mm or 72px. The swift on its own 6mm or 20px.
- **Colour pairs.** Gorse or Chalk on Holloway. Holloway or Soot on Chalk. Holloway on Gorse. On a photograph, place the logo over a calm area: Holloway on pale sky, Chalk on dark ground.
- **Don'ts.** Never stretch, rotate, outline or recolour the logo, add effects, set the name in another typeface or redraw the swift.

Files are in `assets/logo/` (17 SVGs) and zipped in `assets/swift-and-hale-logos.zip`. Rebuild them with `tools/build-logos.py`.

## Colour

| Name | HEX | RGB | CMYK (coated, proof first) | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holloway | #133621 | 19 54 33 | 86 45 90 55 | Lead colour: covers, signs, grounds |
| Gorse | #F4D96C | 244 217 108 | 3 12 68 0 | Logo on Holloway, one key thing per page |
| Chalk | #EEEFEA | 238 239 234 | 5 2 6 0 | Light ground for long reading |
| Soot | #1B1E1A | 27 30 26 | 60 45 60 90 | Text on Chalk, dark photo pages |
| Heath | #1A4429 | 26 68 41 | 82 38 85 42 | Panels on Holloway |
| Lichen | #B3A55E | 179 165 94 | 30 25 72 8 | Second text on Holloway |
| Turf | #4F7A4A | 79 122 74 | 70 30 80 20 | Charts and maps |
| Sky | #A8C1D6 | 168 193 214 | 35 15 5 0 | Charts and maps |

Typical share on a page: Holloway 45%, Chalk 35%, Soot 12%, Gorse 5%, supporting colours 3%.

Contrast: Gorse on Holloway 9.5:1, Chalk on Holloway 11.5:1, Soot on Chalk 14.6:1, Holloway on Gorse 9.5:1, Lichen on Holloway 5.4:1. Lichen and Turf are too light for text on Chalk.

Chart order for the annual report: Holloway, Turf, Gorse, Sky, Lichen.

Product pages in the catalogue use a lighter paper, #F7F7F5, so cut-out product shots sit cleanly.

## Type

One family: **Chivo** by Omnibus-Type, SIL Open Font License 1.1. The variable font is in `assets/fonts/`.

| Role | Setting | Screen | Print |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | Extra Bold, capitals, tracking -0.04em, leading 0.88 | 8 to 14vw | 72 to 120pt |
| Headline | Extra Bold, capitals, tracking -0.045em | 40 to 88px | 24 to 40pt |
| Lead | Bold | 20 to 36px | 14 to 18pt |
| Body | Regular | 17 to 19px, leading 1.45 | 9.5pt on 14pt |
| Small | Regular | 13 to 14px | 7.5pt on 10pt |
| Figures | Bold, tabular | As body | As body |
| Wordmark | Bold, capitals, +0.06em | Logo files only | Logo files only |

Prices, tables and financial statements always use tabular figures.

## Voice

Plain words, real places, honest numbers. If a sentence would sound odd said across the counter, rewrite it.

| Rule | We write | Not |
|---|---|---|
| Say where and when | Led walk from the Dorchester shop, Saturday at 9.30. Eight miles round Maiden Castle, back by two. | Join us for an unforgettable adventure! |
| Name the weather | Keeps you dry through a day of Dartmoor drizzle, then packs into its own pocket. | Weatherproof protection for every adventure. |
| Give the number | 1.2kg packed. Pitches in about four minutes. | Ultralight and super quick to pitch. |
| Promise what we mend | Tear it, bring it in, and we will repair it for as long as you own it. | Built to last forever. |
| Talk like the shop | Try them on with the socks you walk in. Take your time. | Experience our premium fitting service. |

Avoid adventure clichés: epic, conquer, unleash, adventure awaits, explore more. No em dashes.

## Photography

- Shoot early or late, in real weather.
- People are seen from behind or from a distance, while they walk. Nobody poses for the camera.
- Kit is Holloway green with a little Gorse and carries no other brand.
- Leave a third to a half of the frame as sky so type has somewhere to go.
- Product cut-outs sit on plain pale paper, lit evenly from the front.

The photographs in `assets/photo/` were generated with FLUX 1.1 Pro as stand-ins for a commissioned shoot (originals in `assets/photo/originals/`, web copies in `assets/photo/web/`). The two swift photographs in `assets/found/` are by Alexis Lours, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, and need a credit wherever they appear.

## Applications

- **Catalogue, Spring Summer 2027.** A4, about 120 pages. Cover: full-bleed photograph, horizontal lockup over calm sky, season in display capitals. Product pages: four to twelve products, cut-outs on #F7F7F5, name in Bold Holloway, one line of detail, sizes and colours, price in Extra Bold tabular figures.
- **Annual Report and Accounts 2026.** A4, about 160 pages. Holloway cover with the Gorse swift and the title in Chalk. Inside on Chalk, text in Soot, charts in the chart order above.
- **Swing tags.** Hale range on Holloway with Gorse type, Swift range on Gorse with Holloway type. Name, one line, the repair promise, price, colour, size and product number.
- **Repair ticket.** Chalk card, the swift top right, job details, and the ready date on a Gorse band.
- **Shop fascia.** Painted Holloway, horizontal lockup in Gorse.

Every Swift & Hale document carries the line: "Swift & Hale plc is a fictional company created by CHS for demonstration."