# Renaissance Academie — Brand and Design Guide

**Version:** 0.2.1-draft  
**Last updated:** October 30, 2026  
**Owner reviewers:** Mandy (brand/copy) and Danny (website/implementation)  
**Important:** New cross-channel guidelines below are proposals unless marked approved.

## A. Brand foundations

**Approved by us:** Renaissance Academie Cosmetology & Esthetics (RACE) is a beauty education institution in Provo, Utah. The handoff emphasizes supportive information, realistic school/student imagery, clarity, and mobile conversion usability. School has five program families listed below.

**Observed in existing materials:** Homepage describes hands-on education, flexible learning, student support and an opportunity to visit campus. `/more-info/` emphasizes clear costs and low-pressure admissions guidance. `/about-us/` centers student experience.

**Proposed for review — brand personality:** skilled but approachable; optimistic without hype; student-centered rather than institution-centered; polished but real; empowering without pressure.

**Proposed positioning statement (internal, not a published claim):** "RACE helps aspiring beauty professionals explore practical, hands-on education and find a program and schedule that fit their goals, with clear information and personal guidance."

**Proposed audience map:** prospective students considering an initial beauty career; adults balancing school, work and family; program-specific learners considering hair, esthetics, nails, lashes and brows; parents/supporters helping evaluate cost and schedule; salon/industry community. Validate target demographics and campaign priorities.

**Do:** show actual learning spaces; use accessible colors; talk concretely about programs, hours, costs and supported next steps. **Avoid:** generic luxury-spa branding that hides the school; artificial skin/portraits; outcomes promises; school-to-salon job guarantees; pressure countdowns.

## B. Logos & original assets

**Still unresolved:** Official logo master files, variations (horizontal, stacked, reverse, icon), legal rights and clear-space parameters are not in the reviewed project. `assets/originals/` remains intentionally empty.

**Observed:** Website serves `https://www.race.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Logo.webp` and other logo-like uploads. These are not official vector masters.

**Proposed operating rule:** Use approved dark logo on light background, reverse/light version on dark background *only if an authentic approved reverse asset exists*. Maintain supplied proportions and clear space, never stretch, redraw, recolor or overlay on busy imagery. Exact clear space and minimum widths are **not established**; measure from real art and get Mandy approval before publishing values. Don't create substitutes.

## C. Color & accessibility

### Approved by us — source hex values

- Charcoal `#282828`; white `#FFFFFF`; soft background `#F6F6F1`; shared sage `#5F756B`.
- Cosmetology `#7C8B78`; Hair Design `#D4DCE0`; Master Esthetics `#A897A5`; Nail Technology `#D8BAB2`; Lash & Brow `#CE9C8F`.

### Proposed for review — color roles

- Most editorial pages: soft background or white field; charcoal type.
- Primary CTAs: sage fill + white label (contrast 4.95:1).
- Secondary CTAs: white/soft background, charcoal text and visible charcoal border.
- Program colors: borders, badges, large illustrated surfaces and controlled distinctions, not arbitrary new palette families.
- Don't assume a color works for both light and dark copy: calculate contrast for each role and size.

WCAG AA for normal text targets **at least 4.5:1**; larger 24px normal or ~18.7px bold text targets 3:1. Contrast of colored text/background pairs in this system (calculated):

| Combination | Ratio | Normal text? |
| --- | ---: | --- |
| Charcoal on white | 14.74:1 | Yes |
| Charcoal on soft background | 13.60:1 | Yes |
| White on sage | 4.95:1 | Yes |
| Sage on charcoal | 2.98:1 | No |
| Charcoal on Cosmetology | 4.09:1 | No |
| White on Cosmetology | 3.61:1 | No |
| Charcoal on Hair Design | 10.61:1 | Yes |
| Charcoal on Master Esthetics | 5.36:1 | Yes |
| Charcoal on Nail Technology | 8.13:1 | Yes |
| Charcoal on Lash & Brow | 6.16:1 | Yes |

Color chips are not the sole program identification; always pair with readable names. Color semantics for warnings/errors are not approved; the reference uses textual labels instead of invented official brand error colors.

## D. Typography and layout

**Approved direction:** Arimo, where appropriate and consistent with current RACE design.

**Still unresolved:** Official licensed font assets (web WOFF2/TTF), supported font weights, actual deployed CSS weights, font embedding rights for print and third-party platforms.

**Proposed for review:** `Arimo, Arial, sans-serif`; regular 400, bold 700; body 17px / 1.6; H1 clamp(40px, 5vw, 56px); H2 clamp(29.6px, 3vw, 40px); H3 22px. Comfortable text measure ~65ch; max wide shell 1200px; 8px-based spacing with 4px half-step; vertical section padding 48–80px; 12px cards and 6px buttons. These are not claims of existing exact values.

**Mobile proposal:** one-column component stacks below ~760px, 16–24px gutters, avoid truncation and forced source-code line breaks, 44px minimum clickable controls, sufficient distance between CTA targets. Respect zoom, reduced motion and keyboard focus. No font sizing fixed so small that mobile text is hard to read.

