---
title: Imperium Brand Book - The Complete System
type: brand-system
status: canonical
created: 2026-07-26
supersedes: brand-colors.md (v1), style-system/master-style-blueprint.md, palette-v2-proposal, higgsfield-brand-prompt-pack.md, imperium-styleguide.html (all deleted 2026-07-29)
---

# Imperium Brand Book

The single source of truth for the Imperium brand: who the company is, how it sounds, and how
it looks. Feed this file (plus `imperium-tokens.css` / `tokens.json`) to any human, any AI model,
or any website codebase and they can produce on-brand Imperium material without seeing prior work.

If anything anywhere contradicts this file, this file wins. Report the contradiction and fix the
other source.

**Precedence:** BRAND-BOOK → tokens.json / imperium-tokens.css → AGENTS.md → process docs in
downloads/skills. A process doc may tighten a rule, never contradict it.

---

## 1. Who Imperium is

- **Name:** **Imperium.** That is the company name in all prose, content, decks, and client-facing
  material. "Imperium Growth" is retired and must never appear in new material.
- **Legal entity** (contracts, invoices, agreements only): **Imperium Group Holdings LLC**, a
  Wyoming limited liability company (EIN 38-4393886). CEO: Alexander Kaymakanov. See rule 33 for the
  full entity + Wise payment block. The UK Ltd is being wound down and is never named in new documents.
- **What it is:** an AI consultancy and AI software company. It builds and runs AI operating systems
  for companies, Palantir-style (build it AND run it for them), at a size the giants ignore.
  Productised done-for-you and done-with-you delivery, moving from consulting toward
  services-as-software.
- **Unofficial tagline / the fastest explainer:** **"the Palantir for SMEs."** For anyone who knows
  Palantir: serious data-and-AI decision systems, built and run for small and medium businesses
  instead of governments and giant enterprises. Internal shorthand, not the public strapline.
- **What it is NOT:** never an "AI agency", "AAA", or "automation agency". Not enterprise-only, not
  narrowed to one industry, not a SaaS startup selling seats.
- **Thesis:** AI runs systems, we run meaning.
- **Who we serve (ICP):** **SMEs, roughly £3-50M revenue (~20-250 staff)** - established, profitable,
  usually non-tech operators drowning in operations. ANY operations-heavy industry: the real pipeline
  spans real estate (the leading wedge), plus GeoNet-style data/tech, hospitality, recruitment,
  product sourcing, marketing, automotive, and mortgage/advisory. Real estate is where we lead, not
  where we stop.
- **Positioning:** not an agency. We own outcomes and systems, not hours. Palantir-grade systems,
  SME clients. Grown-up, timeless, quiet confidence.
- **Key people:** Alex Kaymakanov (CEO, technical founder). Chris White (HPA partner). Archie Nash
  (HPA / recruitment lead).

### The Imperium intersection (the brand soul)
Imperium lives at one specific intersection, and the whole brand is built to sit exactly there:
- **Classical** - authority, history, status, art and architecture, form and function, permanence,
  the discipline of things built to last.
- **Modern** - AI, glass towers and clean skyscrapers, fast-moving technology adopted early, the edge
  of what is now possible.

The tension between the two IS the brand. Old paintings beside clean glass. A serif carved from
tradition (Emilio) beside a precise modern sans (Switzer). Heritage racing green beside a live dark
console. Paper texture beside a real-time dashboard. Imperium is not the old world and not the hype
cycle. It is the operator standing where centuries of authority meet the newest technology, and using
both. Every asset should carry a little of each, never only one.

### Hard constraints (load-bearing, non-negotiable)
- **Never reference Alex's age**, directly or indirectly (no "young founder", "Gen Z CEO", etc.).
- **Never fabricate numbers** (revenue, spend, team size, followers). Cite a source file or label
  `[UNVERIFIED]`.
- **Never say "Imperium Growth"** in new material.

---

## 2. The system in one line

Emilio Light headline, Switzer body, one green (Racing Green), at most one Ember accent, 20px corners,
paper on green, ink on paper. Greens only. No warm browns. No mono.

