Guru

Official Websites

• https://www.getguru.com

Brand Guidelines

2018

Brand Summary

Mission

• To connect emotionally with users and prospects, stand out in the marketplace, and deliver a memorable, consistent experience that wins business and creates life-long advocates. The brand aims to be authentic, appealing to all senses, and more than just a logo and colors [^1].

Core Values

• We don’t take ourselves too seriously
• We got grit
• We don’t ‘give back.’ We give first
• We measure accomplishments, not hours worked
• We create advocates
• We’re marathoners, not sprinters
• We’re transparent

Target Audience

• Customers and prospects who have choices in the marketplace, seeking a brand that connects emotionally, stands out, and delivers consistent, memorable experiences [^2].

Personality Traits

• Empowering
• Witty
• Assertive
• Human
• Conversational
• Funny
• Empathetic
• Knowledgeable

Visual Identity Overview

• Guru’s visual identity is colorful, fun, and playful but not immature. It uses deliberate color palettes, real human photography, custom illustrations, and diagrams to accentuate points. The brand stands out from competitors, prefers diagrams over words, and puts real humans at the forefront. Typography is friendly and simple, and the logo is welcoming and used consistently. Visual assets are designed to be beautiful, different, and purposeful [^3].

Categories

Brand Voice

• Our brand has one voice. From tweets to pitches, from associates to the leadership team, we sound unique and recognizable. Whether our users are reading or listening, we make their takeaway clear and consistent—and, where possible, we do it in a way that puts a smile on their faces.
• We strive to empower, not overpower. We meet our customers where they are, and first and foremost, we listen. When it is our turn to speak, our key messages come from a place of empathy and action—but we’re not here to steamroll, fist-pump, or dominate conversations with the Guru-Story.
• We’re witty when appropriate, and never crass. Our brand is funny. We take pride in making every interaction a bright spot in someone’s day. We’ll push the boundaries, we’ll make pop culture references, we’ll use GIFs and memes. We won’t crowd out the message with our jokes and we’ll never make light of a serious situation.
• We’re assertive—not too passive and not too arrogant. Our message is one of empathy and empowerment. We care deeply about our users and we’re passionate about helping them succeed at work. It’s great to be passionate, assertive, and knowledgeable. It’s not great to be an asshole about it. We’re more of a Marshall than a Barney. #HIMYM
• We’re human and conversational in our tone. When writing or speaking: less is always more. Keep it brief and keep it human. We leverage AI, but we’re focused on making humans better at their jobs, not replacing them, so let’s leave the vector-talk to our data scientists. Jargon is a dirty word around here, and for the love of all that is the Guru brand, please do not refer to a phone call as “a buzz.”

Brand Imagery

• We look fun and playful but not immature or incompetent.
• Our brand is super colorful. But it can go from colorful and fun to “my eyes, they burn” realllll fast. We’re using our colors very deliberately because of this. We stick to one or two colors as our base and use the rest of the palette with a light hand. This way, we can use our fun and playful colors without looking like we’re selling enterprise software to toddlers.
• We stand out from the crowd, but we’re not distracting.
• Images/ illustrations have many purposes. First and foremost, they should be used as a way to accentuate a point or help the user understand what we’re trying to tell them. They can also be used slightly more arbitrarily to give something a little extra “pizazz” or polish.
• We should put real humans at the forefront.
• Our message is one of empathy: we’re here to help, we’re here to empower you and we’re definitely not here to replace you with a bot. We use photography in our brand to show what we do: help human beings. We’re working towards on amazing in-house photography program that will enable us to be less reliant on stock photos-but fear not, in the meantime we won’t be using any ole’ generic stock photos-and all of our photos get the “Guru Treatment.”
• We prefer diagrams and illustrations over words.
• Words are hard. When possible, let’s break down a complicated concept by showing our users or prospects simple illustrations or diagrams.
• All customer head shots get this “Guru treatment. All customers who have already gotten the “Guru treatment” are in the Drive, and if you need us to apply the treatment to someone’s headshot: no biggie! Just send us a high-res version of their headshot and we’ll take care of the rest.
• We’re going for a dramatic black and white look with these-but we’ll hook you up with a color version as well. What are you waiting for? Schedule yours today. Also, we can’t make any promises that we won’t cut your head out and use it on marketing materials.

