# HYPE — Brand Bible 2026

> **For AI agents producing assets, copy, or designs in this brand: this is the source of truth.**
> Live reference: https://comprehensive-hype-branding.vercel.app

HYPE is the crypto superagency. The go-to partner for the most ambitious crypto and emerging-tech companies. Founded 2017. Remote-first. Always-on.

This doc is organized as **12 chapters**. Older versions referenced 13 — Photography has been folded into Applications (Section 06).

---

## Section 01 — Foundation

### Mission
> Close the gap between what's built and how the world understands it.

### Vision
> Every category-defining crypto and emerging-tech project has Hype in its corner.

### Values
1. **Skin in the game** — We invest where we work.
2. **Heads-down, head-up** — Sharp execution. Sharp instincts. Both, not either.
3. **Marathon, not a sprint** — We set the pace. Clients win cycles, not weekends.
4. **Real over hype** — Every claim backed by work.
5. **Conviction is contagious** — Belief moves markets.

### Positioning
**The crypto superagency.** The go-to partner for ambitious crypto and emerging-tech companies.

### Promise
The best positioning. The best execution. The best talent.

### Audience
Founders & teams with conviction, building something important.

### Origin
Started in 2017 during the ICO boom. Today: 100+ elite operators, remote-first, always-on.

### Personality
Confident · Sharp · Crypto-native · Heads-down · One eyebrow up · Allergic to noise

---

## Section 02 — Identity

### Wordmark
Custom letterforms, 4 paths. Use as drawn at full strength.
- `assets/hype_black.svg` — ink wordmark
- `assets/hype_white.svg` — off-white wordmark

### Approved logo backgrounds
off-white · beige · ink · purple

### Clear space (safe area)
Minimum padding around the mark = x-height of "H" on all four sides.

### Minimum sizes
80 px digital · 30 mm print

### Don'ts (auto-reject)
- No stretching, squashing, rotating, or skewing
- No recoloring outside the approved palette
- No gradients, shadows, or effects on the mark
- No cropping
- No serifs or substituted typefaces in the wordmark

---

## Section 03 — Colour

### Palette

| Name | Hex | Role | Suggested ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Beige** | `#EAE6DA` | Warm primary surface · bento canvas | **35%** |
| **Purple** | `#BCACFF` | Signature accent · generous, brand-defining | **30%** |
| **Off-White** | `#FDFBF6` | Page canvas · type background | **15%** |
| **Ink** | `#0C0C0C` | Type, structure, dark surfaces | **15%** |
| **Yellow Spark** | `#FFEB77` | One spark per view — status dot, chip, highlight | **5%** |

> Beige carries the editorial weight. Purple is the signature accent and should feel generous. Off-white anchors the page and the type. Ink is for type + structural contrast. Yellow appears once per view — a single highlight.

### Colour rules
- **Solid fields. No gradients, ever.**
- **One colour per tile.**
- Yellow is a spark — single instance per view, never a surface.
- Beige is the primary surface — warmer editorial separation than off-white.
- Approved partner-lockup backgrounds: off-white, beige, ink, purple.

---

## Section 04 — Typography

### Type system

| Role | Font | Weight | Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | Geist | 700 Bold | 96–220 px | Headlines, hero |
| Editorial | Geist | 300 Light | sparing | Italic-feeling accent (rare) |
| Body | Geist | 400 Regular | 16 px | Leading 1.55 · measure 55–70 chars |
| Mono / labels | Geist Mono | 300–500 | 11–13 px | UPPERCASE · tracked +0.18em |

### Tracking
- Display 96 px+ → **−0.04em** (tightest)
- Headings → **−0.025em** (tight)
- Body → **0em** (normal)
- Mono labels → **+0.18em** (uppercase, eyebrows)

**Rule:** default to tight. Open up only for body copy.

### Leading
- Display → 0.88–0.95
- Headings → 1.05–1.15
- Body → 1.5–1.6
- Mono / captions → 1.7–1.9

### Pairing
**Display = Geist Bold. Body = Geist Regular.** Don't mix Geist Mono for body copy — it's reserved for labels, metadata, eyebrows, and code-style chips.

### Don'ts
- No system font fallbacks for headlines
- No serifs (except the rare Geist Light editorial accent)
- No mixing fonts within a headline

### Numbers & stats (English style)
Use **dots, not commas** for decimals: `+24.15%`, not `+24,15%`. The brand operates in English.