## E. Reusable web components

**Approved for *current pages* only:** locked header/navigation, `/more-info/`, `/night-school/`, HighLevel form IDs/values, modal JS, tracking scripts and specific CTA routing in the handoff. Preserve them until a scoped change is approved.

**Proposed for review:** button anatomy (sage primary, charcoal outline secondary, 44px min height), card anatomy (eyebrow/program hours, plain-language summary, one CTA), testimonial layout using *verified* supplied student quote, clear field label and inline error guidance, simple content section / CTA hierarchy.

**Interaction design:** hover changes may be subtle; `:focus-visible` must be strong and not removed; disabled buttons must look disabled and be non-clickable; field errors need labels and explanation (not only color). Respect touch targets and `prefers-reduced-motion`. Never build a mock form that silently collects real leads.

**Implementation rules for Danny:** confirm live DOM and style cascade before writing selectors. Namespace page-specific CSS, avoid stacking `!important` overrides, and do not replace working systems. Test mobile, desktop, incognito, hard refresh and attribution as needed. Token values in JSON and CSS match exactly. Separate approved source colors from proposed layout values.

## F. Photography and graphics

**Approved visual direction (handoff):** natural skin tones, natural lighting, students wearing black tops, authentic-looking tools, soft bright salon/spa/clinic campus environments; avoid heavy face retouching and artificial-looking faces. Program background directions: hair/cosmetology salon; esthetics/lash-and-brow spa; nails clinic.

**Observed:** live website includes student hero/program imagery and interior photo gallery. Files with `ChatGPT-Image` names appear on the live site, requiring explicit source verification before described as candid photography.

**Proposed for review:** crop people at comfortable joint points, keep hands/tools visible and correct, avoid text across faces, favor 4:5 for social portraits and 16:9 for wide web, retain neutral/light warm grading, use minimal transparent overlay only if needed for accessible copy. Icon style: simple consistent strokes, only where labels remain clear. These recommendations do not authorize new photo editing or imagery generation.

**Approved by Mandy, October 30, 2026:** Public RACE website/marketing use of the newly supplied photographs and pictured models. **Still unresolved:** source release/rights document archiving (not independently reviewed), individual roles, photographer credits, photo selection and crop approvals, photo color recipe, established icon pack, graphic motifs and social templates.

## G. Brand voice & naming

**Approved safeguards:** calm, supportive, informative, non-pressure enrollment language. Preferred aid phrase: "Financial Aid options where available for those who qualify." No employment, income, licensure or aid guarantees; no claims of blanket federal aid; Nail Technology is not an FSA program; no assumption that a Utah credential transfers automatically elsewhere.

**Verified program family and hours in handoff:** Cosmetology (1,250), Hair Design (1,000), Master Esthetics (1,200), Nail Technology (300), Lash & Brow Technology (270). Night School meets Tuesday–Thursday 4–8 PM. Confirm changing start dates before publication.

**Still unresolved:** exact official long-form institution name for legal/print uses versus the public-facing ampersand variant; capitalization and short-name policy for Lash & Brow; whether Night School is formal brand or descriptor.

**Observed website language examples (not universal taglines):** "Your Future in Beauty Starts at RACE"; "Support for Every Step"; "Schedule a Tour"; "Request Program Information".

**Proposed messaging approach:** short, active headlines; acknowledge practical questions; clarify next step; favor "explore", "compare", "visit" over "guaranteed", "instant", "easy money". Use direct 'you' without sounding pushy. Example: "Explore a beauty program that fits your goals." Follow with specific program, location and schedule details, verified with campus staff.

## H. Cross-channel examples

All newly composed templates are **Proposed for review**, not approved campaigns. See `examples/applications.md` for website, program landing page, social, ad, email and flyer specimens. They use supplied program hours and approved compliant statements, but creative and layouts need Mandy review. They do not link to new forms or alter a live CTA.

## I. Maintain and review

Use `guide/approval-workflow.md` and `guide/decision-register.csv`. Update release version, date and change log for every approval. Mandy owns brand/copy choices; Danny owns implementation feasibility. Neither a live website experiment nor a proposed AI sample is equivalent to system-wide approval.


## v0.2 brand voice and asset addendum (October 30, 2026)

**Approved by Mandy:** RACE should be friendly, genuine and an inviting place for everyone. Translate this to short, plain-language, supportive, non-pressure communications. "Everyone" describes a welcoming approach, not a guarantee of enrollment, eligibility, services or outcomes.

**Draft examples for review:**
- Website: "Curious about beauty school? Come see RACE and explore your options."
- Tour invitation: "We'd love to show you around."
- Program info: "Questions about schedules, tuition or a program? Reach out. We're happy to talk it through."
- Social: "Real people, hands-on learning, and a place to explore what comes next."

**New artwork:** Mandy supplied a 2,031 x 875 transparent PNG full lockup. Exact authenticity/official status of that variant and logo usage specifications remain open. See `guide/logo-inventory.md`.

**New imagery:** Mandy supplied 17 JPG photos showing people together, salon/spa classrooms and beauty tools. Their subjects' identities/roles, public usage permissions, releases and photography ownership remain unresolved. Never publish the entire gallery until reviewed. See `guide/photo-inventory.csv` and `guide/asset-release-checklist.md`. Source photos are retained in a private archive, not distributed in the public website build.