Brand guidelines and messaging guide | Version 1.0 | Sample
Sample brand guide. Harrowmere Wealth Partners is a fictional firm created by inSymmetry to show our brand work.
SampleTwo guides, one brand
This guide is in two parts. How we look covers our logo, colours, type and imagery. How we sound covers our story, our message and our voice. Use both together. A post can look exactly right and still sound wrong, and the reverse.
Who this guide is for
Everyone who writes or designs for Harrowmere: our advisors and team, our agency, and any partner who presents our name.
About Harrowmere
Harrowmere Wealth Partners is a family practice of advisors in Ontario. Since 2009 we have helped business owners and families plan, invest and protect what they have built, then pass it on well.
Our mission
To give every client a clear plan they understand and the steady guidance to follow it.
Our vision
Families and business owners who feel confident about money at every stage of life.
Steady hands for every chapter.
Our values
Clarity
We explain things plainly, and we answer the question that was asked.
Patience
Good plans take time. We do not rush clients, and we do not chase trends.
Candour
We tell clients what we think, including when it is not what they hoped to hear.
Care
We plan for people, not portfolios.
The brand at a glance
Wealth is a means. A good plan serves the life and the family behind it.
A plan you understand, and an advisor who stays with you through every chapter.
The logo
The Harrowmere logo pairs a mark with the wordmark. The mark is a simple shoreline and horizon line inside a rounded square, a nod to the calm water the name suggests. The wordmark sets “HARROWMERE” in Fraunces with “WEALTH PARTNERS” below in Source Sans 3, letterspaced.
Mark or whole logo
Use the whole logo wherever the name needs to be read. Use the mark alone only where the name already appears nearby, such as a social profile.
Logo variants
Primary logo, full colour
Light backgrounds: website, letterhead, documents
Primary logo, reversed
Dark backgrounds: Lakeshore Navy or Spruce
Mark only
Social profile images, favicon, small spaces
One colour, Ink
Fax, forms, single-colour print
Clear space and size
Keep clear space around the logo equal to the height of the mark’s horizon line on every side. Do not reproduce the full logo smaller than 120 pixels wide on screen or 30 mm wide in print. The mark alone can go down to 24 pixels.
Please do not
Change the logo colours or add colours outside the palette.
Stretch, squeeze or rotate it.
Add shadows, outlines or effects.
Place it on a busy photo without enough contrast.
Rearrange the mark and the wordmark.
The logo as it should appear.
Primary palette
Select any colour value to copy it.
Secondary palette
Using colour
Lakeshore Navy and Birch do most of the work. Larch Gold is an accent for highlights, rules and buttons, never for body text on light backgrounds. Spruce and Clay support charts and secondary graphics. For print, confirm colour with a printed proof, as screen and paper colours differ.
Readable text
| Sample | Text | Background | Contrast | Use |
|---|
Contrast ratios are calculated with the WCAG 2.1 formula. Level AA needs 4.5 to 1 for body text and 3 to 1 for large text.
Typefaces
Type hierarchy
| Level | Web | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Fraunces 48 px | Fraunces 32 pt |
| Heading | Fraunces 32 px | Fraunces 20 pt |
| Subheading | Source Sans 3 Semibold 22 px | Source Sans 3 Semibold 13 pt |
| Body | Source Sans 3 Regular 18 px | Source Sans 3 Regular 10.5 pt |
| Caption | Source Sans 3 Regular 14 px | Source Sans 3 Regular 8 pt |
Write headings in sentence case. Keep body text left aligned.
Imagery
Our photography shows real moments: families around a kitchen table, a business owner in their shop, grandparents with grandchildren, a quiet Ontario lakeshore at first light. People are relaxed and natural, never posed with a laptop and a pointing finger. Our imagery reflects the diversity of the families and owners we serve.
Image guidelines
- Natural light and warm, slightly muted colour.
- Real settings: homes, workplaces, the outdoors.
- Diverse ages, cultures and family types.
- No staged handshakes, piggy banks, stacks of coins or upward arrows.
