# Aster Chai brand guide (v1.0)

*Approved logo: **Late Sun**, chosen by you on 2026-10-15. Phases 0–5 are complete. Nutrition numbers, prices and specs are placeholders until the formula and packaging are final.*

## 1. The idea
*Aster* is Greek for "star." The aster is one of the last wildflowers to bloom, and it opens just as chai season starts. The brand is a **late bloomer**: quiet, warm, and right on time. The flower is the **name, never an ingredient**. Keep asters away from spice and ingredient imagery. When a piece needs to say it, use the line *Named for a flower, not made from one.*

## 2. Logo
**The logo is the mark alone.** "Aster Chai" is never part of the logo artwork. It's set as live type beneath the mark.

| Asset | Use | Files (`01_logo/approved/`) |
|---|---|---|
| **Late Sun** (primary mark) | above the name on cans, posters, the web header, the sell sheet | `late-sun_mark_{color,mono,reversed}.svg / .psd / .png` |
| Late Sun, compact cut | at 48 px wide and below; square spaces | `late-sun_compact_{color,mono,reversed}.*` |
| Late Sun, 16 px cut | favicons and tab icons only | `late-sun_compact-16_{color,mono,reversed}.*` |
| **Eight-Ray Aster** (secondary mark) | round crops: social avatars, stickers, cup seals, patterns | `eight-ray-aster_mark_{color,mono,reversed}.*` |
| Logo system sheet | everything on one page | `logo_system_sheet.psd / .png` |

**Construction (Late Sun).** It's half of the eight-ray brand star rising over a horizon line. A golden half-disk eye sits on the line.
- Eye radius: 0.20 r
- Line: 0.045 r thick, 2.6 r long, 0.06 r below the rays
- The compact cut opens the notches (0.38), enlarges the eye (0.24 r), shortens the line (2.16 r) and thickens it (0.13 r), so it holds at small sizes.

**The mark above the name** (how every piece sets it). Let **X** be the cap height of "Aster Chai" in Linux Libertine Display G (0.658 × the point size).
- Mark size: the rays' radius r = 0.22 × the name's width. On cans it's 0.16 × the can width.
- Spacing: the horizon line sits 0.55 X above the top of the capitals, minus a hair (0.105 r), so the eye clears the letters.
- Alignment: centred on the name.
- Descriptor (optional): "CHAI LATTE" in Inter Medium, tracking 300, at 0.17 × the name size, set 0.42 × the name size below its baseline.

**Clear space**
- Mark with the name: keep 0.5 X clear on every side.
- Mark alone: keep 25% of its width clear on every side.

**Minimum sizes**
| Asset | Screen | Print |
|---|---|---|
| Late Sun | 48 px wide | 0.5 in / 13 mm wide |
| Late Sun compact | 24 px wide | 0.3 in / 8 mm |
| 16 px cut | 16–24 px | — |
| Eight-Ray Aster | 16 px | 0.25 in / 6 mm |
| The name under the mark | 18 px cap height | 7 pt |

**Color versions**
- Full color: Dusty Violet rays and Golden Center eye. The line is Dark Roast, or Cream on dark grounds.
- On dark grounds the rays go Lavender.
- One color: one ink, with the eye as a hole.
- Reversed: Cream throughout.
- Can accents: Lavender on black, cream on burnt orange (**never violet on orange**; it reads as Halloween), Dusty Violet on cream.

**Don't**
- Put the name or any words inside the mark.
- Draw the full eight-ray star together with the Late Sun in one lockup.
- Rotate, outline, stretch or add effects.
- Redraw the rays loosely.
- Recolor the rays a saturated purple.
- Use brown for a large eight-pointed star (it reads as star anise).
- Spell it "Astor". Every file is checked automatically.

## 3. Color
The full table with HEX, RGB and CMYK is in `00_aster_system/palette.md`. CMYK values are approximate, so proof them against the printer's profile.

| Name | HEX | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Dusty Violet | `#7B6A92` | mark rays, the one accent |
| Lavender | `#B2A5C8` | rays on dark grounds |
| Pale Aster | `#DCD3E6` | small text on deep aster |
| Deep Aster | `#4F4466` | footer, C6 ground, merch |
| Golden Center | `#D3A13B` | the eye, sticker ground |
| Chai Brown | `#6B4733` | secondary text on cream |
| Dark Roast | `#2B211B` | body text, "black" |
| Cream | `#F2EADB` | paper, type on dark |
| Oat | `#E0D2BA` | panels, backgrounds |
| Spice Orange | `#B5602D` | sparingly; never next to the flower |
| Dusk Navy | `#2C3247` | the field-marketing ground (from the C1 sky) |

Text is never pure black or pure white.

