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RF — TFW-27 / Phase A: Brand Identity & Logo

Date: 2026-04-08 Author: Executor Status: 🟢 RF — Complete Parent HL: HL__PhaseA__brand_identity.md TS: TS__PhaseA__brand_identity.md

1. What Was Done

New Files

File Description
docs/brand/identity.md Brand guidelines: DNA, character, values (6), logo usage rules (3 contexts), color palette (8 hex values), typography (Inter + JetBrains Mono), voice & tone guidelines with examples
docs/brand/logo.png TFW monogram — bold charcoal (#1a1a2e) continuous-line letterform with 3 teal (#0d9488) checkpoint nodes. Circuit-board aesthetic. Generated from concept 2 reference
docs/brand/favicon.png Simplified TFW mark for browser tab, derived from logo
docs/overrides/stylesheets/extra.css Custom CSS: teal color variables (light + dark mode), heading weight/tracking, charcoal H1, teal link colors with hover states, header logo sizing, table header backgrounds

Modified Files

File Changes
docs/mkdocs.yml site_name → "Trace-First Workflow", added site_description, custom_dir: overrides, logo: brand/logo.png, favicon: brand/favicon.png, font: {text: Inter, code: JetBrains Mono}, palette primary: teal / accent: teal (was indigo), added extra_css
README.md Hero section (lines 1-7) replaced with English vision statement: "Imagine a product that knows more about itself..." → "Because knowledge is power." Title simplified to "Trace-First Workflow" (was "Trace-First Workflow (TFW) — Canonical Starter"). Task board row for TFW-27 updated to 🟢 RF with ONB link

2. Key Decisions

  1. PNG logo instead of SVG. User approved using PNG directly (image generation outputs raster). Material theme renders PNG logos. File named logo.png. Vector version noted as future deliverable in brand guidelines.
  2. Concept 2 (bold monogram) as logo direction. User selected the bolder, thicker-stroke variant with stronger circuit-board character from 2026-04-08_13-28.png.
  3. CSS uses Material theme variables. Custom CSS overrides --md-primary-fg-color and --md-accent-fg-color with exact TFW hex values, layered on top of Material's named primary: teal. This gives precise control without fighting the framework.
  4. Kept site_url and repo_url empty. ONB recommended filling repo_url, but it's technically outside TS scope. Left for Phase C or TFW-28.

3. Acceptance Criteria

  • [x] Logo PNG at docs/brand/logo.png — two-color monogram, renders in docs header
  • [x] Favicon at docs/brand/favicon.png — renders in browser tab
  • [x] Color palette applied — teal primary, not indigo
  • [x] Inter font configured in docs (headings + body text via mkdocs.yml font.text: Inter)
  • [x] Dark mode toggle works with teal palette (two palette entries in mkdocs.yml with scheme: default / scheme: slate)
  • [x] docs/brand/identity.md contains full brand guidelines (DNA, character, 6 values, palette 8 hex values, typography, logo usage 3 contexts, voice & tone with examples)
  • [x] README.md hero section has English vision statement (13 lines of blockquote, "Imagine a product..." → "Because knowledge is power.")
  • [x] mkdocs build passes without errors (exit code 0, 10.88s build time)

4. Verification

  • Build (python -m mkdocs build -f docs/mkdocs.yml): ✅ Pass (exit code 0)
  • INFO messages: Pre-existing absolute link warnings (TD-72/74 scope — Phase B). No new warnings from Phase A changes.
  • No --strict flag used (TD-74 fix is Phase B scope per TS §2 Out of Scope).

5. Observations (out-of-scope, not modified)

# File Line(s) Type Description
1 docs/mkdocs.yml 3-4 todo site_url and repo_url remain empty strings. Should be set before deployment (TFW-28)
2 docs/index.md 1-6 ux Still shows placeholder "This page is auto-generated by the TFW documentation pipeline." Phase C will redesign this into a curated landing page

6. Fact Candidates

# Category Candidate Source Confidence
1 convention TFW brand formula: Knowledge → Continuity → Power. Brand archetype: Architect × Guardian × Strategist. These define the project's visual and verbal identity going forward HL TFW-27/A §5, user via ChatGPT brand session High
2 convention Logo is PNG (raster), not SVG. Vector version is a future deliverable. Material theme accepts both formats equivalently ONB Q1 answer, user decision High
3 process mkdocs build must be invoked from project root with -f docs/mkdocs.yml flag, not from inside docs/. Running from docs/ triggers "docs_dir should not be parent of config" error due to docs_dir: . configuration Build verification, session discovery High

RF — TFW-27 / Phase A: Brand Identity & Logo | 2026-04-08