# Alternative Master-Brand Guidelines

These are alternative **master-brand** directions, not sub-brands to run together. Select one system after customer and partner review. Do not combine a name from one direction, colours from another, and a mark from a third; that would remove the strategic meaning from all of them.

SAJAK is the recommended direction and its complete source-of-truth system is in [DESIGN.md](DESIGN.md). This file gives RAUT, JAUHARI, and RUAS enough definition to be evaluated on equal terms.

All marks are concept artwork only. Name, company, domain, handle, and trademark clearance remain mandatory.

## Shared identity controls

- **Primary lockup:** the supplied square symbol followed by the typeset name. Keep both upright and optically centred.
- **Clear space:** keep an empty margin equal to one quarter of the symbol width on every side. No pattern, image edge, text, seam, or packaging fold may enter it.
- **Minimum symbol size:** 24px on screen or 8mm in print. Below that size, use the name alone rather than simplifying the symbol ad hoc.
- **Approved variants:** full-colour on the direction's primary background; one-colour dark ink on light material; one-colour white on dark material.
- **Never:** stretch, rotate, outline, add effects, place inside an arbitrary badge, redraw as a batik motif, or recolour outside the approved system.
- **Garment use:** the outer garment should not become a logo billboard. Prefer a woven inner-neck label, small hem tab, Passport card, and packaging lockup.
- **Cultural rule:** geometric identity graphics organise the brand. They do not claim to be traditional motifs or a batik technique.
- **Accessibility rule:** text uses the documented accessible ink pair, even when a decorative palette swatch uses a brighter colour.

Verified functional pairs (sRGB-clipped WCAG calculation):

| Direction | Pair | Ratio |
|---|---|---:|
| RAUT | Text Ink / Clear White | 17.79:1 |
| RAUT | Clear White / Working Indigo | 9.05:1 |
| RAUT | Text Ink / Oxidised Orange | 5.86:1 |
| JAUHARI | Text Ink / Pavilion Blue | 12.95:1 |
| JAUHARI | Pavilion Blue / Cobalt Eye | 4.97:1 |
| JAUHARI | dark functional ink / Jade Lens | 4.71:1 |
| JAUHARI | dark functional ink / Vermilion Point | 5.51:1 |
| RUAS | Clear White / Ultramarine | 7.00:1 |
| RUAS | Accessible Text Blue / Screen Black | 8.88:1 |
| RUAS | dark functional ink / Signal Magenta | 5.15:1 |
| RUAS | Screen Black / Electric Leaf | 14.94:1 |

## RAUT — form, made legible

### Strategic role

Choose RAUT when the strongest business advantage will be cut, fit, traceability, and unusually transparent production. It is the clearest system for explaining why an own-label RM450 shirt is well made.

### Mark

- **Idea:** a cut-and-fold construction mark, not a knife or canting symbol.
- **Primary use:** Working Indigo symbol with the RAUT name in Familjen Grotesk Semibold on Clear White.
- **Reverse use:** Clear White on Working Indigo.
- **Small use:** at 24–31px, use the symbol in one colour and remove any surrounding production annotation.
- **Do not:** describe the dictionary sense of *meraut* as a batik process.

### Colour roles

- **Clear White** `oklch(0.98 0 0)`: primary canvas and product-detail space.
- **Working Indigo** `oklch(0.42 0.18 276)`: mark, decisive actions, technical headings.
- **Oxidised Orange** `oklch(0.67 0.18 42)`: production status, edition number, and one campaign field; use dark ink on it.
- **Draft Line** `oklch(0.72 0.03 265)`: rules and measured diagrams, never body text.
- **Text Ink** `oklch(0.18 0.04 265)`: all long-form copy on light surfaces.

### Typography

- **Family:** Familjen Grotesk throughout; use the character and grid, not extra font novelty.
- **Hero:** 600 weight, 56–96px desktop / 44–64px compact, line-height 0.94–0.98.
- **Section:** 600 weight, 32–64px, line-height 1.
- **Body:** 400 weight, 16–18px, line-height 1.5; cap measure near 70 characters.
- **Data label:** 600 weight, 11–13px, line-height 1.35. Uppercase only for short batch, cut, or measurement labels.