## 4. Typography
| Role | Face | License |
|---|---|---|
| The name, headlines | Linux Libertine Display G | SIL OFL 1.1 (dual GPL), Libertine Open Fonts Project |
| Lines, tagline, flavor in *italic* | Linux Libertine G Regular, Italic, Bold Italic | SIL OFL 1.1 (dual GPL) |
| Labels, legal, UI, small caps (tracking 200–300) | Inter Medium and SemiBold | SIL OFL 1.1, rsms.me/inter |

All three allow commercial use, including on packaging. Keep the license files with the brand files.
- **Print floor:** no printed label smaller than **7 pt** (30 px at 300 ppi).
- **Contrast floor:** body type on imagery at **4.5:1**, display type at **3:1** or better. The seasonal skies were darkened to meet this.

## 5. Packaging
- **Everyday line, C0 Basics:** the reference colorways (black, burnt orange, cream) with nothing added but the Late Sun above the name.
- **Layout:** mark, then name, then tagline in two lines, then a short rule, then the flavor in italic, then net contents at the foot.
- **Concepts:** C1–C6 are in `03_aster_can_concepts/concepts_overview.png`. **C1 Prairie at Dusk** is the field-marketing concept (confirmed by you on 2026-10-15), with C5 Seasons as limited runs.
- **Net contents:** **8 FL OZ (237 mL)**, everywhere. Confirm the can supplier's die-line; a 237 mL fill often goes into a 250 mL slim can.
- **Back panel (placeholders only):**
  - Nutrition Facts box marked "PLACEHOLDER · final formula pending"
  - "XX cal · Xg protein · Xg added sugar"
  - "Ingredients and allergens: TBD"
  - "Distributed by Aster Chai · address TBD"
  - UPC box
- **Never print:** "0g added sugar," "5g protein," "high protein," "good source of protein."
- **No claims about:** sourcing, dairy, Wisconsin or anything "local."

## 6. Imagery: the aster field
- **Generator:** every flower comes from `00_aster_system/aster.py`. Fields are rendered at each piece's own size, with depth bands blurred as smart filters, haze, and a dusk or golden grade.
- **Lights:**
  - **Dusk** is the brand default.
  - **Golden** is for launches and light pieces on cream.
  - **Frost** is for First Frost.
- **The can:** it stands in a clear zone of the field, takes the field's grade, and gets a warm rim light on the side facing the sun.
- **Never:** spices, tea leaves or cups next to asters. No people, celebrities or other brands.

## 7. Copy
- **Tone:** understated, warm, plain. No hype, no "revolutionary," no stacked puns. One idea per line.
- **Tagline:** *Real chai for real moments.*
- **Story line:** *Asters bloom late, when most flowers are done. So does chai season.*
- **Launch headlines** (Phase 4): *Asters wait for fall. So did we.* · *Late in the year. Right on time.* · *The last bloom of the season.*, each with *Our first chai latte is here.*
- **Sampling:** *Try a free sample.* · *Come find us.* · *Free, while they last.* Details stay "TBD" until confirmed.
- **Clarifier:** *Named for a flower, not made from one.*

## 8. Production
- **Formats:** layered PSDs with named groups, live type and adjustment layers, plus a PNG for every piece and a PDF at physical size for every print piece. Logo marks also come as SVG.
- **Large files:** the poster is a **PSB** (large-document PSD), 5400 × 7200 at 300 ppi. The banner is 7200 × 3000 at 100 ppi, the usual large-format resolution.
- **PDFs:** they wrap PhotoCraft's PNG exports (`tools/make_pdf.py`), since PDF save is disabled in automation. Page 1 is print-ready. Pieces with die or fold lines carry them on page 2 and on their own `cutlines` / `fold-guides` groups.
- **Bleed:** none yet, except the cup sticker (1/16 in). Add it per the printer's spec.
- **QR:** the tent card's QR is a gray placeholder box. Generate the real code once the URL exists.
- **Rebuilding:** every piece can be re-generated from `concepts.py`, `marketing.py`, `other.py` and `aster.py`. `00_capabilities.md` lists the PhotoCraft quirks those scripts work around.