Color Palette

• It is essential that our use of color be consistent across all applications of use. Guru Green is our primary brand color and we should use it as often as we can to help drive consistent feel across communications. Colors from our supporting (and extended) palette should be used to assist delivery of our fun, vibrant personality-but a lot of colors crammed into one space can feel a bit overwhelming and childish. We stick to monochromatic color schemes and have introduced gradients to lighten things up while still maintaining our fun and different feel.
• All of our PMS colors, HEX codes, and RGB / CMYK values are located here
• Say “hi” to our primary logotype. It’s very GURU frrendly and welcoming. This is the dearest embodiment of the brand visually. All internal/external communications should Main logo mark without text incorporate use of the logotype. The Min 25 px space around primary logo is a single color-use only Guru Green is our flagship color, if Green doesn’t Green when on a white background, or work, use white or navy blue. white when on a colored background. Black/ gray colored versions are acceptable for GURU G getguru.com use in situations when color is not available.
• The logo’s orientation should always be Don’t go smaller than this guy horizontal for best readability. (.25in for print) taglines are fun* but get that shit pre-approved by marketing plz n’ thnx All of our logos are located here. They are organized in the following way: RGB logos In PNG format (for use on screens with a transparent background) GURU GU R U CMYK logos in JPEG format (for print applications, reminder: the colors won’t be as birght in CMYK .as they are in RGB) Main logo mark with text G Logo G Logo in shape PMS logos: for vendor use when specified Taglines in Navy this lil guy is great for small spaces or things this lil guy is great for small spaces or things FF mark bold for main tagline that are obviously already branded as Guru that are obviously already branded as Guru EPS files: for designers and vendor use when specified FF mark regular for secondary tagline Can be used with or w/o Tagline Can be used with or w/o Tagline Taglines should be about 1/3 the height of the logo. Should only be used in Guru Green or White. Should only be used in Guru Green or White
• green: PMS 338U RGB 0,214,161 CMYK 67,0,53,0 HEX# 00D6A1
• navy: PMS 280U RGB 0,28,77 CMYK 100,92,36,43 HEX# 001C4D
• Solid colors are great for text, but big blocks of them can look a bit clunky and childish. Try using gradients at low opacities and halftone patterns to break things up. A gradient at 100% works really well as a thin line but proves to be overpowering when it’s in a big shape.
• Pink represents “Stale or out of date” knowledge in our product, so we try to use it to represent negative things in our brand. You’ll often see us use pink to represent the problems that someone had before they got Guru.
• 2Eck■ PMS 243U • ZEE°2"”" RGB 252,194,214 CMYK 40,89,32,7 CMYK 0,30,1,0 CMYK 0,96,32,0 HEX# 9A3C6F HEX# FCCID6 HEX# FFIA6E
• Navy color family This a neutral state. Neither good or evil.
• 2EE :.._ • CEZ". CMYK 100,92,36,43 CMYK16,24,0,0 CMYK 83,82,0,0 HEX# 001C4D HEX# D5C2FC HEX# 4536C4
• Our Green & Yellow color family represents the Guru Solution. You’ll often see it used in decks to show Guru solved someone’s problem.
• 2:SA PMS 100U PMS 351U RGB 255,224,102 RGB 138, 245, 217 CMYK 0,214,161,7 CMYK 1,9,72,0 CMYK 39,0,25,0 HEX# 00D6A1 HEX# FFE066 HEX# 89F4D8
• Our brand is super colorful. But it can go from colorful and fun to “my eyes, they burn” realllll fast. We’re using our colors very deliberately because of this. We stick to one or two colors as our base and use the rest of the palette with a light hand. This way, we can use our fun and playful colors without looking like we’re selling enterprise software to toddlers.