---

## 3. Colour (LOCKED 2026-07-26)

Greens only, a neutral spine, and one accent. Full token values live in `imperium-tokens.css` and
`tokens.json`. Scales run at seven steps: **100 · 300 · 400 · 600 · 700 · 800 · 900**.

| Token | Key hex | Role |
|---|---|---|
| **Racing Green** | `#11462C` (700) | PRIMARY. The signature. Backgrounds, CTAs, marks, brand fields. |
| Mint | `#4CB782` (300) · `#D8EBDD` (100) | Vivid supporting green. Accents, console labels, chart peaks. |
| Bali | `#3FA085` (400) | Jade accent green. Never blue. Secondary data / tints. |
| Deep Green | `#0A1F14` | Darkest brand green anchor. Deep fields. |
| Ink | `#15130E` (600) | The black. Body text on light. |
| Bone | `#F4F1EA` (500) | The "white". Warm off-white. **DEFAULT page ground** (Alex 2026-08-04: light grounds read beige, never greenish). |
| Paper | `#F7F6F1` | Near-white working surface. Panels/cards on a bone ground. |
| Paper Sage | `#EDF2E8` (100) | Refined faint-sage. Occasional tint (charts, soft fills) — demoted from default ground 2026-08-04. |
| Console Ground | `#0C1712` | Dark dashboard surface + elevation ladder. Dark component CARDS use the console-descendant ramp: `168deg #0F1912 → #0A130E → #07100A → #060D08` (the gauge/revenue-flow ground, locked 2026-07-29) — near-black base, glow concentrated at the focal element, never an overall wash. |
| **Ember** | `#E23A28` (500) · bright `#FF4632` | The ONE accent. Saturated alert red. Dashboards, sparingly. |

**Rules**
1. Greens only, plus the neutral spine, plus one Ember accent. No warm browns (champagne / taupe /
   walnut are removed). No blue-teal. No neon. No gradients as decoration.
2. Ember appears only on the one thing that needs attention (an alert, a negative number, a
   destructive action). Never as decoration, never more than one Ember element per view.
3. No pure white `#FFFFFF` as a fill. Use Paper or Bone.
4. Primary is `#11462C`. When in doubt, use it.

**Copy-paste hex string** (for AI image prompts):
```
Primary #11462C racing green. Greens: #4CB782 mint, #3FA085 bali, #0A1F14 deep.
Neutrals: #EDF2E8 paper-sage, #F4F1EA bone, #F7F6F1 paper, #0C1712 console, #15130E ink.
Accent (rare): #E23A28 ember. Greens only, no warm browns, no blue-teal.
```

**Contrast pairs (WCAG 2.x, computed by `scripts/check-contrast.mjs` from tokens.json — machine
copy lives in tokens.json `contrast`):**

| Text on ground | Ratio | Passes | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ink `#15130E` on Bone `#F4F1EA` | 16.46 | AA + AAA | body text |
| Racing `#11462C` on Bone `#F4F1EA` | 9.61 | AA + AAA | headings, links |
| Bone `#F4F1EA` on Racing `#11462C` | 9.61 | AA + AAA | inverse panels |
| Mint `#4CB782` on Console `#0C1712` | 7.33 | AA + AAA | dashboard text |
| Ember-600 `#C22C1D` on Bone `#F4F1EA` | 5.07 | AA | Ember as TEXT on light grounds |
| Ember `#E23A28` on Bone `#F4F1EA` | 3.82 | large text / fills only | badges with dark text, ≥24px display |
| Racing-300 `#5E8C74` on Console `#0C1712` | 4.78 | AA (marginal) | muted labels, not long copy |

**Rule: Ember as TEXT on light grounds uses `--ember-600` `#C22C1D` (5.07:1). `#E23A28` stays for
fills, badges with dark text, and ≥24px display use — never small text on light.**

**Focus states:** every interactive element gets a visible `:focus-visible` ring — 2px in the
surface's accent (mint on dark, Racing Green on light), offset 3px. Never remove outlines without
replacing them.

**Reduced motion:** honour `prefers-reduced-motion: reduce` — collapse transitions/animations to
near-zero duration; ambient loops stop. Applied in the master sheet and component gallery.

