• Brand Foundations
• Purpose
• The problem it solves
• What success looks like
• Long-term intent
• What East Village Hub is (and is not)
• What it is
• What it isn’t
• Relationship to ‘News’
• Relationship to authority
• Brand personality & tone of voice
• Personality sliders
• Voice principles
• Humour
• Authority
• One internal rule
• Typography System
• Principle
• Typefaces
• Primary
• Secondary
• Spacing and rhythm
• Colour system
• Philosophy
• Base colours
• Ink colours
• Signal colour
• Interaction colour
• Ratios
• Logo system
• Logo definition
• Primary logo
• Approved variants
• Compact logo
• Padding (inside block)
• Clear space (outside block)
• Placement
• Layout and Spacial System
• Principle
• Grid
• Vertical spacing scale
• Cards
• Dividers
• Navigation
• Mobile
• Content principles
• Writing
• Structure
• Updates
• Imagery and visual language
• Role of imagery
• Rules
• Component behaviour
• Accessibility and longevity
• Governance
• Change discipline
• The kill rule
• The final test

Brand Foundations

Purpose

East Village Hub exists to make living in East Village easier, clearer, and less opaque.

It brings together information that is otherwise scattered across private messages, noticeboards, social posts, and half-remembered conversations - and presents it in a way that’s practical, readable, and easy to return to.

The problem it solves

Local knowledge is:

• fragmented
• repeatedly re-explained
• often locked inside small groups
• hard to verify after the fact

East Village Hub turns that informal knowledge into a shared, evolving reference.

What success looks like

Success is not traffic or reach.

Success looks like:

• people checking EVH before asking WhatsApp
• links being quietly shared
• residents trusting it instinctively
• information being updated, corrected, and improved over time

Long-term intent

East Village Hub is designed to be:

• long-lived
• steadily maintained
• independent of platforms
• recognisable even when stripped back

It should feel like something that accumulates value rather than chases attention.

What East Village Hub is (and is not)

What it is

East Village Hub is:

• resident-run
• editorially opinionated
• practically useful
• informal but rigorous
• written by someone who lives here
• designed to be returned to

It behaves like a well-edited reference rather than a feed.

What it isn’t

East Village Hub is not:

• a magazine
• a news outlet
• a blog
• a marketing platform
• a social network
• a noticeboard free-for-all
• an official mouthpiece

If it starts to resemble any of these, something has drifted.

Relationship to ‘News’

EVH does not chase news.

It documents changes only when they affect residents and when there is something useful to say. Updates are contextual, dated, and open to revision.

Accuracy matters more than speed.

Relationship to authority

EVH is confident without pretending to represent everyone.

It earns trust through clarity, specificity, and consistency - not position or formality.

When something is uncertain, it says so.

Brand personality & tone of voice

Personality sliders

East Village Hub sits here:

• Serious ◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◻︎ Playful
• Practical ◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◻︎ Expressive
• Opinionated ◼︎◼︎◼︎◻︎◻︎ Neutral
• Warm ◼︎◼︎◼︎◻︎◻︎ Friendly
• Polished ◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎◻︎ Casual

Dry humour is present but never performs.

Voice principles

The voice should feel:

• informed
• calm
• slightly wry
• unforced
• human

Writing assumes shared context and lived experience.

Humour

Humour is:

• dry
• observational
• occasional

It comes from phrasing, not jokes.

If it draws attention to itself, it’s wrong.

Authority

Authority comes from:

• clarity
• dates
• references
• restraint
• visible updates

Never from grand statements or official-sounding language.

One internal rule

Write like someone who lives here and wants to be useful - not like someone building an audience.

Typography System

Principle

Typography is the primary expression of the brand.

If everything else is removed, black text on white should still feel unmistakably East Village Hub.

Typefaces

Primary

Helvetica Now Display

Used for:

• logo
• headlines
• navigation
• labels
• emphasis

Weights:

• Black (primary)
• Bold
• Medium

ALL CAPS preferred for headings and navigation.

