Identity Guidelines
The pyaar project brand system, documented as a living artifact. Heritage Kerala roots expressed through editorial restraint: Kerala mural palette, Indian Type Foundry typography, bell hooks lowercase wordmark. Sister brand to prahlaad r..
The mark.
pyaar project's primary identifier. Two elements: the hexagonal P-Y monogram and the lowercase wordmark, used together as a stacked lockup or independently in restricted contexts. Karma 500, all lowercase, following bell hooks's tradition: the work speaks for itself.
Wordmark · Karma Regular 500 · All lowercase · Letter-spacing −0.005em
Wordmark on color
When pairing the wordmark with brand colors, always ensure ample contrast. The pairings below are approved.
Monogram
A geometric P-Y mark for spaces too tight for the wordmark: favicon, social avatar, app icon. Reads at sizes down to 16px.
Monogram · Hexagonal P-Y mark · uses currentColor (inherits from parent)
Monogram on color
Saffron on Plantation is the strongest brand mark in the system: high-contrast, temple-mural reference.
Approved lockups
Don't diminish the mark
The system.
Two faces, both Indian Type Foundry. Karma 500 for display moments. General Sans for body, UI, labels. No italic emphasis: Karma has no italic face; <em> renders in General Sans Medium + accent color.
Karma
Slab-leaning serif with low contrast and humanist warmth. Used for the wordmark, hero h1, and all display headings. Designed by Indian Type Foundry.
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789
General Sans
Friendly humanist sans with two-story 'g' and a tail on the lowercase 'a'. Designed for body copy, lists, UI labels, navigation. Pairs warmly against Karma's slab.
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789
Weights & roles
Hierarchy
pyaar project is a small data factory with two verticals, healthcare and creative. The brand sits at the seam: technical capability expressed through editorial restraint.
The palette.
Eight colors rooted in the traditional Kerala mural pigment system (manjayil yellow, chuvappu red, pacha green, karuppu black, kasavu cream) plus modern neutrals (charcoal, elephant grey). Five named after Resene paint tones (Plantation, Madder Red, Deep Spice, Raven Song, Macadamia); three pulled from Kerala-specific reference (kasavu cotton, manjayil turmeric, paddy fields).
Primary canvases
Three colors that can be used as page or section backgrounds. Kasavu cream is the default; Plantation is the brand-defining green (sidebar in light mode); Charcoal is the dark canvas.
Unbleached cotton; the cream of the Kerala kasavu mundu
Karuppu, warm near-black mural pigment
Western Ghats jungle shadow; pacha green pigment
Secondary palette
Five accent colors used for emphasis, action drivers, and small marks. Each has a literal Kerala referent: a place, a stone, a plant, a pigment.
Chuvappu / kavi clay, temple red, saree borders
Pacha green at body lightness, agricultural Kerala
Spice-market terracotta; gradient source
Manjayil pigment; turmeric / saffron-tinted gold
Mid-grey neutral; Resene-tinted warmth
Color don'ts
- ×Don't introduce hue families outside Kerala (no greens that aren't Plantation/sage, no reds that aren't Madder/spice).
- ×Don't use Tailwind palette classes (bg-blue-500, text-purple-700); always reference theme tokens.
- ×Don't apply gradients across multiple secondary colors. Tonal layers + hairline borders carry depth.
- ×Don't use saturated colors as solid backgrounds for body text. Reserve them for accent moments.
Kerala mural pigment system grounds the palette in real place: Western Ghats forests, paddy fields, kavi temple clay, kasavu unbleached cotton, manjayil turmeric. Every color has a referent.
bell hooks tradition: lowercase wordmark, no italic emphasis, weight + color carries hierarchy. The brand doesn't shout. Editorial register, not marketing.
All typography from Indian Type Foundry (Karma + General Sans). Heritage signal is in the typeface itself, not as ornament.