### Layout and product UI

- Use a strict column grid, exposed measurements, aligned baselines, and flat information rows.
- Product pages lead with garment view, fit choice, finished measurements, and Passport data—not a brand essay.
- Orange may occupy one decisive block. Do not scatter small orange accents across every module.
- Never imitate blueprint paper, technical CAD software, or fake handwritten production notes.

### Photography

- Direct, neutral light; accurate colour; square-on garment views plus precise construction details.
- Include pattern cutting, collar/cuff construction, fitting, inspection, and named production roles.
- Pair systematic product imagery with warm portraits so RAUT does not become clinical.
- Do not use generic factory stock, hard-hat imagery, or process photos that are not the contracted supply chain.

### Packaging and physical touchpoints

- Clear-white rigid mailer or box, one Working Indigo lockup, and an Oxidised Orange batch seal.
- Passport card behaves like a clean production record: style, cut, size, batch, maker roles, inspection date, and care.
- Woven label is one colour. The batch identifier belongs on a separate printed or woven tab so it can change without redrawing the mark.

### Voice

- **Character:** candid, exact, calm.
- **Say:** “Fit, stated plainly.” / “Kesesuaian, dinyatakan dengan jelas.”
- **Say:** “Batch 06. Cut 02. Made in Malaysia.”
- **Avoid:** “engineered perfection,” “precision heritage,” and any claim that cannot be checked.

## JAUHARI — selected by an eye that knows

### Strategic role

Choose JAUHARI when the company will genuinely operate as a discerning selector across named Malaysian creative and production partners. The value comes from documented judgement, not a jewellery metaphor.

### Mark

- **Idea:** a framing eye and selection aperture; never a diamond, gemstone, crown, or royal seal.
- **Primary use:** Cobalt Eye symbol with the JAUHARI name in Georama Semibold on Pavilion Blue.
- **Reverse use:** Clear White on Cobalt Eye.
- **Small use:** use the one-colour aperture at 24–31px; do not retain fine internal colour changes.
- **Do not:** pair the mark with metallic gold, faux foil gradients, or luxury-jewellery clichés.

### Colour roles

- **Pavilion Blue** `oklch(0.88 0.08 245)`: primary editorial field.
- **Cobalt Eye** `oklch(0.47 0.19 264)`: mark, headings, actions, and accessible text accents.
- **Jade Lens** `oklch(0.56 0.13 165)`: photography frame or selection state; use dark ink for small text.
- **Vermilion Point** `oklch(0.64 0.20 28)`: campaign punctuation and shortlist moment; use dark ink for small text.
- **Text Ink** `oklch(0.19 0.07 268)`: all long-form copy on light surfaces.

### Typography

- **Family:** Georama, using moderate width variation only when it carries hierarchy.
- **Hero:** 600 weight, 58–100px desktop / 44–68px compact, line-height 0.94.
- **Section:** 550–600 weight, 34–68px, line-height 0.98.
- **Body:** 400 weight, 16–18px, line-height 1.55.
- **Curator label:** 600 weight, 12–13px, line-height 1.35. Sentence case is preferred.

### Layout and product UI

- Use luminous full fields, generous breathing room, and one framed object of attention at a time.
- Product pages explain the selection: why this cloth, maker relationship, method, palette, cut, and batch entered the edit.
- The Passport may read like a curator's record but every field remains specific and auditable.
- Do not turn every product into a floating card or use a gallery-museum voice that distances the wearer.

### Photography

- Saturated natural light, close cloth inspection, maker/designer portraits, and moments of comparison or selection.
- Show hands and faces with names and roles when permission is documented.
- Use precise captions to distinguish research imagery, contracted production, and the final garment.
- Never add literal gems, display cases, gold props, or anonymous “master artisan” theatre.

### Packaging and physical touchpoints

- Pavilion Blue wrap or mailer with one Cobalt Eye lockup and a Jade Lens selection band.
- Include a short signed selection note naming the collection lead and production partners.
- The Passport card uses one prominent “why selected” sentence followed by flat production facts.

### Voice

- **Character:** discerning, generous, specific.
- **Say:** “Chosen by an eye that knows.” / “Pilihan mata yang mengenal mutu.”
- **Say:** “Know the hand behind the line.” / “Kenali tangan di sebalik garisan.”
- **Avoid:** “only for connoisseurs,” “rare gem,” “priceless craft,” or authority the team has not earned.

