Brand Guide — v2
Pecan Valley
Resort
Black as the primary brand color, gray as the secondary, white as the field. A restrained, high-contrast system built to carry signage, marketing, and wayfinding without competing with the amenities themselves.
Color Palette
Three colors, clearly ranked. Black leads — logo, headlines, key structure. Gray supports — secondary text, dividers, "coming soon" states. White is the field every sign sits on.
Black
#161513
Logo, headlines, sign frames, posts
Black Soft
#262420
Shadow tone, panel backgrounds
Gray
#6E6A63
Body copy, dividers, icon strokes
Gray Pale
#E6E2D9
"Coming soon" fills, map zones
White
#FBFAF6
Sign field, negative space, reversed type
Print Color Specs
Hex is a screen value only. Anything going to a fabricator, printer, or vinyl cutter needs CMYK (process print) or a Pantone spot match — otherwise "black" and the grays can drift or print muddy depending on the shop.
| Color | Hex | CMYK | Pantone (approx.) | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | #161513 | 0 / 5 / 14 / 91 | Black 6 C | Logo, headlines, frames, posts |
| Black Soft | #262420 | 0 / 5 / 16 / 85 | Black 6 C, 85% tint | Shadow tone, panel backgrounds |
| Gray | #6E6A63 | 0 / 4 / 10 / 57 | Cool Gray 10 C | Body copy, dividers, icon strokes |
| Gray Pale | #E6E2D9 | 0 / 2 / 6 / 10 | Cool Gray 1 C | "Coming soon" fills, map zones |
| White | #FBFAF6 | 0 / 0 / 2 / 2 | Uncoated stock / substrate white | Sign field, negative space |
CMYK values above are converted from the screen hex and are a starting point, not a guarantee — always confirm against a physical Pantone bridge book or a printed proof before a full production run, since output shifts by substrate (vinyl, Dibond, coroplast) and by printer.
Rich black vs. text black: for large solid black fields (flag backgrounds, sign frames, panel headers), specify a rich black build — roughly C 60 / M 40 / Y 40 / K 100 — for better density and to avoid a washed-out, grayish black. For body text and fine linework, use K-only (0/0/0/100) so small type doesn't blur from registration shift.
Logo Lockup
Wordmark only, set in Poppins 600, tight tracking. No color version needed — the mark works in black-on-white or white-on-black exclusively.
Typography
Poppins carries every headline and wayfinding label — legible at distance, no color needed to feel branded. Roboto handles supporting copy, hours, and fine print.
Display — Poppins 600
Coming Soon
Body — Roboto 400 / 500
Golf Simulators · Pickleball · Weight Room
Icon Style Rules
One consistent hand across every amenity icon — basketball, pickleball, weight room, golf sims, and anything added later. Mixing literal and abstract, or thick and thin strokes, is the fastest way for a growing icon set to look assembled rather than designed.
- 2.5pt stroke, black only, no fill — outline style throughout
- Round line caps and joins, consistent corner radius (3px at 44px scale)
- Build on a fixed grid (44×44px artboard, 4px padding) so every icon sits at the same optical size
- Keep marks abstract/geometric rather than illustrative — a hoop and net, not a rendered basketball
- Fill an icon solid black — reserve solid fill for the logo mark only
- Mix stroke weights within a single icon or across the set
- Use photographic or 3D-rendered icon styles
- Introduce gray into an icon stroke — icons are black line only, on white or gray-pale
Photography & Imagery
Rules for any photo that sits on a sign, panel, or piece of sales collateral — the amenity panels especially, since those are the most likely place a photo and the brand system meet.
- Default to high-contrast black & white for panels and print signage — it sits naturally inside the palette
- Reserve full color for the amenities where color is the selling point (water park, golf greens) and only on digital/marketing use, not fixed signage
- Crop wide and let the amenity fill the frame — no empty sky or parking lot
- Show real people using the space when possible, candid rather than posed
- Apply warm/orange filters, vignettes, or stock-photo-style gloss
- Mix a full-color photo directly next to a black & white one on the same panel
- Use generic stock photography that isn't the actual property
- Place photography behind logo or headline text without a solid contrast panel underneath
Brand Usage
What's appropriate and what's not, for color, type, and the logo — quick reference for anyone building a sign, a deck, or a social post.
Color
- Lead every design with black — logo, headline, primary structure
- Use gray only for secondary text, dividers, and "coming soon" states
- Let white be the field — generous negative space, no colored backgrounds
- Introduce red, gold, blue, or any accent color into signage or collateral
- Use gray as a dominant field color — it's a support tone, not a background
- Screen black down to a tint for body text — keep black solid, use true gray instead
Typography
- Set headlines and wayfinding labels in Poppins, 600 weight, all caps
- Set body copy, hours, and addresses in Roboto, 400–500 weight, sentence case
- Keep a clear size jump between headline and body — no in-between weights
- Substitute a system font when Poppins or Roboto isn't installed — flag it and source the font instead
- Use Poppins for long body copy — it's a display face only
- Italicize, condense, or outline either typeface for effect
Logo
- Use the black version on white or light gray backgrounds only
- Use the white version on black or the dark soft tone only
- Give the lockup clear space equal to the height of the "RESORT" wordmark on all sides
- Recolor the logo, add a drop shadow, outline, or gradient
- Stretch, skew, or rotate the lockup
- Place the black logo on gray-pale or mid-gray — contrast drops below legible
Co-Branding Rules
For the cases where a realtor, event sponsor, or vendor logo needs to sit alongside Pecan Valley Resort's — on a sign, a deck, or event signage.