Typography

• Our Typography is friendly, simple, and beautiful. The main typeface we use is called FF Mark. It is available in Bold and Regular width. FF Mark should be used whenever possible—but it is mostly available in off-line applications. When using an online application such as Google slides our preferred typeface is Monsterrat.
• All of our brand fonts are located in the G-drive here.
• Montserrat is a Google font and is automatically available in your web-based applications.
• FF Mark For designers!
• FF Mark Bold, 24 pts
• Great for headlines! We use this in lowercase or sentence case—never in all caps.
• FF Mark Regular, 16 pts
• Great for Body copy. Please do not go below 10 pts on copy that you want people to be able to read. ;)
• Montserrat Bold, 24 pts
• UPPERCASE IS SCARY AND AGGRESSIVE.
• Please use sentence case. Ahh, that feels better.
• Montserrat Light, 16 pts

Logo Usage

• Say “hi” to our primary logotype. It’s very GURU frrendly and welcoming. This is the dearest embodiment of the brand visually. All internal/external communications should incorporate use of the logotype.
• The primary logo is a single color-use only Guru Green when on a white background, or white when on a colored background. Black/ gray colored versions are acceptable for use in situations when color is not available.
• The logo’s orientation should always be horizontal for best readability. (.25in for print)
• Min 25 px space around main logo mark without text
• Don’t go smaller than this guy (.25in for print)
• Guru Green is our flagship color, if Green doesn’t work, use white or navy blue.
• All of our logos are located here. They are organized in the following way: RGB logos In PNG format (for use on screens with a transparent background) CMYK logos in JPEG format (for print applications, reminder: the colors won’t be as birght in CMYK .as they are in RGB) PMS logos: for vendor use when specified EPS files: for designers and vendor use when specified
• Taglines should be about 1/3 the height of the logo. Should only be used in Guru Green or White.
• taglines are fun* but get that shit pre-approved by marketing plz n’ thnx

Tone And Messaging

• Our brand has one voice. From tweets to pitches, from associates to the leadership team, we sound unique and recognizable. Whether our users are reading or listening, we make their takeaway clear and consistent—and, where possible, we do it in a way that puts a smile on their faces.
• We strive to empower, not overpower. We meet our customers where they are, and first and foremost, we listen. When it is our turn to speak, our key messages come from a place of empathy and action—but we’re not here to steamroll, fist-pump, or dominate conversations with the Guru-Story.
• We’re witty when appropriate, and never crass. Our brand is funny. We take pride in making every interaction a bright spot in someone’s day. We’ll push the boundaries, we’ll make pop culture references, we’ll use GIFs and memes. We won’t crowd out the message with our jokes and we’ll never make light of a serious situation.
• We’re assertive—not too passive and not too arrogant. Our message is one of empathy and empowerment. We care deeply about our users and we’re passionate about helping them succeed at work. It’s great to be passionate, assertive, and knowledgeable. It’s not great to be an asshole about it. We’re more of a Marshall than a Barney. #HIMYM
• We’re human and conversational in our tone. When writing or speaking: less is always more. Keep it brief and keep it human. We leverage AI, but we’re focused on making humans better at their jobs, not replacing them, so let’s leave the vector-talk to our data scientists. Jargon is a dirty word around here, and for the love of all that is the Guru brand, please do not refer to a phone call as “a buzz.”

Brand Values

• These are our Core Values. We (lovingly) created these to define and refine our culture. (We wanted to put that “Guru­glow” into words.) These illustrations represent each core value and can be used wherever that core value is being referenced. You’ll find these guys on the G-drive and they’re (of course) available in Guru.
• Our core value illustrations are located in the G-drive here.
• We don’t take ourselves too seriously
• We got grit
• We don’t “give back.” We give first
• We measure accomplishments, not hours worked
• We create advocates
• marathoners, We’re not sprinters
• transparent We’re

