CLESSON LAW
Brand guidelines · Draft · Placeholder copy outside color, type and logo
BRAND GUIDELINES · INTERNAL, VENDOR USE

Helping those who help others.

This is the working standard for how CLESSON LAW presents itself: what the brand stands for, the language it uses, and the rules that govern how it looks. It is a living document and the reference of record.

Typefaces
Aukio · Fieldwork Geo · DM Sans
Palette
Ink · Paper · Accent
Lockups
Primary · Reversed · Monogram
Sections
Thirty-one
Contents
01.

Brand foundation

Clesson Law Experiential is a full-service experiential studio. The mission and vision below are fixed language: they set the standard every other page in this document answers to.

Mission

To create human experiences that affect positive change, ignite insight, and inspire genuine connection between people and brands.

Vision

A world where every brand earns its place in memory, not by interrupting life, but by making it richer.

Values
01
Wonder

We chase the moment that makes someone stop and ask, "how did they do that?"

02
Craft

Built by hand where it matters. Nothing generic leaves the shop floor.

03
Execution

Epic ideas mean nothing without perfect delivery. We sweat the load-in.

04
Boldness

No question too hard, no project too small. We say yes, then figure it out.

05
Partnership

We move as one team with our clients. Their win is the only win.

Founded MMXVIThree continentsOne obsession
02.

The core idea

Helping those who help others.

Clesson Law Experiential began with one stubborn idea, that the most powerful marketing isn't seen, it's felt. From a small crew chasing bigger-than-budget ideas, we've grown into a full-service experiential studio staging brand moments across three continents.

We are not an agency that happens to run events. We are storytellers who happen to work in the physical world, turning a vision into a room people walk into, remember, and can't stop talking about.

What it means

The memory is the deliverable. Every decision, from a headline to a truss position, is judged by what it leaves behind.

How to use it

It leads a deck, a proposal or a page. Set it as a display line, never as a caption or a strapline under the logo.

Not this

Do not shorten it to "unforgettable moments", pair it with a second claim, or set it in all caps.

03.

Who we are for

Write to the primary audience unless the brief says otherwise. The secondary audiences read the same material; they are not a reason to soften it.

Primary
Brand and marketing leads

CMOs, brand directors and event leads with a launch, a tour or a flagship moment to land. They carry the risk and they answer for the outcome.

Secondary
Agencies of record

Creative and media partners who need a build partner that will not compete for the idea, and will not miss the date.

Secondary
Venues and production crew

Site teams, fabricators and technical suppliers who read our documents as instructions. Precision matters more than personality here.

04.

Naming and proprietary language

The name is the most commonly broken rule in the system. There is one written form per context, and no house variations.

Display and headlinesCLESSON LAW. — all caps, with the period
Running textClesson Law — title case, no period
Legal and first mentionClesson Law Experiential
Internal shorthandClesson — internal only, never client-facing
NeverClessonLaw · Clesson-Law · clesson law
Proprietary terms

Activation, build, load-in, show day and strike are our working vocabulary. Use them consistently in client documents rather than trading them for softer synonyms.

Project naming

Client, then year, then moment: CLIENT-2026-LAUNCH. No nicknames in files that leave the studio.

Dates

Roman numerals for edition and brand dates, MMXXVI. Arabic numerals everywhere operational: schedules, call sheets, specs.

05.

Messaging framework

Positioning statement

For brands who refuse to be forgotten, CLESSON LAW is the experiential studio that turns products and ideas into moments people live inside. Unlike agencies that rent attention, we design the experiences, and the emotion, that earn it.

Pillar 01
Emotion over impressions

We measure success in feeling, not just footfall. The memory is the metric.

Pillar 02
Built, not booked

Every activation is designed and fabricated from the ground up. No templates.

Pillar 03
Flawless on the day

Big vision, obsessive logistics. We make the impossible look effortless.

Boilerplate · use verbatim

CLESSON LAW is a full-service experiential marketing studio. Through live events, brand activations, and immersive environments, CLESSON LAW connects brands and audiences in ways that matter, staging unforgettable moments across three continents.