---

## Section 05 — Voice & tone

### Five voice principles
1. **Confident, never humble.** Bold claims, backed. No hedging.
2. **Crypto-native.** GM, hodl, anon, ngmi — when it lands. Never forced.
3. **Sharp, never wordy.** Short declarative sentences. Cut every filler word.
4. **Allergic to noise.** No buzzwords, no jargon-smoke. Say the thing.
5. **One eyebrow up.** Lightly cocky. Self-aware. Never smug.

### Manifesto bank (recurring lines)
- *Make hype, not ads.*
- *Great technology doesn't sell itself.*
- *From quiet to unignorable.*
- *Don't talk. Build.*
- *Less talk. More Hype.*
- *Heads-down. Heads-up.*
- *Cloudy with a chance of liquidation.*

### Vocabulary

**USE**: ambitious · category-defining · sharp · run · build · ship · unignorable · momentum · conviction · ground-up · heads-down · real · live · skin in the game · marathon, not a sprint · the gap · loud · land · fix · backed · spark

**AVOID**: synergy · leverage · holistic · journey · revolutionary · game-changing · disrupt · world-class · best-in-class · "we believe" · "passionate about" · empower · unlock · seamless · cutting-edge · next-gen · paradigm shift

### Tone matrix

| Context | Voice dial | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Announcement / launch | Bold + concise | "Live. Today. New episode of *What's the Hype*." |
| Customer support / DMs | Calm + direct | "Hey — here's the fix. Reply if you need anything else." |
| Internal / Discord | Witty, crypto-native | "GM. Heads-down today. Ship by Friday or it's not real." |
| Press / PR | Measured + factual | "Hype was founded in 2017. We back ambitious crypto and emerging-tech teams." |
| Manifesto / hero copy | Loud + opinionated | "Great technology doesn't sell itself." |

### Do / Don't examples

| ❌ DON'T | ✅ DO |
|---|---|
| "We leverage our holistic approach to deliver world-class outcomes." | "Sharp execution. Less talk." |
| "Hi 👋 We'd love to help you out!" | "Hey — here's the fix:" |
| "We are passionate about empowering builders." | "We back builders. Skin in the game." |
| "Our cutting-edge solutions unlock next-gen value." | "Real tech. Real momentum." |

---

## Section 06 — Applications

Real-world brand usage. Photography is part of this section (no separate Photography chapter).

### Application catalogue
- **06.A Mobile splash** — 9:16 ink screen with "Loading Hype." (purple accent on `hype.`)
- **06.B Social square** — 1080×1080, "Less talk. More Hype." on purple
- **06.G Case study card** — ink card, "3K to 140K in 90 days" hero stat
- **06.H Pitch deck cover** — beige card, "From quiet to unignorable."
- **06.I Speaker poster** — 1080×1350 portrait
- **06.J Rockstars editorial cover** — 1920×1080, portrait + headline
- **06.K Hype Day poster** — A2 print, purple + photo
- **06.L Hype Records single** — 1080×1080 cover
- **06.M Builders Issue magazine** — quarterly cover
- **06.N Quote story slide** — 1080×1350
- **06.O Podcast cover** — "What's the Hype" 1080×1080
- **06.P Episode key visual** — 1080×1350 with portrait split
- **06.Q Announcement** — 1080×1080 "Building in public" style
- **06.S Editorial spread** — magazine 16:9
- **06.T Conference deck cover** — Hype Talks 1920×1080
- **06.U Print poster A2** — "Run. Build. Ship."
- **06.X — 06.AO Editorial template library** — 18 mini templates (Livestream, Partnership, Hiring, Award, Team Spotlight, Announcement, Quotes, Body Text, Product launch, Event, Roadmap, Newsletter, Stat hero, Badge, Award Superset, Headline split, Spotlight portrait, Pattern card). All photos in this library render **B&W**.
- **06.AP Google Meet backgrounds** — 4 downloadable virtual backgrounds (Bento, Wordmark, Live Now, Pattern) at 1920×1080 SVG

### Photography (06.AQ + 06.AR)

#### 06.AQ — Photography use & treatment
Two-pass system:
- **B&W**: announcement, editorial, long-form. Default for serious / press / podcast contexts.
- **Purple + yellow tint (PFP treatment)**: launch, promo, social drop. Produced via the internal PFP Generator (`hype-pfp-generator.vercel.app`). 1024×1024 PNG export.

Same portrait can live in both passes — different surface, different mood.

