# Balibound Realty — Brand Guidelines

**How to use this file:** paste this whole document into ChatGPT, Claude, or any AI
tool at the start of a session where you want it to write copy, design a graphic, or
build anything that needs to look and sound like Balibound Realty. It covers the name,
voice, fonts, colours, components, and PDF specs in one place.

**Version:** 3.3 · **Applies to:** Website (baliboundrealty.com), Admin panel, PDFs, decks, social content, WhatsApp/email copy

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## THE NAME — READ FIRST

The brand name is **one word**: **Balibound**.

- Full name: **Balibound Realty** (capital B, capital R, no space)
- Short form: **Balibound** (e.g. "Chris here with Balibound")
- Acronym: **BBR**
- Domain: **baliboundrealty.com**

**Never write it as two words** ("Bali Bound"). That is incorrect in every context:
website copy, social captions, email, WhatsApp messages, documents, decks, brochures.

**Capital B or lowercase b — both are correct, in different places:**
- Writing a sentence, caption, document, or email → always capital B: **Balibound**
- The logo/wordmark itself → always lowercase: **balibound** — a deliberate stylised
  design choice baked into the logo, not a typo or an inconsistency

The wordmark renders "balibound" in Dream Avenue (lowercase) + "REALTY" in Open Sauce
One (all caps). Always use the logo image file when rendering the wordmark visually —
never retype it as styled text on a PDF, deck, or printed asset.

---

## BRAND ESSENCE

**Balibound Realty** is a boutique real estate brokerage serving Bali's premium villa
and land market (Canggu, Uluwatu, Seminyak, Ubud).

**Brand personality:**
- Warm, professional, personal
- Aspirational but grounded
- Expert, not corporate
- Trustworthy, first-responder speed

**Visual identity:** Coastal luxury — deep navy, steel blue, warm gold. Clean,
confident, Bali.

**Voice and tone:**
- Short sentences. Warm but direct.
- No corporate jargon.
- Banned words/phrases: "unlock," "leverage" (as a verb), "revolutionize," "dive into,"
  "landscape," "delve," "moreover," "furthermore," "in conclusion," "pivotal," "at the
  end of the day," "game-changer." No em dashes.
- Speak in plurals — "we / us / our" — never "I / me / my," unless a message is
  explicitly from one named person. It's the brand talking, not one individual.

---

## TYPOGRAPHY

Four fonts. Each has exactly one job — do not mix them up.

| Font | Role | Usage |
|------|------|-------|
| **Dream Avenue** | Brand / Logo only | The word "balibound" in the wordmark. Never used anywhere else. |
| **Black Mango** | Main headings | H1 and H2. Hero titles, section headings, display text. |
| **Open Sauce One** | Subheadings | H3–H6, and the word "REALTY" in the wordmark (all caps, weight 400). Not the same font as Open Sans — a common mix-up. |
| **Inter** | Everything else | Body copy, labels, buttons, nav links, form fields, all UI text. |

### Brand wordmark
- **"balibound"** — Dream Avenue, lowercase
- **"REALTY"** — Open Sauce One, weight 400, ALL CAPS

On any physical or print asset (PDFs, decks, brochures) — always use the logo IMAGE
file. Never recreate the wordmark as styled text outside the website/admin codebase.

### Type scale — website
| Element | Font | Size | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| H1 Hero | Black Mango | 48–64px | 700 |
| H2 Section | Black Mango | 32–40px | 700 |
| H3 Subheading | Open Sauce One | 20–24px | 600 |
| H4–H6 | Open Sauce One | 14–18px | 600 |
| Body | Inter | 16px | 400 |
| Small | Inter | 14px | 400 |

---

## LOGO

Two variants — pick by background colour:

| File | Use when |
|---|---|
| `logo-dark.png` | Dark text — white / light / beige backgrounds |
| `logo-light.png` | Light text — navy / dark backgrounds |

The logo includes a geometric circle mark built into the "o" of "balibound." Always
use the image file — never redraw or recreate the mark, and never generate a new logo
variant with an AI image tool.

---

## COLOUR PALETTE — Payal's palette (24 Sep 2026)

Navy is the anchor, steel blue is the everyday support colour, gold is a real colour
again — a solid fill on every "get in touch" button, plus a sparing highlight
elsewhere. Pale Gray is the lightest neutral. This fully replaces the earlier
"Coastal Steel" set (navy `#1F4E79`, steel blue `#6389B5`, brick red `#B24A3B`,
beige `#F4EFE5`) — do not use those older hex values in new work.