One-liner

"The moments brands are remembered for."

Tagline

It always seems impossible until it's done.

The five phrases · set as written, one per piece
01 · The banner
It always seems impossible until it's done.
02 · The outcome
The moments brands are remembered for.
03 · The invitation
Transforming events into experiences.
04 · The method
Experimental, before it was experiential.
05 · The close
Let our strengths be yours.
How to use them

These five carry the brand on their own. Set them in DM Sans Bold, all caps, flush left, with one emphasised clause in Accent, and never more than one of the five on a single piece. Do not reorder the clauses, shorten them, or add a word. "It always seems impossible until it's done." keeps both its beats and, where space allows, its second line.

Boilerplate · three lengths · used verbatim

One line. CLESSON LAW is an experiential marketing studio staging the moments brands are remembered for, across three continents.

Short. CLESSON LAW is a full-service experiential marketing studio. Through live events, brand activations, and immersive environments, CLESSON LAW connects brands and audiences in ways that matter, staging unforgettable moments across three continents.

Long. CLESSON LAW is a full-service experiential marketing studio built on a simple observation: the most powerful marketing isn't seen, it's felt. Founded in MMXVI by a small crew chasing bigger-than-budget ideas, the studio now designs and fabricates live events, brand activations and immersive environments across three continents. Every activation is built from the ground up rather than booked from a template, measured in what an audience remembers rather than how many walked past, and delivered with the logistics to make a large idea look effortless on the day. CLESSON LAW works with brand and marketing leads, agencies of record, and the venues and crews who build alongside them.

06.

Voice principles

Bold, but never loud for its own sake.

Confident

We've done the impossible before. We write like we'll do it again.

Human

We talk to people, not demographics. Warmth over jargon.

Vivid

We paint the moment. Show the goosebumps, don't just claim them.

Fearless

We say yes to the big idea and mean it. No hedging.

07.

Tone by context

Same voice, different register. Set the tone before you write, not after the first draft comes back.

Context Register Sounds like
New business pitchBold, vivid, certain"Let's build something they'll never forget."
Client production notesPlain, precise, warm"Load-in starts 0600. Here's what we need from you."
Social and recapVivid, short, no shouting"Three continents. One room at a time."
Something went wrongDirect, accountable, calm"Here's what happened, and here's the fix."
RecruitmentWarm, honest, unglamorous"The work is hard and the rooms are worth it."
08.

Writing mechanics

The small rules that keep a set of documents looking like one studio wrote them.

Case

Sentence case for headings, sub-titles and buttons. All caps is reserved for the display name, kicker labels and section titles.

Punctuation

Serial comma always. One exclamation mark per document, and only if something genuinely broke. No ellipses as suspense.

Numbers and time

Spell out one to nine in prose, numerals from 10. Twenty-four-hour clock in production documents: 0600, not 6am.

Measure

Body copy sets flush left, ragged right, at 70 characters or fewer. No justification, no centring except on covers.

09.

Words and phrases we use, and don’t use

We say

"Let's build something they'll never forget."

"No question too hard. No project too small."

"It always seems impossible until it's done."

We don't say

"Leverage our synergistic activation solutions."

"We deliver best-in-class brand experiences."

"Let's circle back on the deliverables."

Adjectives we use
Built
Charged
Cinematic
Deliberate
Felt
Human
Immersive
Precise
Staged
Unforgettable
Bold
Crafted
Live
Obsessive
Warm
Adjectives we don’t use
Bespoke
Curated
Disruptive
Elevated
Frictionless
Holistic
Impactful
Innovative
Iconic
Next-level
Premium
Robust
Scalable
Seamless
Synergistic

The left set describes what happened in a room. The right set describes a category. If an adjective could sit in any other studio’s deck, it is not ours.

10.

The logo family

Two members: the primary lockup, with a reversed version for dark grounds, and the monogram. Choose by the space you have, not by preference, and always build from supplied artwork.

Primary lockup on paper
Primary · on paper
Primary lockup reversed
Primary · reversed
Monogram
Monogram
Which one

Primary for anything with room to breathe, reversed on any dark ground. Monogram only where the name already appears on the page, or below the primary’s minimum size.