## RUAS — connected parts, expressive whole

### Strategic role

Choose RUAS when the brand intends to build limited capsules, collaborations, modular garment stories, and culturally fluent campaigns for a somewhat younger premium buyer. It has the highest attention value and the highest risk of overpowering the garment.

### Mark

- **Idea:** connected segments or garment panels; not bamboo decoration and not a traditional motif claim.
- **Primary use:** Electric Leaf or Clear White symbol with the RUAS name in Anybody Expanded on Screen Black.
- **Reverse use:** Screen Black on Electric Leaf.
- **Small use:** use the single-colour node mark at 24–31px; preserve open counters.
- **Do not:** animate the mark continuously, distort it to every container, or treat every panel as a different logo.

### Colour roles

- **Screen Black** `oklch(0.09 0 0)`: primary canvas and product-detail neutral.
- **Ultramarine** `oklch(0.49 0.25 276)`: large brand fields and actions, not small text on black.
- **Accessible Text Blue** `oklch(0.75 0.15 276)`: blue-coded small text on Screen Black.
- **Signal Magenta** `oklch(0.63 0.23 345)`: campaign field; use dark ink for small text.
- **Electric Leaf** `oklch(0.88 0.18 122)`: selection, capsule identifier, or delivery status; use Screen Black ink.

### Typography

- **Display:** Anybody Expanded, 650–760 weight, 56–100px desktop / 44–68px compact, line-height 0.9–0.94.
- **Section:** Anybody, 620–700 weight, 34–68px, line-height 0.95.
- **Body:** Atkinson Hyperlegible Next, 400 weight, 16–18px, line-height 1.5.
- **Module label:** Atkinson Hyperlegible Next, 600 weight, 12–13px, line-height 1.35.
- Never use extreme variable-font distortion in product facts or Bahasa Malaysia copy.

### Layout and product UI

- Build pages as connected modules with visible sequence and strong alignment; the garment must remain the largest object.
- Use one or two bright fields per view. Keep purchase, measurements, care, and Passport screens mostly neutral.
- Campaign modules can reorder; commerce controls cannot move unpredictably between products.
- Never place readable text directly over a multicolour pattern without an opaque contrast field.

### Photography

- Cast contemporary Malaysian men across work, creative, social, and travel contexts; include movement and garment-panel crops.
- Use direct flash or strong colour only when cloth colour remains truthful in the product set.
- Collaborations must name the Malaysian creative lead and the source of every product motif.
- Avoid generic global streetwear poses, rave neon, or youth coding that erases the RM400–600 material story.

### Packaging and physical touchpoints

- Screen Black base with one removable Ultramarine, Magenta, or Electric Leaf capsule band.
- Use the band to carry collaborator, module, and batch information; keep the permanent garment label neutral.
- Passport pages may use numbered modules, but production facts stay in a consistent order.

### Voice

- **Character:** graphic, energetic, documented.
- **Say:** “Built in parts. Worn as one.” / “Dibina berbahagian. Dipakai sebagai satu.”
- **Say:** “New combinations, documented origins.” / “Gabungan baharu, asal yang direkodkan.”
- **Avoid:** “disrupting batik,” “breaking tradition,” empty slang, or novelty-first claims.

## Decision screen

Score each direction from 1–5 only after discussing the operational evidence behind it:

| Question | SAJAK | RAUT | JAUHARI | RUAS |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| Can the team deliver this promise for the first 100 garments? |  |  |  |  |
| Does it justify RM400–600 without vague luxury language? |  |  |  |  |
| Does it feel culturally credible to Malaysian reviewers? |  |  |  |  |
| Can product photography and packaging sustain the system? |  |  |  |  |
| Does it work for both Malaysia and the intended diaspora test market? |  |  |  |  |
| Will the identity still fit the company in three years? |  |  |  |  |

SAJAK remains the recommendation because it balances memorability, masculine relevance, cultural fluency, and room for both restrained and expressive product. RAUT is the strongest operational challenger; JAUHARI is strongest if expert curation becomes real; RUAS is strongest if collaboration and capsule energy become the commercial engine.