Visual Style

• Our brand is not about beating people over the head with our logo. We see every ask as an opportunity to create something that serves a purpose and Look is beautiful and different. We’re the neon in a sea of tech-company-blues. +Feel We don’t look like other companies, we know that, and (say it with me) 66 that’s a GOOD THING. There are three responses to a piece of design -yes, no, and WOW! Wow is the one to aim for. Milton Glaser
• We look fun and playful but not immature or incompetent.
• Our brand is super colorful. But it can go from colorful and fun to “my eyes, they burn” realllll fast. We’re using our colors very deliberately because of this. We stick to one or two colors as our base and use the rest of the palette with a light hand. This way, we can use our fun and playful colors without looking like we’re selling enterprise software to toddlers.
• We stand out from the crowd, but we’re not distracting.
• Images/ illustrations have many purposes. First and foremost, they should be used as a way to accentuate a point or help the user understand what we’re trying to tell them. They can also be used slightly more arbitrarily to give something a little extra “pizazz” or polish.
• We should put real humans at the forefront.
• Our message is one of empathy: we’re here to help, we’re here to empower you and we’re definitely not here to replace you with a bot. We use photography in our brand to show what we do: help human beings. We’re working towards on amazing in-house photography program that will enable us to be less reliant on stock photos-but fear not, in the meantime we won’t be using any ole’ generic stock photos-and all of our photos get the “Guru Treatment.”
• We prefer diagrams and illustrations over words.
• Words are hard. When possible, let’s break down a complicated concept by showing our users or prospects simple illustrations or diagrams.
• It is essential that our use of color be consistent across all applications of use. Guru Green is our primary brand color and we should use it as often as we can to help drive consistent feel across communications. Colors from our supporting (and extended) palette should be used to assist delivery of our fun, vibrant personality-but a lot of colors crammed into one space can feel a bit overwhelming and childish. We stick to monochromatic color schemes and have introduced gradients to lighten things up while still maintaining our fun and different feel.
• All of our PMS colors, HEX codes, and RGB / CMYK values are located here
• Solid colors are great for text, but big blocks of them can look a bit clunky and childish. Try using gradients at low opacities and halftone patterns to break things up. A gradient at 100% works really well as a thin line but proves to be overpowering when it’s in a big shape.
• Pink represents “Stale or out of date” knowledge in our product, so we try to use it to represent negative things in our brand. You’ll often see us use pink to represent the problems that someone had before they got Guru.
• This navy should be used for text going forward
• green: PMS 338U RGB 0,214,161 CMYK 67,0,53,0 HEX# 00D6A1
• navy: PMS 280U RGB 0,28,77 CMYK 100,92,36,43 HEX# 001C4D
• Pink: PMS 243U RGB 252,194,214 CMYK 40,89,32,7 HEX# FCCID6
• Yellow: PMS 100U RGB 255,224,102 CMYK 0,214,161,7 HEX# FFE066
• Green: PMS 351U RGB 138, 245, 217 CMYK 1,9,72,0 HEX# 89F4D8
• Our Typography is friendly, simple, and beautiful. The main typeface we use is called FF Mark. It is available in Bold and Regular width. FF Mark should be used whenever possible—but it is mostly available in off-line applications. When using an online application such as Google slides our preferred typeface is Monsterrat.
• FF Mark Bold, 24 pts Great for headlines! We use this in lowercase or sentence case—never in all caps.
• FF Mark Regular, 16 pts Great for Body copy. Please do not go below 10 pts on copy that you want people to be able to read. ;)
• Montserrat Bold, 24 pts Great for headlines! We use this in lowercase or sentence case—never in all caps.
• UPPERCASE IS SCARY AND AGGRESSIVE. Please use sentence case. Ahh, that feels better.
• Montserrat Light, 16 pts Great for Body copy. Please do not go below 10 pts on copy that you want people to be able to read. ;)

Iconography

• imple is best-de don’t combir ine these with othe er illustrations s (c or each other.) D on t use ’ these with I arge amou unts of text -Success White-space e is our friend. -All of our Icons blo o.a .C72.°°*-°nw» are -drive here. A shared .Al file is av “#"*le for designers na wu 6e »paa__Imonthly with recent imagery.