Artwork colour

The mark's metallic taupe is fixed artwork colour. It is not part of the palette and must not be sampled for type, rules or panels.

11.

Clear space and minimum sizes

Clear space
X
Clear space diagram
X

The mark sits in a square. X equals one quarter of that square's height, held on all four sides. Nothing intrudes: no type, no rule, no image edge, no other logo.

Minimum size
Digital minimum size
Digital · 120px
Print minimum size
Print · 24mm
Mark without the wordmark
Below · mark only

Never smaller than these. Below the minimum, drop to the monogram rather than shrinking the lockup.

EXPERIENTIAL is the first thing to go. Once the lockup falls below 120px on screen or 24mm in print the word closes up and stops being legible, so use the mark on its own instead of setting type that cannot be read.

12.

Logo misuse

Stretched mark
✕ Don't stretch
Recoloured mark
✕ Don't recolor
Rotated mark
✕ Don't rotate
Mark with shadow
✕ No shadows
Blurred mark
✕ No blur or effects
Low contrast mark
✕ No low contrast
13.

Co-branding and partners

On client work the client leads. Our mark appears as the maker's credit, at a size that reads without competing.

Hierarchy

Client mark first, then a 1px divider at the height of the smaller mark, then ours at no more than 70% of the client's cap height.

Credit line

Where a lockup is not appropriate, use the words: "Experience by Clesson Law." Set in Fieldwork Geo, uppercase, 11pt minimum.

Not permitted

Merged marks, our monogram inside a client's lockup, or our accent applied to their identity. Partner sheets need steward sign-off.

Clesson credit mark
Credit line
Experience by Clesson Law
14.

Color family

Paper
Primary ground
HEX #FBFAF7
RGB 251 250 247
CMYK 0 0 2 2
Linen
Secondary ground and panels
HEX #E8E1D0
RGB 232 225 208
CMYK 0 3 10 9
Stone
Rules, borders and fills
HEX #B5A98D
RGB 181 169 141
CMYK 0 7 22 29
Compass
Spot color, one use per layout
HEX #EF650C
RGB 239 101 12
CMYK 0 58 95 6
Ink
Logo and type
HEX #35363A
RGB 53 54 58
CMYK 9 7 0 77
CMYK converted from screen values. Proof before print.
Color ratios · Percent of a typical layout
55
Paper
20
Linen
10
Stone
10
Ink
5
Compass
01

Paper carries most of every layout. Linen and Stone separate content without adding a new color.

02

Compass marks one thing per layout: a button, a number, a single word. Never a large background in everyday use.

03

Ink is for the logo and type. Body copy is never set in Stone or Compass, which fall below readable contrast on Paper.

Paper

Clean and open. Reads as clarity and candour, without the clinical chill of pure white.

Linen

Warm and tactile. Suggests care and a human touch, and softens the formality of law.

Stone

Grounded and steady. Signals permanence and reliability, the qualities clients want in counsel.

Compass

Energy and direction. Orange draws the eye and signals action; used sparingly, it points the way.

Ink

Authority and precision. Gives the word mark its weight and reads as quiet confidence.

15.

Approved color combinations

The ratio

60 Paper · 30 Ink · 10 Accent. The accent is a seasoning, never the meal.

Paper and ink
Default · all documents
Ink and paper
Covers · dividers · hero
Accent and paper
One panel per piece
Accent on ink
Labels and rules only
One accent event

A page gets one accent moment: a rule, a number, a panel or a link colour. Not all four.

Tints are structure

Grays divide and group. They never carry meaning, and they never sit under body copy as a highlight.

Not permitted

Accent on tertiary, tertiary type on paper, gradients of any kind, or a second hue introduced for a single campaign.

16.

Accessibility and contrast

Pair Ratio Approved for
Ink on Paper17.5 : 1Everything, all sizes
Paper on Ink17.5 : 1Everything, all sizes
Accent on Paper3.8 : 1Headings 24px and up, rules, icons. Not body copy.
Paper on Accent4.6 : 1Body copy and up
Secondary on Paper4.9 : 1Supporting copy, captions, labels
Tertiary on Paper1.9 : 1Rules and panel fills only. Never type.
Accent on Ink3.1 : 1Labels and rules only. Never body copy.
Type sizes

16px minimum body on screen, 12pt in print, 24px on a 1920 by 1080 slide. Labels never below 10pt.