- Separate the two logos with a thin vertical rule, equal clear space on both sides
- Size the partner logo to match the visual weight of ours, not necessarily the same pixel height — optically balance them
- Keep both logos in single color (black or white) when placed together — never one in full color and one monochrome
- Give Pecan Valley Resort the left or top position by default
- Merge or overlap the two logos into a single lockup
- Let a partner's brand color appear anywhere near our black/gray/white system
- Resize our logo smaller than the partner's to accommodate a sponsor
- Use co-branding on the core signage family (flags, directional, kiosk) — reserve it for event-specific or temporary materials only
Mobile Use
The brand on a phone screen behaves differently than the brand on an 8-foot panel — smaller canvas, touch interaction, and much less room for the full lockup.
Logo & App Icon
- Use the full horizontal lockup in headers and splash screens where width allows
- Use the pecan mark alone (no wordmark) as the app icon, favicon, or anywhere below ~120px wide
- Keep the icon-only mark black on white, or white on solid black — no gray version
- Shrink the full "Pecan Valley Resort" lockup below a legible size instead of switching to the icon-only mark
- Crop or letterbox the lockup to force it into a square icon frame
- Add the wordmark inside a small app icon — it won't hold up at that size
Layout & Interaction
- Stack the amenity status chips (Open / Coming Soon) vertically on narrow screens rather than compressing them side by side
- Keep touch targets — buttons, chips, map pins — at least 44×44px
- Maintain the black/white contrast ratio for body text on mobile; don't lighten it for a "softer" feel
- Reduce type size below 14px for body copy or 11px for labels/chips
- Use hover-only states — mobile has no hover, every interactive element needs a visible tap state
- Introduce a new mobile-only accent color to "liven up" the smaller screen
Legibility Standards
A rule of thumb before size-specific numbers: for a bold, high-contrast sans like Poppins at black-on-white, plan on roughly 1 inch of letter (cap) height per 10 feet of viewing distance for comfortable reading, and up to 1 inch per 25–30 feet for quick, glance-level recognition — like a headline someone needs to catch while driving past.
| Sign Type | Typical Viewing Distance | Min. Headline Height | Min. Body/Support Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property Flag (8'×3') | 30–75 ft, often from a moving car | 6 in. | 3 in. |
| A-Frame — Model Home | 5–20 ft, pedestrian / curb | 2.5 in. | 1 in. |
| Directional Sign | 15–40 ft, mixed vehicle/pedestrian | 4 in. | 2 in. |
| Community Information Sign | 2–8 ft, walk-up kiosk | 2 in. | 0.5 in. |
| Amenity & Benefits Panel (8'×4') | 30–80 ft, roadside/vehicle | 8 in. | 3.5 in. |
Contrast: every combination above assumes black text on white/gray-pale, or white text on black — the two contrast pairs this system is built on. Never set gray text on white for anything meant to be read at distance; reserve gray-on-white for fine print read up close only.
Stroke weight: at small sizes (kiosk body copy, fine print), keep Roboto at Regular or Medium — Poppins Bold at very small sizes will clog and lose the counters in the letterforms.
Signage Index
Every sign type's dimensions in one place for quick reference.
| Sign Type | Dimensions | Mount | Primary Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property Flag | 8'-0" H × 3'-0" W | Ground stake / cross-base | Entrance, sales frontage |
| A-Frame — Model Home | 3'-0" H × 2'-0" W (panel) | Freestanding sandwich board | Model home curb, open house |
| Directional Sign | 4'-0" H × 1'-6" W (blade) | Post-mounted | Wayfinding, intersections |
| Community Information Sign | 6'-0" H × 4'-0" W | Freestanding kiosk | Entrance, gathering points |
| Amenity & Benefits Panel | 8'-0" W × 4'-0" H | Wall or monument-mounted | Entrance monument, sales office |
Common Sizes — Industry Reference
Standard sizes used across master-planned communities and resort developments — not all of these exist in our system yet, but they're the sizes to know if the signage program expands (a real estate rider, a bulletin board at the highway, a new entry monument).
| Sign Type | Typical Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Entry Monument Sign | 4'–8' H × 6'–14' W | Masonry or dimensional-letter sign at the main community entrance; scale set by setback and speed of the road it faces |
| Real Estate Yard Sign | 18" × 24" or 24" × 36" | Single lot marketing, with rider strip below (6" × 24") |
| Pole / Street Banner | 18" × 48" or 24" × 60" | Mounted in pairs on light poles along main corridors, seasonal or campaign-specific |
| Feather / Teardrop Flag | 8'–11.5' H × 2'–2.5' W | Lighter-weight alternative to the 8'×3' property flag, common at sales events |
| Construction / Development Sign | 4' × 8' or 4' × 4' | Required by many municipalities at the job site; contractor and permit info |
| Highway Bulletin / Billboard | 14' × 48' (bulletin) or 12' × 24' (poster) | Off-site advertising if the community pursues highway visibility |
| Sales Office Building Sign | 3' × 5' to 4' × 8' | Building-mounted identification at the sales trailer or permanent office |
| Lot / Address Marker | 12" × 18" or smaller | Individual home site numbering, ground or post-mounted |
Illustrator Setup Notes
Practical starting points for building this out as your Illustrator master file.
Swatches
Create all 5 colors above as named global swatches first (Black, Black Soft, Gray, Gray Pale, White) so every artboard pulls from the same source and updates propagate.
Artboards
Set up one artboard per sign type at true scale ÷ 12 (1 inch = 1 foot), so an 8'×4' panel is a 96"×48" artboard — keeps every sign's relative proportion honest at a glance.
Symbols
Build the logo lockup, status chips, and each amenity icon as Illustrator Symbols. Swapping an amenity from "Coming Soon" to "Open" then becomes a one-click symbol swap across every file.