---

## 4. Type (LOCKED)

- **Display: Emilio** (the whole family, **Light = primary**). Each weight is its own `@font-face`
  preset so it always loads distinctly: `--emilio-thin / -extralight / -light / -regular / -semibold
  / -bold / -black`. SemiBold is for emphasis only. Call the preset you want; never rely on synthetic
  `font-weight`.
- **Body: Switzer.** Presets `--switzer` (Regular) / `--switzer-medium` / `--switzer-semibold`.
  Switzer Medium, uppercase, 0.22em tracking is the "eyebrow" label style.
- **Wordmark:** IMPERIUM set in Emilio, tracked caps (`letter-spacing:0.14em`).
- **Removed:** JetBrains Mono, Cinzel, and the earlier Zodiak / Hanken / IBM Plex Mono proposal. One
  serif and one sans, nothing else.
- **Fonts are pre-installed** as woff2 in `./fonts` (no CDN, no external fetch). Self-hosted.
- **Licences:** Emilio is licensed for web embedding and kit distribution (confirmed 2026-07-31).
  Codicons are CC BY 4.0 (attribution ships in `icons/LICENSE-codicons.txt`); keep the attribution
  file with any redistribution. Photos: © Imperium, all rights reserved; usable within Imperium
  brand work.
- **Type scale** (size / leading / tracking per step): the table in the master sheet's "Type scale"
  section mirrors tokens.json `type-scale`. All numeric UI and documents set
  `font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums`.
- **Print colour reference (uncalibrated — screen hexes remain canonical):**

| Colour | Hex | CMYK (approx) | Pantone nearest |
|---|---|---|---|
> Scope: this system is **digital-first**. The CMYK/Pantone values below are uncalibrated
> nearest-match references for internal proofs. Before any real press run: commission a
> calibrated conversion, use coated (C) references on coated stock, 3mm bleed, and export
> PDF/X-4. Screen hexes remain canonical.

| Racing Green | #11462C | 76 / 0 / 37 / 73 | 3435 C |
| Mint | #4CB782 | 58 / 0 / 29 / 28 | 7724 C |
| Bali | #3FA085 | 61 / 0 / 17 / 37 | 7473 C |
| Deep | #0A1F14 | 68 / 0 / 35 / 88 | 5605 C |
| Paper | #F7F6F1 | 0 / 0 / 2 / 3 | 11-0601 TCX |
| Sage | #EDF2E8 | 2 / 0 / 4 / 5 | 9543 C |
| Bone | #F4F1EA | 0 / 1 / 4 / 4 | 11-0105 TCX |
| Ink | #15130E | 0 / 9 / 33 / 92 | Black 4 C |
| Console | #0C1712 | 48 / 0 / 22 / 91 | 5467 C |
| Ember | #E23A28 | 0 / 74 / 82 / 11 | 485 C |

---

## 5. Shape, elevation, motion

- **Radius:** 20px is standard (`--radius`; RE-LOCKED by Alex 2026-08-10 from live-site screenshots — supersedes the 40px lock of 2026-07-27; 40 read as too rounded at real page scale). Scale: 10 (inputs / chips / small product buttons) · **20 (cards / media / panels at every size)** · pill (tags / CTAs) · **12 for app-window/browser chrome in software mockups only** (matches real OS chrome; official exception, Alex 2026-07-31). Nothing else exists; big panels stay at 20.
- **Strokes:** 1px ink at 10-22% on light.
- **Shadows:** soft, low-alpha, warm-tinted on light; deep on console.
- **Motion:** one committed move per section, springs with slight overshoot, ambient loops for
  backgrounds. Fast (150ms) for UI feedback, slow / cinematic (600-1200ms) for brand moments.