- No images that suggest guaranteed returns or quick wealth.
Image prompt
Use this prompt when generating or briefing imagery:
Natural documentary-style photograph, soft morning light, warm and slightly muted colour palette of navy, birch and gold tones. A multigenerational Canadian family at a kitchen table in a bright Ontario home, relaxed and talking, papers and coffee cups on the table. Candid, unposed, shallow depth of field, no text, no logos.
Positioning statement
For Ontario business owners and families who want their wealth to serve their lives, Harrowmere Wealth Partners is the family practice that turns complex decisions into a clear plan, then stays with you as life and business change.
Clear plans and steady guidance for business owners and families in Ontario.
The messaging house
Clarity first
Before we recommend anything, we make sure you understand where you stand and why.
Every meeting ends with a plain summary of what we decided and what happens next. No jargon, no surprises in the statement.
“Sophisticated strategies,” “proprietary solutions,” and any claim that makes the work sound more complicated than it is.
A one-page plan summary for every client, reviewed at least once a year.
What we are not
- Not product salespeople. We start with the plan, not the product.
- Not a call centre. You know your advisor by name.
- Not trend chasers. We do not change course with every headline.
Our voice
| We are | We are not | What it sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Steady | Cold | “Markets moved this week. Your plan was built for weeks like this.” |
| Plain-spoken | Simplistic | “Here is what this change means for your RRSP.” |
| Warm | Gushing | “Congratulations on the sale. Let’s make sure it works for the next chapter too.” |
| Precise | Technical | “You can contribute up to your limit shown on your notice of assessment.” |
Tone by situation: when markets fall
- How clients may feel
- Worried, and wondering if they should act.
- Our tone
- Calm, factual and brief.
- Do
- Acknowledge what happened, remind clients what their plan already accounts for, and invite a call.
- Don’t
- Predict where markets go next, or tell clients not to worry.
Words we use and words we avoid
| Use | Avoid |
|---|---|
| plan | solution |
| clear | sophisticated |
| steady | aggressive |
| your family | your legacy portfolio |
| we recommend | we guarantee |
Voice by audience
Business owners
This“Selling the business is a big decision. Let’s plan the tax side before you sign.”
Not this“Unlock maximum value with our exit optimization framework.”
Families
This“A will and a plan for who decides when you can’t. Two documents, one conversation.”
Not this“Comprehensive intergenerational wealth transfer solutions.”
Checklist
- Does it sound like Harrowmere: steady, plain-spoken, warm and precise?
- Does it support one of our four pillars?
- Are all names, facts and figures correct and current?
- Have colours, type and the logo been used as this guide shows?
- Does it avoid promising returns or outcomes?
- Has it been approved through our dealer’s review process before publishing?
- Do emails have the recipient’s consent, as CASL requires?
Compliance guardrails
Every piece of content goes through our dealer’s review before publication. We never promise returns, never imply guaranteed outcomes, and never present general information as personal advice. Testimonials and reviews are used only as our dealer’s policies allow.
Sample disclosure
This content is for general information only and is not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Please speak with your advisor before making decisions about your situation.
Questions about the brand
Brand contact: Marketing Coordinator, brand@harrowmere.example
What your brand guide includes
Depending on your package, your guide is built from our discovery process and sized to where your practice is today.
Brand Foundation
- Deliverable
- 4 to 6 page designed brand brief
- Discovery
- Questionnaire, materials review, 2 to 3 hour session
- Timeline
- 4 weeks
Brand Playbook
- Deliverable
- 12 to 20 page designed playbook
- Adds
- Sourced photography, video guidelines, competitor analysis and expanded social templates
- Discovery
- Questionnaire, materials review, 3 to 4 hour session
- Timeline
- 6 weeks
Brand Playbook + Visual Identity System
- Deliverable
- 20+ page playbook with asset files
- Adds
- Custom brand elements, comprehensive photography direction, full logo development, website brand brief and launch strategy
- Discovery
- Questionnaire, comprehensive audit, 4 to 5 hour session
- Timeline
- 8 to 10 weeks