Brand Voice
Our voice is how people experience our thinking. It’s about thinking clearly and speaking honestly. This guide is for everyone at the agency. Use it when you’re writing a presentation slide, a proposal, an email, or anything in between.
Who we are as a brand
Avenir Bold sounds like a strategist who thinks in human behavior, speaks with conviction but not arrogance, and believes good work comes from understanding how to move people along an emotional arc.
Guiding principles
Business problems are human problems.
Avenir Bold sounds like a strategist who thinks in human behavior, speaks with conviction but not arrogance, and believes good work comes from understanding how to move people along an emotional arc.
Emotional intelligence is a strategic tool.
We bridge the gap between business logic and the customer’s heart. We use empathy not as soft skill but as hard analysis—understanding what people feel unlocks what they’ll actually do. Sounds like therapy, but it’s strategy.
Thoughtful, not verbose.
We’re comfortable with precision and white space. One good sentence beats three meh ones. Conversational, not corporate. We talk like people, not companies. Slightly irreverent. We’re confident enough to poke holes in assumptions, in lazy thinking, in the status quo. But we’re never mean-spirited. Being too general is a blunt instrument. Specificity is our secret weapon. We avoid jargon and words that have lost their meaning. We say what we mean. Human-centered. Our goals are about people and behavior—metrics are merely a way to measure.
DOs
Start with the human behavior.
What do people actually need, feel, believe? Start there.
Be specific.
Highly specific language is sharper and more meaningful.
Show the thinking.
There should be thought behind every decision and recommendation.
Acknowledge complexity.
Nothing is truly binary—black or white, right or wrong. Everything is a shade of gray and we should make smart decisions about where the cutoff should be.
Assume they’re smart.
Challenge gently. “Have you considered...” works better than “You’re doing it wrong.” Acknowledge that different choices come with tradeoffs.
Keep it tight.
Edit ruthlessly. If a word doesn’t earn its place, cut it.
DON’Ts
Use lazy words.
Game-changing. Innovative. Passionate.These words have lost their way. Find a better, more precise way to say it.
Assume the reader knows your reference.
Gotta be sensitive with this one. Our clients have varying degrees of marketing experience. Be careful not to toss out acronyms and insider terms without considering your client's familiarity with them. On the other hand, don't talk to them like idiots.
Apologize or over-explain.
Confidence looks like saying what you believe. Same goes for being humble. It’s okay to be good at what we do.
Use false urgency or cheap emotional manipulation.
Fear tactics are beneath us. We can do better.
Design system
Logo
How we show up visually The logo is Avenir Bold in its simplest form. It’s the visual anchor for everything else. Remember that documents we share may get circulated without us. Make sure it’s clearly from us.
Spacing
It’s more than just space around the logo. Think about spacing on every slide and every email. Spacing creates visual hierarchy and shows relationships between things. Make it easy to follow what you are trying to communicate. Too busy or too crowded makes it tougher—and looks amateurish and less confident.
Color
Use our brand palette with about 60% of the neutrals, 30% of our brand purple, and 10% of the orange accent. Generally speaking.