### Motion patterns (named; extracted from the shipped components 2026-08-01 — machine copy in tokens.json `motion.patterns`)

| Pattern | Spec | Where proven |
|---|---|---|
| Brand ease | `cubic-bezier(0.22, 1, 0.36, 1)` — the default for everything | every component |
| Spring (playful UI) | `cubic-bezier(0.3, 1.4, 0.5, 1)` at 150ms on transform | app-dock tile lift |
| Hover lift | `translateY(-5px) scale(1.03)`, spring ease, shadow deepens one step | dock, cards |
| Entrance choreography | eyebrow 0.35s → headline 0.5s → sub 0.95s → cards 1.2s + i×0.18s stagger, all brand ease. Timing IS design; never everything at once | continuous-world decks |
| Slide/section enter | opacity 0→1 + translateY(14px)→0, 600ms brand ease, once | deck-template |
| Number rolls | odometer digits roll to value over ~1.2s, brand ease, tabular-nums so width never jumps | budget-chart, consoles |
| Gauge settle | sprung needle/arc with one slight overshoot, never oscillates twice | savings gauge |
| Interaction depth-of-field | resting state SHARP; on hover of a set, non-hovered siblings blur(5px) + dim ~.78 | app-dock |
| Ambient loops | background-only, sub-1% movement per second, never on text | hero worlds |
| Reduced motion | `prefers-reduced-motion: reduce` collapses all of the above to near-zero; ambient loops stop | master sheet |

Rules: transforms and opacity only (no layout-property animation) · one committed move per
section · motion never delays reading the content it decorates.

## 5b. Environment doctrine (generated scenes — binding, Alex 2026-07-30)

- Generated environments are REAL-WORLD: offices, classical facades, interiors, studio product
  light — with natural light, or calm brand-solid grounds.
- Banned: sci-fi effects, laser lines, neon streaks, glowing particles, floating dust, aurora
  atmospheres, abstract alien waves — anything that reads "too AI".
- One light source, upper-left, obeyed by every element in the scene.

---

## 6. Themes

- **Default = light "paper" mode.** Bone ground, Paper panels, Ink text, Racing Green brand (Sage demoted to a tint, Alex 2026-08-04 — light grounds are warm beige, never greenish).
- **Console / dashboard = `data-theme="console"`** on any container. Console Ground surfaces, Mint
  labels, Ember-bright alerts. Solid surfaces, no glass floods, no glow floods.

---

## 7. Logos + core assets

Canonical set: `logos/` in this kit (48 files, rebuilt as vectors 2026-07-27). The mark is the
Imperium monogram: a serif I crossed by an infinity swash. One traced master path + Emilio Light
outlines generate every file; colours are brand tokens only. The pre-2026-07-27 logo set
(blue-teal `#056050`, iOS squircle corners) is retired and deleted — never reuse it.

- `imperium-mark-{green,paper,ink,mint}` — the monogram alone, transparent (SVG + PNG 1024/256).
  Green `#11462C` is primary; paper `#F7F6F1` on green/dark grounds; ink `#15130E` mono print;
  mint `#4CB782` accent on console surfaces.
- `imperium-wordmark-{green,paper,ink}` — IMPERIUM in Emilio Light outlines, tracked caps 0.14em.
- `imperium-lockup-horizontal-{green,paper}` · `imperium-lockup-stacked-{green,paper}` —
  mark + wordmark lockups (horizontal for headers/emails, stacked for decks/covers).
- `imperium-tile-{racing,gradient,deep,paper}` — R40 app-icon/favicon tiles (the brand radius,
  never a squircle). Racing = flat `#11462C`; gradient = the hero-card dark-green gradient;
  deep `#0A1F14`; paper `#F7F6F1` with green mark. `.ico` favicons ship for racing/paper/deep.
- **UI icons** (`icons/`, 22 SVGs) — sourced verbatim from Microsoft's open-source **VS Code
  codicons** (github.com/microsoft/vscode-codicons, icons CC BY 4.0; attribution ships in
  `icons/LICENSE-codicons.txt`). 16x16 filled paths recoloured to `fill="currentColor"` — mint on
  dark, Racing Green on light. Imperium filenames map: plus→add, spark→sparkle,
  external-link→link-external, upload→cloud-upload; arrow-up-right = codicon arrow-up rotated 45°.
  RULE: never hand-draw or AI-generate a UI glyph — pull the codicon and recolour. Company/app
  logos are a different asset class (app-icons process), never codicons.
- Legacy filenames in `assets/imperium/` (`imperium-logo-green.png` etc.) now contain the
  corrected artwork so old references keep working, but new work links `logos/` files.
- `brand-palette-swatch.png` (kit root) - reference swatch for AI image generation: code-built
  greens-only grid of the ten locked hexes with labels, regenerated 2026-08-01. Upload it to your
  image-generation account as a colour-anchor reference (media IDs are account-bound).

