brand-archetype-system
The Brand Archetype System provides pre-composed aesthetic defaults across color, typography, layout, voice, and imagery to accelerate brand design work. Use it when the user needs a design starting point, references an existing brand aesthetic to emulate, wants to converge faster from multiple directions, or seeks industry-standard defaults for a specific vertical rather than designing from first principles.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rampstackco/claude-skills /tmp/brand-archetype-system && cp -r /tmp/brand-archetype-system/dist/pi/.agents/skills/brand-archetype-system ~/.claude/skills/brand-archetype-systemSKILL.md
# Brand Archetype System Pre-composed aesthetic archetype defaults that jumpstart brand design work. Each archetype bundles color tendencies, type pairings, layout patterns, voice samples, and imagery direction for a recognizable aesthetic family. Stack-agnostic. Tool-agnostic. This is a starting-point library, not a methodology library. The agent applies archetype defaults to a specific brief; the archetypes themselves provide anchor points, not endpoints. --- ## When to use - The user wants a starting point rather than designing from first principles - The user references a brand or aesthetic family they want to design near - Need to converge faster from many directions to one - The user wants vertical-typical defaults (for example fintech consumer, B2B developer tools) - The user wants to test what a brief would look like in a different archetype ## When NOT to use - The user wants pure methodology guidance (use `brand-identity`) - The user is in early ideation needing positioning territories (use `brand-ideation`) - Defining voice for an existing brand (use `brand-voice`) - Documenting a finished brand (use `brand-style-guide`) --- ## How this composes with other skills This skill works upstream of `brand-identity` (provides starting defaults that brand-identity refines into a finished system) and parallel to `creative-direction` (archetypes can be located by position on the 4 creative-direction axes). Typical flow when this skill is invoked: 1. User provides a brief or references a target archetype 2. Agent picks the most relevant core archetype, or composes from 2 adjacent archetypes 3. Agent adapts the archetype's defaults to the brief (color tokens shift, type swaps to vertical-appropriate fonts, voice samples rewrite for the brand) 4. Agent flags adaptation choices made Direct verbatim copying of an archetype's default palette into a new brand is a failure mode. Archetypes constrain the design space; the brief specifies the point within that space. --- ## The framework: 12 core archetypes plus 18 vertical applications Two layers of content in `references/`: ### Core archetypes (12 files) Located in `references/core-archetypes/`. Each is an aesthetic family with: - Aesthetic summary - Position on the 4 `creative-direction` axes - Color palette starter (4 to 6 hex values with token names and rationale) - Type pairing starter (Google Fonts pairing with size scale) - Layout and composition patterns - Voice samples (5 to 10 representative lines) - Component pattern descriptions (heroes, buttons, cards, tables) - Imagery direction - When to pick and when to avoid - Adaptation guidance - Exemplar brands with attribution language ### Vertical applications (18 files) Located in `references/by-vertical/`. Each maps named brands to core archetypes in that vertical with: - Vertical summary - Common archetypes - Brand-to-archetype mapping (5 to 10 brands per vertical) - Vertical-specific adaptation notes - Common archetype evolution patterns as brands mature ### Two overview files - `00-archetype-system-overview.md`: how the system works, the taxonomy - `01-how-to-apply-an-archetype.md`: the adaptation discipline, the failure modes --- ## The 12 core archetypes | # | Archetype | Single-line summary | |---|---|---| | 01 | Editorial Restrained | Low-saturation, type-led, generous whitespace, considered | | 02 | Technical Precise | Monospace and grid prominent, data-dense, system-feeling | | 03 | Warm Conversational | Human imagery, mid-saturation, friendly type, approachable | | 04 | Bold Confident | High-contrast, large display type, saturated, direct | | 05 | Playful Energetic | Bright colors, illustration-led, dynamic, character-driven | | 06 | Luxe Considered | Serif-led, generous spacing, restrained palette, premium | | 07 | Clinical Trustworthy | Cool palette, sans-serif, clean medical or financial register | | 08 | Rugged Utilitarian | Earth tones, workwear influence, no-nonsense type | | 09 | Retro Nostalgic | Period-specific palette and type, intentional vintage reference | | 10 | Minimal Essentialist | Black, white, single accent, sans-serif only, sparse | | 11 | Vibrant Saturated | High-saturation across full palette, color as character | | 12 | Documentary Honest | Photography-led, real people, low-touched imagery | ## The 18 vertical applications - B2B SaaS: Developer Tools, Business Productivity, Marketing and Sales, Data and Analytics - Fintech: Consumer, Enterprise - DTC: Fashion, Beauty, Home and Lifestyle, Food and Beverage - Consumer Health and Wellness - Hospitality and Travel - Media and Publishing - EdTech - Gaming and Entertainment - Marketplace - Crypto and Web3 - Real Estate and Proptech --- ## Trademark and attribution Archetypes are NAMED for aesthetic families, NOT for brands. "Editorial Restrained" not "Stripe-like." Brands are referenced as exemplars in description text using attribution language: "exemplified by [brands]", "common among [brands]", "characteristic of [brands]". This is descriptive and nominative fair use territory, durable across brand redesigns. A brand that pivots its identity does not invalidate the archetype it once exemplified. --- ## The four creative-direction axes (reference) Each archetype positions on the 4 axes defined in the `creative-direction` skill. Brief summary for cross-reference: - **Tone register**: Professional, Conversational, Playful - **Aesthetic register**: Restrained, Considered, Expressive, Maximal - **Audience relationship**: Authority, Peer, Companion, Performer - **Sensory ambition**: Functional, Considered, Immersive, Theatrical Each core archetype file specifies its position on each axis. --- ## Reference files - [`references/00-archetype-system-overview.md`](references/00-archetype-system-overview.md) - How the two-layer system fits together, entry patterns, when archetypes compose, and the recurring failure modes. - [`references/01-how-to-apply-an-archetype.md`](references/01
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