Secondary

Inter

Used for:

• body copy
• long reads
• metadata
• supporting UI

Weights:

• Regular
• Medium

Inter supports. Helvetica leads.

Spacing and rhythm

• Headlines: tight but readable
• Body copy: generous line height
• No decorative typography
• No novelty styling

If typography feels playful, it’s wrong.

Colour system

Philosophy

Colour is punctuation, not atmosphere.

It highlights, interrupts, and orients. It does not decorate.

Base colours

• White - #FFFFFF
• Off-white - #F7F7F5

These dominate the page.

Ink colours

• Black - #000000 (headlines, logo)
• Near-black - #1A1A1A (body copy)
• Grey - #6E6E6E (metadata)

Contrast is non-negotiable.

Signal colour

Acid Lime - #C7F000

Used sparingly for:

• logo block variants
• dividers
• highlights
• key indicators

Never used for body text or decoration.

Interaction colour

Blue - #2F5BFF

Used only for:

• links
• hover states
• active UI

Never used as brand colour.

Ratios

• 80–85% base
• 10–15% ink
• 2–5% signal

If the page feels colourful, it’s wrong.

Logo system

Logo definition

The logo is a typographic wordmark set in Helvetica Now Display Black, contained within a solid rectangular block.

No icons. No symbols. No embellishment.

Primary logo

• Text: EAST VILLAGE HUB
• Case: ALL CAPS
• Default: black text on acid green block
• Corners: square

Approved variants

• Black on white
• White on black
• Black on acid green

Blue is never used in the logo.

Compact logo

EVH, same rules, same block.

Used only where space demands it.

Padding (inside block)

Padding scales by size tier:

• Small: 8px
• Standard: 12px
• Large: 16–20px

Padding is even on all sides.

Clear space (outside block)

Clear space equals the height of the capital H in HUB.

Applied equally on all sides.

The letter is a measurement reference only and is never rotated or reused visually.

Placement

Preferred:

• top-left
• footer
• deliberate section openers

Never:

• over imagery
• as decoration
• repeated excessively

Layout and Spacial System

Principle

Pages should feel edited, calm, and deliberate.

Nothing exists by accident.

Grid

• Max width: 1200–1300px
• 12-column grid
• Column gap: 32px (desktop)

Vertical spacing scale

• 8px
• 16px
• 24px
• 32px
• 48px
• 64px

No other values.

Cards

• Square corners
• No shadows
• Flat backgrounds
• Internal padding: 24px

Cards are containers, not design objects.

Dividers

• Solid black rules
• 1–2px
• Used sparingly

Navigation

• White background
• No visual theatrics
• Clear active state

Navigation gets out of the way.

Mobile

• Single column
• Generous spacing
• No cramming

Scrolling is cheaper than confusion.

Content principles

Writing

• Clear
• Specific
• Dated
• Revisable

Avoid:

• filler
• marketing language
• institutional tone

Structure

• Short paragraphs
• Useful headings
• Lists only when needed

Updates

Every page should make it obvious:

• when it was written
• when it was last updated
• what has changed

Imagery and visual language

Role of imagery

Imagery supports context.

It never carries the message.

Rules

• No text in images
• No filters
• No gradients
• No overlays
• Hard edges only

Images should feel observed, not styled.

Component behaviour

• No shadows
• No rounded corners
• No animation for its own sake
• Interaction is subtle and functional

If a component draws attention to itself, simplify it.

Accessibility and longevity

• High contrast at all times
• Text-first approach
• Pages must work when printed
• Design must survive trends

Longevity beats novelty.

Governance

Change discipline

Changes are:

• intentional
• documented
• reversible

Nothing drifts quietly.

The kill rule

If something:

• adds noise
• reduces clarity
• duplicates effort
• exists “just because”

Remove it.

The final test

Every decision must answer:

Does this make the site more useful for someone who actually lives here?

If not, it doesn’t belong.