**Logo governance (specimens in the master sheet's Logo governance section):**

- **Clear space:** the cap-height of the I on all four sides — nothing enters it.
- **Minimum sizes:** mark 24px; horizontal lockup 120px digital / 12mm print. Below these, use
  the mark alone.
- **Misuse (the six ways it goes wrong):** never recolour off-token · never stretch/squash ·
  never add shadows/glows/bevels · never regenerate by AI (the vector masters are the only
  source) · never place on busy grounds · never revive the retired blue-teal squircle set.
- **Co-branding:** vertical hairline divider, equal optical height, Imperium left, partner mark
  right.

---

## 8. Application by surface

| Surface | Ground | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing website | Bone ground, green bands | Emilio Light hero, Switzer body | Cinematic, image-led, huge editorial type, generous space |
| Dashboard / console | Console Ground | Switzer + Mint labels | Dense-calm, quiet chrome, numbers as jewelry, Ember only on alerts |
| Decks / presentations | ONE generated world (continuous-world method) | Emilio Light titles, HTML over photography | See "Presentations" below — the journey IS the identity. One idea per slide, glass cards, no bullet walls |
| Social / content | High-contrast crops | Emilio Light headline | 4:5 and 9:16 first, stat-jewelry, one Ember max |
| Blog / editorial | Paper / Bone | Emilio Light headings, Switzer body | Pull quotes, chart plates, paper texture |
| Email | Paper | Switzer | Restrained, one green CTA, no image-heavy templates |

### Presentations — the continuous-world doctrine (binding, Alex 2026-08-01)

Every outward-facing Imperium presentation is a journey through ONE generated world: every
slide is a camera position (stills chained from one place, one light grade); every forward
slide change plays a short generated film frame-locked to both stills, so the audience sees
a camera move, never a cut; text is always HTML on top, placed in negative space the
composition reserved for it, entering on the choreographed stagger (§5 motion patterns).
Text over photography sits on glass (8% bone fill, 24px blur, hairline bone border, R40),
never on opaque cards. The engine ships as `downloads/documents/deck-cinematic.html`; the
generation method (prompts, chained refs, SSIM seam gate, cost model) is
`downloads/skills/continuous-world-technique.md`. Tiers: cinematic (default outward) →
static premium (`imperium-presentation.md`, no films) → utility (`deck-template.html`,
internal only, never client-facing).

### Site navigation (the one nav pattern)

Full-width fixed bar, 64px: quiet Switzer links left (13px, muted ink, hover to full ink —
links are never accent-coloured), the Emilio wordmark dead-centre (text only, ~17px), "Log
in" + one pill CTA right (Switzer Medium 13px, Racing solid, bone text). Transparent over
the hero at top; Paper at 95% + backdrop blur after ~24px of scroll; hides on scroll-down
past ~160px, returns on scroll-up; hairline hamburger on mobile. Never a floating pill nav,
never a boxed/rounded nav container, never accent-coloured link states. Live specimen: the
UI-primitives section of the master sheet.

---

## 9. Voice (summary - full guide is the source of truth)

Full voice guide: `content-pipeline/voice-profile/alex-voice-guide.md`. Banned words:
`.claude/skills/alex-voice-check.md`. Anti-slop rules: `~/.claude/rules/11-anti-ai-slop.md`.

- Short sentences, punch hard. Open with a claim, not a warm-up.
- One specific number, date, or name per paragraph. Name the frameworks.
- **Never:** em dashes, emojis, "delve / moreover / furthermore / game-changer / dive in", forced
  negation ("it's not X, it's Y"), staccato repetition, exclamation marks.
- Register: serious and grown-up, warm not corporate. Confident, not hypey.