Never colour alone

Status, progress and emphasis always carry a label or a shape as well as a colour.

On photography

Check the ratio at the lightest point of the image, not the average. If it fails, use an overlay from section 22.

17.

Light and dark systems

Two grounds, one system. Light is the default for documents and reading; dark is for covers, dividers, environments and anything seen in a dim room.

Light system · default
Paper ground

Ink type, Secondary support copy, Tertiary rules, one accent event. Every rule in this document assumes this ground unless it says otherwise.

Dark system
Ink ground

Paper type, Tertiary support copy, #4A4B50 rules. The accent lightens by one step for labels; it never carries body copy on ink.

18.

Typography

Headline
Aukio
Helping those who help others.
Subheadline
Fieldwork Geo DemiBold
You will always know where you stand.
Body
DM Sans Regular

You spend your working life taking care of everyone else. When the legal questions come, you deserve someone in your corner too. We advise healthcare professionals and healthcare businesses in California, Illinois, and Tennessee.

Type system

The Atlas calls for a serif headline over a clean sans: a pairing that reads legal without reading cold. Aukio carries the Sage, considered and authoritative, the voice of someone who knows the rules. Fieldwork is the typeface behind the HEALTHCARE LAW line, so subheadlines tie straight back to the logo. DM Sans is plain and open, the Everyman's warmth, and keeps long documents easy to read. Three faces in a clear hierarchy.

License

Aukio: to confirm. Fieldwork: Adobe Fonts. DM Sans: Google Fonts

Web preview

Until Aukio and Fieldwork are licensed for web, this document previews them in Newsreader and Outfit.

19.

Type scale and mechanics

The ratio holds: 72 display, 40 heading, 24 sub-head, 17 body. Sizes scale up for large format, but the relationship between them does not change.

Display
Aukio 400 · 72 / 0.9
minus 2% tracking
Impossible
Heading
DM Sans 700 · 40 / 1.05
Until it's done
Sub-head
DM Sans 600 · 24 / 1.3
Accent
Sub-heads carry the second idea
Body
DM Sans 400 · 17 / 1.6
max 70 characters
Body text sets flush left, ragged right. We measure success in feeling, not just footfall: the memory is the metric, and the metric is what we write about.
Kicker / label
Fieldwork Geo · 11 to 12
16% tracking · uppercase
Load-in · 0600 · Hall Two
Caption / footnote
DM Sans 400 · 13
Secondary
Internal figures, MMXXVI. Every published number carries a source and a date.
Alignment

Everything sets flush left, including button labels and display lines. No centring except on covers, and no justification anywhere.

Minimums

16px body on screen, 12pt in print, 24px on a 1920 by 1080 slide. Labels never below 10pt.

Scaling up

For posters and signage, scale the whole ratio rather than the heading alone, and tighten display tracking to minus 3%.

Case

Sentence case for headings and buttons. All caps is reserved for section titles, kicker labels and the display name.

20.

Layout and grid

The structure is visible. Content sits in equal-width cells, sections are separated by 2px rules, and nothing floats: alignment and the weight of the dividers do the organising.

Twelve columns, 1180px maximum measure, 40px outer margin. Cells combine in equal fractions: halves, thirds, quarters, not arbitrary spans. Print documents use the same twelve columns at 0.5in margins; slides use twelve columns across 1920px with 110px margins.

Rules, not boxes

2px Ink between major sections, 1px Tertiary between cells inside one. Content is separated by rules and alignment rather than by containers.

Square corners

Cards, images, inputs and buttons are square. The only rounded object in the system is the app icon, and the platform applies that mask.

Numbered structure

Sequences carry two-digit numbers in Accent at the head of the cell: pillars, values, sections. The count is part of the layout.

Density

Generous vertical space between sections, tight space within them. A page reads as a set of blocks, not a stream.