Layout And Composition

• We stick to one or two colors as our base and use the rest of the palette with a light hand. This way, we can use our fun and playful colors without looking like we’re selling enterprise software to toddlers.
• Images/ illustrations have many purposes. First and foremost, they should be used as a way to accentuate a point or help the user understand what we’re trying to tell them. They can also be used slightly more arbitrarily to give something a little extra “pizazz” or polish.
• We use photography in our brand to show what we do: help human beings. We’re working towards on amazing in-house photography program that will enable us to be less reliant on stock photos—but fear not, in the meantime we won’t be using any ole’ generic stock photos—and all of our photos get the “Guru Treatment.”
• When possible, let’s break down a complicated concept by showing our users or prospects simple illustrations or diagrams.
• For a sales deck, you might want to dial down any illustrations that could be confusing for people and use illustrations that communicate the value that Guru brings to the table. Talking points on a sales deck should be the product, not the artwork in the deck.
• Alternatively, we think it’s great to get a little weird on our blog. We want this content to be interesting, different and beautiful. We’ll stay on brand, but we’ll feel free to be a little more experimental in this space.
• White-space is our friend.
• The logo’s orientation should always be horizontal for best readability. (.25in for print)
• Min 25 px space around primary logo is a single color-use only
• Don’t go smaller than this guy (.25in for print)
• Taglines should be about 1/3 the height of the logo. Should only be used in Guru Green or White.
• Solid colors are great for text, but big blocks of them can look a bit clunky and childish. Try using gradients at low opacities and halftone patterns to break things up. A gradient at 100% works really well as a thin line but proves to be overpowering when it’s in a big shape.
• FF Mark Bold, 24 pts Great for headlines! We use this in lowercase or sentence case—never in all caps.
• FF Mark Regular, 16 pts Great for Body copy. Please do not go below 10 pts on copy that you want people to be able to read. ;)
• Montserrat Bold, 24 pts Great for headlines! We use this in lowercase or sentence case—never in all caps.
• Montserrat Light, 16 pts Great for Body copy. Please do not go below 10 pts on copy that you want people to be able to read. ;)
• UPPERCASE IS SCARY AND AGGRESSIVE. Please use sentence case. Ahh, that feels better.
• imple is best-de don’t combir ine these with othe er illustrations s (c or each other.) D on t use ’ these with I arge amou unts of text -Success White-space e is our friend.
• This lives in Google Slides and can be used to create custom decks. Follow directions and you’ll be on your way to beautiful slides in no time! This isn’t permission to go totally rogue-still use the custom created decks as they were intended to be used. Please and thanks.

Emotional Intelligence

• Our brand is emotionally intelligent
• Our brand adapts and reacts just like a good person. Just because we’re a casual, fun-loving brand doesn’t mean we show up to enterprise sales meetings in crusty footwear.
• Our brand will need to change and evolve as we move up-market. We’ll be authentic to who we are, but there might be situations that require a little more poise and a little less pizazz. We’ve developed the “slider-system” to tackle this. The idea is that we can dial up or dial down certain elements of our brand depending on the situation we’re in. The following page outlines some examples—but we’ll ask you to judge each situation as it comes.
• For an enterprise sales call, you might want to dial down the empathy and dial up the empowerment because you’re probably speaking with decision makers-not the people on the front lines. Alternatively, when you’re speaking at a conference for support leaders, you’ll probably want to dial up the empathy: remember, we’re not trying to replace them with robots.
• We strive to empower, not overpower. We meet our customers where they are, and first and foremost, we listen. When it is our turn to speak, our key messages come from a place of empathy and action—but we’re not here to steamroll, fist-pump, or dominate conversations with the Guru-Story.
• We’re assertive—not too passive and not too arrogant. Our message is one of empathy and empowerment. We care deeply about our users and we’re passionate about helping them succeed at work. It’s great to be passionate, assertive, and knowledgeable. It’s not great to be an asshole about it. We’re more of a Marshall than a Barney. #HIMYM
• We’re human and conversational in our tone. When writing or speaking: less is always mare. Keep it brief and keep it human. We leverage Al, but we’re focused on making humans better at their jobs, not replacing them, so let’s leave the vector-talk to our data scientists. Jargon is a dirty word around here, and for the love of all that is the Guru brand, please do not refer to a phone call as “a buzz.”