**Boilerplate (approved 2026-08-01; the master sheet Voice section mirrors these):**

- **25 words:** Imperium is an AI consultancy and AI software company. We build and run AI
  operating systems for SMEs, Palantir-style: serious decision systems, owned outcomes.
- **50 words:** Imperium is an AI consultancy and AI software company, the Palantir for SMEs.
  We build and run AI operating systems for companies of £3-50M revenue: one system that
  connects their tools, runs their operations, and produces outcomes we own. AI runs systems,
  we run meaning.
- **100 words:** Imperium is an AI consultancy and AI software company built for SMEs, the
  businesses the giants ignore. We design, build, and then RUN AI operating systems for
  companies of £3-50M revenue and 20-250 staff, Palantir-style: build it and operate it, own
  the outcome, never bill hours. One system connects the tools a business already runs,
  automates its operations, and puts real decision data in front of its operators. The brand
  carries one intersection everywhere: classical authority and modern technology. Real estate
  is the leading wedge, not the boundary. AI runs systems, we run meaning.

**Messaging pillars (one proof line each):**

1. **AI runs systems, we run meaning** — the spine: Imperium owns outcomes and the systems
   that produce them, never hours.
2. **The Palantir for SMEs** — serious data-and-AI decision systems at a size the giants
   ignore (£3-50M revenue, 20-250 staff).
3. **Build it AND run it** — productised done-for-you delivery, moving from consulting toward
   services-as-software.
4. **Classical authority x modern technology** — the brand soul; every asset carries a little
   of each.

---

## 10. The two-brand boundary

Imperium (this book) and the **Alex Kaymakanov personal brand** are two separate systems by design
(locked 2026-04-12; confirmed 2026-07-26). Do not cross-contaminate.

| | Imperium (company) | Alex Kaymakanov (personal) |
|---|---|---|
| Fonts | Emilio + Switzer | Fraunces + Mona Sans |
| Palette | Racing Green + greens | Warm dark cinema: void `#0C0A08`, cream `#EDE5D8`, champagne `#C4AD96`, BRG whisper |
| Where | Imperium site, decks, client work, HPA | alexkaymakanov.com, personal social, podcast |
| Reference | this kit | `memory/business/personal-site/`, personal_brand.md |

The personal brand is primary and transcends any company. When a surface is Alex-the-person, use the
personal system; when it is Imperium-the-company, use this book.

---

## 11. How to use this kit

**For a website / codebase:** link or `@import` `imperium-tokens.css`, or read `tokens.json`. Use the
CSS custom properties, never hardcode hex. Add `data-theme="console"` for dark dashboards.

**For AI frontend builds:** copy `DESIGN.md` (this system in the standard DESIGN.md token spec)
into the project root — DESIGN.md-aware design tools (Impeccable, Stitch) then enforce the brand
automatically. Craft tooling refines; this book stays the identity authority.

**For AI image / asset generation:** read `ai-image-prompt-pack.md`. Always pass the greens-only hex
string plus a reference swatch. Score output against the palette before shipping.

**For content:** read section 9 plus the voice guide. Imperium name only, never "Imperium Growth".

**For any deliverable:** run the quality gate (AGENTS.md §4: render → screenshot → score 5 dimensions → fix worst → ship at avg ≥9.5, no dim <8, max 3 iterations) before shipping. Colour drift, wrong font
weight, a stray brown, or an em dash are all fail conditions.

---

## Related
- `imperium-tokens.css` · `tokens.json` - the machine-readable tokens
- **Software mockups of Imperium OS:** source tree `assets/imperium/mockups-v5/` (due-diligence
  card, opportunities-3d tilt, 30-asset t/m/f matrix); recipe `downloads/mockups/MOCKUPS.md`.
  Code-built on these tokens, transparent renders default, GPT Image 2 the only UI-safe
  generative finisher, Higgsfield only as an art pass on finished heroes.
- `imperium-master-sheet.html` - the rendered master sheet (the only visual sheet)
- `ai-image-prompt-pack.md` - AI generation prompts
- `.claude/skills/imperium-brand.md` - the skill that governs future asset generation
- rule 33 (contracting entity) · rule 13 (no age) · rule 31 (no fabricated numbers)