Spacing scale, in px
4 · 8 · 12 · 16 · 24 · 32 · 40 · 64 · 100

Section padding is 100. Cell padding is 26 to 34. Nothing sits at a value off this scale.

21.

Photography

Cinematic. Charged. A little surreal.

Our brand imagery is stylized and abstract, dramatic light, saturated color, and a charged sense of motion that stands in for feeling itself. We shoot the emotion of an experience, not a literal document of it. High contrast, a little cinematic, unmistakably ours.

Subject

People inside the moment, and the craft that built it: a crew at the load-in, a room filling, a face catching the light.

The grade

High contrast, saturation held, blacks deep but not crushed. Match every image in a set to the first edit.

Cropping

Crop to the grid: images fill their cell exactly, square cornered, no border, no rounding. Full bleed is for covers only.

Not this

Stiff, staged stock. Empty venues shot as proof. Anyone looking at the camera mid-moment. Orange-and-teal grading.

22.

Color overlays

Overlays pair photography with typography. Used on covers and at transitional points, they prepare the reader for a change of content. The sequence is fixed: full color, to black and white, then the color applied on top.

Step 01 · Full color
The graded source file
Step 02 · Black and white
Desaturated, blacks still lifted
Accent overlay
Multiply · 100% opacity
Ink overlay
Multiply · 75% opacity
Two overlays only

Accent and Ink. Secondary and Tertiary are not overlay colours, and two overlays are never combined on one image.

Type on the overlay

Paper or Ink display type only, following the combinations in section 15. Check the ratio at the lightest point of the treated image.

Where they belong

Covers, section dividers and campaign key art. Not in editorial galleries, and never on a photograph of one identifiable guest.

23.

Iconography and graphic elements

Icons

Line only, 1.5px stroke on a 24px grid, round caps, never filled and never two-tone. Ink, Secondary or Accent. Icons label a thing; they never decorate a heading.

Sizes

16px inline, 20px in buttons, 24px in a list, 40px as a section marker. Aligned to the text baseline, never floating above it.

Emoji

Not part of the system. Not in marketing copy, not in the product, not in notifications.

Set sample 01
Set sample 02
Set sample 03
Set sample 04
The triangle as a graphic element
Progress rules
Build 07 of 1262%

Square ends, Accent fill on a Tertiary track, always labelled with the count as well as the percentage.

The nested field

The nested triangle of the mark may be used as a divider or a repeating field, in Ink, Accent and Tertiary, always upright and never at logo scale.

Not permitted

The full logo as a background pattern, the triangle rotated or inverted, the nesting in a gradient, or a fourth triangle added to the set.

24.

Interface and components

Buttons
Primary action
Secondary action
Text action

Square, 44px minimum height, label in sentence case. One primary per view.

Tags and labels
Confirmed In build On hold

Fieldwork Geo, uppercase, one word where possible. Status always carries a word, never a colour alone.

Form fields
Venue
Hall Two
Load-in
0600

1px Tertiary border, Accent on focus. Labels above the field, never inside it as a placeholder.

25.

Applications

Where the system meets the world. Each application uses the same grid, the same three faces and the same ratio: only the scale changes.

Proposals and decks

Ink cover with the display line, then light interior pages. 24px minimum type on a 1920 by 1080 slide.

On-site signage

Wayfinding in Aukio caps, Ink on Paper. Read at six metres before it reads as brand.

Social and recap

Photography first, one line of type, square lockup in the corner at 70% of clear space.

Crew credentials

Square lockup, role in Fieldwork Geo caps, name in DM Sans Bold. Ink ground so it reads in a dark venue.

Email signature

Text only: name, role, then "Clesson Law Experiential". No image, no banner, no quotation.

Documents

Primary lockup top left, edition and date top right in Fieldwork Geo, 0.5in margins on the twelve-column grid.

26.

Merchandise and apparel

Crew kit is working clothing, not merchandise. It reads as one team on site and it survives a strike.

Crew tee

Ink garment, monogram left chest at 70mm, screen print in Paper.

Cap

Monogram only, embroidered, 45mm wide. No wordmark at this size.