#### Live Stream / AMA poster templates (inside 06.AQ)
4 16:9 (1920×1080) compositions:
- Single speaker — beige bg + B&W portrait
- Single speaker — purple bg + B&W portrait
- 3-up AMA — beige bg + purple-tinted portraits
- 3-up AMA — purple bg + purple-tinted portraits

Common copy slots: "Live Stream · May 25 · 12 PM UTC" (mono caps), big Geist Bold headline (e.g., "Building in public. Live now."), HYPE wordmark + `hy.pe`.

#### 06.AR — Spotlight · Team · Events
Full-color editorial photography lives here:
- **Editorial portraits** with bold colored backgrounds (4-up, square crops)
- **Candid lifestyle / event photos** (6-up grid)

Use color for the people moments — team spotlights, event recaps, brand culture. Default is still B&W; color earns its place.

### Photography principles
1. **Real, never stock.** Real builders, real founders, real moments.
2. **B&W is the default.** Color only with reason.
3. **Eye level, never above.** Camera at the subject's eye line.
4. **Grain over polish.** Slight grain feels editorial. No airbrush.

### Photography don'ts
- Stock-feel handshakes & smiling teams in branded tees
- Over-saturated, HDR, beauty-filtered portraits
- Crypto cliches (rocket emojis, bull/bear, gold coins, lambos)
- Down-angle shots that diminish the subject

---

## Section 07 — Key visual & graphics

### Bento system
Modular grids of solid colour blocks with optional pattern accents. One colour per tile. One pattern per surface.

### Statement bento format
- Big bold statement (Geist 700, 76+ px) on beige
- Purple / lime accent tiles around it
- Mono labels in card-label slots

---

## Section 08 — Bento & patterns

### Pattern library (5 canonical patterns)

| Pattern | File | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Small dots (black) | `assets/pattern-dots-sm-black.png` | 24px tile, on purple/beige/off-white |
| Large dots (black) | `assets/pattern-dots-lg-black.png` | 40px tile, on beige |
| Small dots (purple) | `assets/pattern-dots-sm-purple.png` | On ink |
| Halftone (black) | `assets/pattern-halftone-black.png` | On purple, off-white |
| Halftone (yellow) | `assets/pattern-halftone-yellow.png` | On ink |
| Grid (baseline 32 px) | `assets/pattern-grid.png` | On off-white |
| Concentric rounded | SVG-only | On ink, purple strokes |

### Removed (off-brand)
- ❌ **Caution tape / diagonal stripes** — removed. Black-on-yellow felt harsh and didn't read as Hype.

### Pattern rules
- **Pattern lives in its own panel. Never under text or logos.**
- Solid first. One pattern per surface.
- Never gradients.

---

## Section 09 — Do & don't (the rulebook)

1. **Use the wordmark as drawn** — proportions, kerning, geometry intact.
2. **Stay within the approved palette** — full strength only, no tints, no gradients.
3. **Respect clear space** — minimum x-height of "H" on all sides.
4. **Geist family only** — three weights (700, 400, 300). Zero substitutions.
5. **Solid fields. No gradients.** Compose with adjacency, not blends.
6. **Align. Breathe. Build hierarchy with size, not noise.**
7. **Pattern in its own panel. Never under text.**

---

## Section 11 — Components

### Buttons & pills
- **Primary** — ink fill, lime arrow chip
- **Accent** — purple pill with status dot
- **Default** — ghost outlined (1px ink stroke, 999px radius)
- **Spark** — lime fill (once per view max)

Pill spec: `padding:12px 22px; border-radius:999px; border:1px solid ink; background:transparent; font-family:'Geist Mono'; font-size:12px; letter-spacing:0.22em; text-transform:uppercase`.

### Status dots
- **Live** — lime pulse animation
- **New** — purple solid dot
- **Draft** — ink solid dot
- **Archived** — muted (#8B8B84) dot

### Cards
Off-white (default · hairline border) · Beige (warm editorial) · Purple (accent) · Ink (hero / inverted)

### Badges & tags
Mono caps, 11px, tracked 0.18em. Approved bg: ink, purple, lime, beige, outlined.

---

## Section 12 — Co-branding & lockups

### Lockup format
`HYPE × [PARTNER]`

### The rules (12.A)
1. **HYPE always first.** HYPE sits left or first. Match cap-height. Separate with the multiplication sign **×**.
2. **x-height of "H" between marks.** Tighter and they fight; looser and they detach.
3. **One ink, one bg.** Both marks render in the same colour (ink or off-white). No partner brand colour mixing.