Video Guidelines

• No one wants to watch something that’s not entertaining.
• Concise. Behind closed doors we often say “keep it simple, stupid.” We don’t try to tell our entire story in one video. We decide on one or two primary takeaways and use those as our guiding light, cutting anything that feels extraneous. We aim to create videos that are between 30 seconds and 3 minutes. Drop off rate is real y’all.
• Informal. We want our videos to feel like us: approachable and fun. We don’t see the value in creating videos that are status quo. We want to tell our story in a memorable way that puts a smile on someone’s face.
• Character Driven. We put real people first. When we’re telling customer stories, we use our actual customers—sometimes this requires some coaching, and sometimes, when we’re really lucky, they were born to star in a Guru short film. When we’re doing product videos we use members of our Guru team. If you’ve been waiting for your big break, volunteer! There’s almost always good snacks on set.
• We’re working towards producing one video / month. They’re located here!

Headshot Guidelines

• Want a dope-ass on-brand headshot? Of course you do. (And if you’re customer facing, it’s required ;)) Our headshots have a unique style. To get one, schedule an appointment during our “Headshot office hours” -they’re from 3:30 -4:00 on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. Ok, we know: it’s only a half-hour, but “Office Half-Hour” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
• All of our customer headshots are located in the G-drive here.
• All of our employee headshots are located in the G-drive here.
• All customer head shots get this “Guru treatment. All customers who have already gotten the “Guru treatment” are in the Drive, and if you need us to apply the treatment to someone’s headshot: no biggie! Just send us a high-res version of their headshot and we’ll take care of the rest.
• We’re going for a dramatic black and white look with these-but we’ll hook you up with a color version as well. What are you waiting for? Schedule yours today. Also, we can’t make any promises that we won’t cut your head out and use it on marketing materials.

Swag Guidelines

• This is all of our current swag. To place a swag request, please follow the process outlined on this Guru Card. We encourage you to give swag out freely-but let’s be smart about it. One T-shirt/ dog.
• Learn more about how to request swag here.

Media Kit Guidelines

• The Media Kit is located here and includes approved bios and headshots of our leadership team. It also includes shots of our offices, events, candids of Guru employees. These images have all been approved for use. Go nuts. If someone outside the company is writing a blog post or wants assets-send them here.
• The Media Kit is located in the G-drive here.

Custom Images Guidelines

• Got a big deal in the works or just a great idea for a current customer? We love this stuff. Unfortunately this work doesn’t always line up with our priorities. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask. We’ll try to do what we can and we’ll at least point you in the direction of something that could work.
• Help! I need a custom image for
• yea. that’s gonna be a hard no from me dawg.
• -disgruntled designer.

Slide Deck Guidelines

• This lives in Google Slides and can be used to create custom decks. Follow directions and you’ll be on your way to beautiful slides in no time! This isn’t permission to go totally rogue-still use the custom created decks as they were intended to be used. Please and thanks.
• All of our slide decks and templates located in the G-drive here.
• For a sales deck, you might want to dial down any illustrations that could be confusing for people and use illustrations that communicate the value that Guru brings to the table. Talking points on a sales deck should be the product, not the artwork in the deck.

Business Card Guidelines

• First step: headshot. Then you can get these totally baller biz cards. Best part: They’re not all the same. Just like all of us, there’s a healthy variety. Fill out this google doc with your details, be on the lookout for your “proof” -this is we’ll send this to your email after we mock up your cards. Double check the spelling of your name and your phone number etc.
• The google form you need to fill out to request biz cards is here.
• General Biz Card 2.25” Sq Front and back
• Philadelphia San Francisco and anywhere you work.
• learn more at getguru.com
• Our business cards feature your fancy new headshots because we’re all about the humans here. Keeps things interesting and feels more personal. 3.3” x 2.16 Becca Dierolf Brand Designer rdierolf@getguru.com 215.555.1234 back 3.3" x 2.16"
• It’s hard to forget a person when you have a card with their face on it.