Crew jacket

Primary lockup across the back at 240mm, role in Fieldwork Geo caps on the front.

Phone case

Accent shell, primary lockup centred in Paper at 22mm wide. Accent is permitted here because the case is an object, not a garment.

Garment colours

Ink and Paper only. No heather, no navy, no accent-coloured garments.

Minimums

Embroidery never below 45mm wide; below that the nesting closes up. Screen print no finer than 1.5pt.

Not permitted

All-over prints, slogans, client logos on our kit, or the mark on anything disposable.

27.

Motion and video

Considered. Never flashy.

Motion moves like a well-run show, confident, weighted, and always with intent. One easing curve, two durations: energy without chaos.

Ease
cubic-bezier(.22, 1, .36, 1)
Duration
UI transitions, 220ms
Page and hero, 480ms
Feel
Fade and rise · no bounce
Video grade

Same grade as photography: high contrast, saturation held. Cut on the beat of the room, not the music.

Titles

Aukio caps, flush left, held for two seconds minimum. Fade and rise 480ms, never a wipe or a slide.

End frame

Primary lockup on Ink, held three seconds, silent. No URL crawl, no social row, no music sting.

28.

Asset index and naming

One naming pattern for every file that leaves the studio: Clesson_asset_variant_ground.ext.

File Formats Status
Clesson_lockup_primary_paperPNGIn hand
Clesson_lockup_primary_inkPNGIn hand
Clesson_lockup_square_inkPNGIn hand
Clesson_monogram_paperPNGIn hand
Clesson_mark_pridePNG · JPG · PDFIn hand
Clesson_lockup_all_vectorAI · EPS · SVGNeeded
Clesson_icons_setSVGNeeded
Clesson_photography_masterJPG · TIFFNeeded
Case and separators

Lowercase throughout after the Clesson prefix, underscores between parts, no spaces and no dates in the filename.

Versions

Version at the end, two digits: _v02. Never "final", never "FINAL_final".

Source of truth

The asset library is the only source. Files pulled from a deck or an email are not approved artwork.

29.

Governance

The brand is a living system, keep it running.

Brand steward

Brand & Experience Studio. Approves any use outside these pages.

Asset library

Logos, fonts & templates
brand.lacymaxwell.com

Questions

info@lacymaxwell.com
We answer within two days.

Do
Lead with the emotion, then the logo.
Design every touchpoint for the room it lives in.
Keep the accent to roughly 10% of any layout.
Photograph in real, available light.
Say yes to the bold idea, then deliver it.
Don't
Fill every margin because it's empty.
Stack bold, italic, and color at once.
Flood a layout in accent color.
Use stiff, staged stock photography.
Shout with exclamation marks.
Edition

This is Edition One, MMXXVI. The document is versioned as a whole; sections are not versioned separately.

Review

Reviewed twice a year, and after any campaign that introduces a new application.

Exceptions

An exception is a decision, not a precedent. It is recorded here or it does not exist.

30.

Seasonal marks

Pride mark
Pride mark · MMXXIII artwork
Rules for seasonal use

Seasonal marks are approved per campaign, per year. They replace the monogram, never the primary lockup, and only inside the window they were made for.

Every seasonal use needs the brand steward's sign-off before it ships. Do not recolour, extend, or reuse last year's artwork.

31.

Open items

Written but not yet supplied. Each line names what is missing and who closes it.

Item Owner Note
Vector mastersBrand stewardAll lockups are PNG only. AI or EPS needed for print and fabrication.
Brand photographyStudioSection 21 has twelve slots and section 22 four. Drops persist once made.
Icon setDesignThe rule is written; the drawn set does not exist yet.
Print specificationsProductionStocks, finishes, spot builds and large-format tolerances.
Merch photographyProductionSection 26 specifies the kit; the garments have not been shot.
Partner sheetBrand stewardSection 13 needs approved client lockup pairs, per account.
TemplatesDesignDeck, proposal and social templates built on the section 20 grid.
CLESSON LAW
Experiential Marketing Studio · Brand Guidelines MMXXVI · A living document
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