### Composition variants (12.B)
Five approved bento compositions, all 16:9-ish or 1.5:1 cards mixing approved bgs:
1. **Ink full** — HYPE × Partner side-by-side on ink, optional purple-dot strip at the bottom panel
2. **Purple split** — Purple field with diagonal off-white slash, HYPE top-left + Partner bottom-right
3. **Vertical split** — Purple+dots panel (HYPE) | Ink panel (Partner)
4. **Vertical split (beige variant)** — Purple panel (HYPE) | Beige panel (Partner)
5. **Purple full** — HYPE × Partner side-by-side on purple, black-dot strip at the bottom panel

Patterns when used stay confined to **a separate bottom strip or split panel** — never beneath either mark.

### Approved backgrounds
off-white · beige · ink · purple

### Don'ts (12.C)
- Don't mix partner brand colours with HYPE
- Don't use slash, plus, or "and" between marks (always `×`)
- Don't place HYPE smaller than the partner — never a footnote
- Don't put a pattern under either mark

---

## Section 13 — Motion & WebGL

### Motion principles
- Tight, fast easing: `cubic-bezier(.85, 0, .15, 1)`
- Short durations: 180–320 ms
- Animate `transform`, `opacity`, `color` — never layout properties
- One animated element per view max

### Live brand motion
The hero "Loading Hype." card uses Unicorn Studio WebGL for live, lazy-loaded brand motion. Three-dot animation suggests continuous loading.

---

## CSS variables (drop-in)

```css
:root {
  --off-white: #FDFBF6;
  --beige:     #EAE6DA;
  --beige-light: #F4F0E5;
  --beige-2:   #D9D5C6;
  --ink:       #0C0C0C;
  --purple:    #BCACFF;
  --purple-2:  #A99BE5;
  --lime:      #FFEB77;
  --lime-2:    #E8C844;
  --muted:     #8B8B84;
}
```

## Token cheatsheet

```css
/* Solid bento */
background: #BCACFF;
border-radius: 32px;
padding: 48px;
/* one colour per tile */

/* Lime band */
background: #FFEB77;
padding: 20px 28px;
color: #0C0C0C;
/* signal strip · alerts · ticker */

/* Dot grid (SVG) */
<pattern id="dots" width="24" height="24">
  <circle cx="12" cy="12" r="2" />
</pattern>
```

---

## Assets index

```
assets/
├── hype_black.svg              # ink wordmark
├── hype_white.svg              # off-white wordmark
├── whats-the-hype.svg          # podcast lockup
├── pattern-dots-sm-black.png   # 24px black dots
├── pattern-dots-lg-black.png   # 40px black dots
├── pattern-dots-sm-purple.png  # 24px purple dots (on ink)
├── pattern-halftone-black.png  # halftone, ink fill
├── pattern-halftone-yellow.png # halftone, yellow fill (on ink)
├── pattern-grid.png            # 60px rounded-square grid
├── pattern-stripes-lime.png    # vertical lime stripes
├── pattern-stripes-purple.png  # vertical purple stripes
├── pattern-dots-lime-band.png  # lime dots on ink (60px band)
├── pfp-claude.jpg              # PFP Generator sample output
├── figma/                      # exported portrait library (aq-bw-1..6, aq-purple-1..6, ar-editorial-1..4, ar-candid-1..6)
└── google-meet/                # 4 virtual background SVGs
    ├── hype-meet-bento.svg
    ├── hype-meet-wordmark.svg
    ├── hype-meet-live.svg
    └── hype-meet-pattern.svg
```

---

## Quick rules for agents

When producing **anything** in this brand, follow this order:

1. **Solid first.** Pick one approved background (off-white, beige, ink, purple).
2. **One ink.** Type and marks render in one colour per surface. No mixing.
3. **Geist only.** Geist Bold (display), Geist Regular (body), Geist Mono (labels).
4. **Tight tracking.** Default to tight. Open up only for body.
5. **One pattern max.** Pattern lives in its own panel — never under text/logo.
6. **One spark.** Yellow appears once per view max.
7. **No gradients. No drop shadows. No fake 3D. No emojis in copy.**
8. **English-style numbers** — dots, not commas, for decimals.
9. **Photos B&W by default.** Color only with reason (people moments, team, events).
10. **HYPE first in lockups.** `HYPE × Partner`. Cap-height matched, x-height gap, one ink.

---

## Contact & links

- **Live brand bible**: https://comprehensive-hype-branding.vercel.app
- **Website**: https://hy.pe
- **X / Twitter**: https://x.com/hypepartners
- **PFP Generator**: https://hype-pfp-generator.vercel.app
- **Brand questions**: brand@hype.partners

---

*HYPE — Brand Bible · v2026.06 · Internal*

> Make hype, not ads.