### Core brand colours

**Navy — `#0F5190`** (the anchor)
- Usage: Primary buttons, active nav, headings, key CTAs, structure
- Hover state: `#0C4276`

**Steel Blue — `#6A96B0`** (everyday support)
- Usage: Tags, links, secondary buttons, badges, borders, interactive accents
- Light variant (pill backgrounds): `#EDF2F6` · Border variant: `#CFDDE6`
- Text-on-light-steel variant: `#425D6D`

**Gold — `#F4C77A`** (solid CTA fill + sparing highlight)
- Usage: solid fill on every WhatsApp/contact button, site-wide, plus the whole Free
  Consultation family — this is now their standard look, not an occasional accent.
  Beyond CTAs, used sparingly elsewhere (Featured badges, one showpiece highlight per
  document) — never a general accent, never dense body text set directly on it.
- Light variant: `#FAE6C3` · Border: `#F7D59B` · Text on light: `#6E5A37`

### Neutrals
| Token | Hex | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| White | `#FFFFFF` | Card backgrounds, page background, text on dark |
| Surface | `#F3F4F6` | Section backgrounds, layout backdrops |
| Text | `#222222` | Primary text — all body copy. **Never pure black `#000000`.** |
| Text (muted) | `#5C6370` | Secondary text, labels |
| Border | `#E0E3EA` | Component borders, dividers |

### Semantic
| Token | Hex | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Error | `#DC2626` | Errors, destructive actions |
| Error (light) | `#FEE2E2` | Error pill backgrounds |
| Error (border) | `#FCA5A5` | Error pill borders |

### Pale Gray — the lightest neutral (core palette, not marketing-only)
**Pale Gray — `#EDEFF0`** — section backgrounds, soft card fills. Replaces the old
Beige (`#F4EFE5`, retired 24 Sep 2026) as the lightest colour in the palette. Unlike
Beige, this one is NOT web-restricted — it's a cool gray-blue, not a warm cream, so
it works on baliboundrealty.com directly, not just print/social.

---

## BUTTONS

WhatsApp green is retired from all buttons, everywhere. Rebuilt 24 Sep 2026 — solid
gold replaces the old "everything is a white outline" system for contact CTAs:

- **Solid gold fill = every "get in touch" button, site-wide.** Every WhatsApp/contact
  button on every page, plus the whole Free Consultation family (navbar button, mobile
  twin, the consultation form's submit). Pattern: gold background, navy text, hover to
  pale gray. This is now their standard look, not an occasional highlight.
- **Navy outline = secondary/support actions.** "Send Enquiry" on a listing, the Baxter
  chat widget (launcher, send, avatar, user bubbles), navigational buttons. White fill,
  navy outline and text — sits next to a gold CTA, never instead of one.
- Notification/unread dots use gold, never plain red or green.
- The old brick-red outline treatment is deprecated — don't use it on new work.
- The only WhatsApp green left anywhere is the official WhatsApp logo mark used as a
  small third-party icon (e.g. an admin finance table) — never as a button.

**Primary button:** navy background, white text, hover to the darker navy.
**Secondary button:** white background, muted text, bordered, hovers to steel/navy.
**Ghost button:** transparent background, muted text, hovers to navy.

---

## PILLS / BADGES

| Purpose | Background | Text | Border |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead / Sale / Primary | Steel (light) | Navy | Steel (border) |
| Active / Rent | Steel (light) | Steel text | Steel (border) |
| On Hold / Pending | Steel (light) | Steel text | Steel (border) |
| Sold / Neutral | Surface | Muted text | Border |
| Error / Overdue | Error (light) | Error | Error (border) |

---

## ACCESSIBILITY

- All text on white must meet WCAG AA (4.5:1 contrast minimum)
- `#222222` on white: 12.6:1 ✓ · `#5C6370` on white: 4.9:1 ✓ · Navy on white: well above AA ✓
- Steel blue on white is decorative/large-text only — not for small body text

---

## ICONS

Lucide-style line icons. Sizes 12–24px, stroke width 1.5–2, colour inherits from
surrounding text.

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## DO'S AND DON'TS

**DO:**
- Use the actual logo PNG files on all assets — never recreate the mark in code or by hand
- Use `logo-dark.png` on light/white/beige backgrounds, `logo-light.png` on navy/dark
- Use Black Mango for main headings, Open Sauce One for subheadings, Inter for everything else
- Use navy for primary actions, steel blue for tags/links/secondary accents
- Use gold as a solid fill on every "get in touch" button — WhatsApp CTAs and the Free Consultation family
- Use `#222222` for all primary text
- Use Pale Gray for section backgrounds and soft fills, on the website too, not just print
- Speak in plurals ("we/us/our") in all drafted communication

**DON'T:**
- Write "Bali Bound" as two words, anywhere
- Recreate the logo circle mark or wordmark in code or with an image generator
- Use Dream Avenue for anything other than "balibound" in the wordmark
- Confuse Open Sauce One with Open Sans — they are different fonts
- Use `#000000` / pure black text anywhere
- Use the old Beige `#F4EFE5` anywhere — retired, use Pale Gray `#EDEFF0`
- Use gold as a general accent or for body text — CTA fill + sparing highlights only
- Use WhatsApp green (as a button), the old brick-outline button style, or any colour not listed here without approval
- Use em dashes, or any of the banned corporate phrases listed under Voice and Tone

---

## PDF / DOCUMENT ASSETS

When generating a PDF, brochure, or printed one-pager:

- Never render the wordmark as styled text — always place the logo image file
- Headers/footers: navy `#0F5190`
- Body text: `#222222`
- Section dividers: `#E0E3EA`
- Feature pills / highlight boxes: steel-light background with steel border and navy text
- Gold is back, used sparingly — one highlight band or showpiece callout per document, same disciplined role it plays on the website; never gold text directly on white (use `#6E5A37` on the gold tint)
- Pale Gray (`#EDEFF0`) page backgrounds are usable anywhere Beige used to be, including the live website — it's not print-restricted

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*Internal brand reference for Balibound Realty (BBR). Questions go to Chris.*