Brand Guidelines

Arbor & Ember

Our brand identity system, media kit, and usage guidelines. Everything you need to represent Arbor & Ember with accuracy and care.

Logo Exploration

Concepts Under Review

Multiple logo directions exploring different relationships between the arbor and ember halves of the brand. Each takes a different approach to the ampersand, typography, and visual weight.

Option A — The Living Ampersand
ARBOR&EMBER
ARBOR&EMBER

Playfair Display wordmark with an illustrated italic ampersand. Organic branches grow from the left curve, ember glow radiates from the body. The ampersand is the hero — it doubles as the standalone icon mark.

Option B — Split Tone
ARBOR&EMBER
ARBOR&EMBER

Cormorant Garamond Light with no illustration. ARBOR in cream/forest, the italic ampersand in gold, EMBER in gold-light/deep-gold. The color split alone tells the brand story. Minimal, elegant, lets the typography breathe.

Option C — Stacked Lockup
ARBOR&EMBER
ARBOR&EMBER

Vertical stack with ARBOR over EMBER. The italic ampersand sits centered between thin gold rules, acting as a divider. Works well as a square format for signage, packaging, and social avatars. More formal, more structured.

Option D — Geometric Monogram
&ARBOREMBER
&ARBOREMBER

Circular monogram with the illustrated ampersand inside concentric rings, paired with a stacked Outfit wordmark. More modern, more geometric. The monogram separates cleanly as an icon. The sans-serif type is a departure — cleaner but less editorial.

Option E — Understated Serif
ARBOREMBER
ARBOREMBER

No ampersand at all. ARBOR and EMBER separated by a tiny leaf-and-ember motif — two small leaves and a single glowing dot. Maximum restraint. The brand mark is the space between the words. Reads like a high-end hotel or architecture firm.

Option F — Bold Contrast
ARBOR&Ember
ARBOR&Ember

Weight contrast as the design device. ARBOR in bold uppercase anchors (the structure, the arbor), while “Ember” in light title-case floats (the warmth, the glow). The weight difference itself tells the brand story — solid meets soft. More editorial, more fashion-forward.

The Name

Every Word Means Something

Our name isn't decorative — it's a direct map to our palette, our services, and the two halves of what we create.

Arbor
Meaning
Trees, structure, living architecture
Color
Forest deep, forest, forest mid
Services
Garlands, wreaths, florals, pumpkin displays, props & characters
Represents
The organic, grounded, structural side of every installation
&
Intertwined
Ember
Meaning
Warmth, glow, a lingering light
Color
Gold, gold light, warm cream
Services
Holiday lighting, outdoor lighting, event lighting & effects, uplighting
Represents
The atmospheric, luminous side — warmth and ambiance that draws people in

Together, Arbor and Ember describe the full experience we create — natural beauty intertwined with warm atmosphere. The & isn't just punctuation. It's the brand mark itself — the bridge between structure and glow.

Primary Wordmark

The Living Ampersand

Our wordmark centers on an illustrated italic ampersand — organic branches grow from its left curve while a warm ember glow radiates from its body. The two halves represent the duality of our brand: natural beauty meets warm atmosphere.

ARBOR&EMBEROn Forest Deep
ARBOR&EMBEROn Cream

Clear Space

Maintain a minimum clear space equal to the cap-height of the “A” in ARBOR around all sides of the wordmark. Never crowd the logo with other elements.

Misuse

Do not rotate, distort, recolor, or add effects to the wordmark. Do not separate the ampersand from the type. Do not place the logo on busy or low-contrast backgrounds.

Icon Mark

The Standalone Symbol

The illustrated ampersand works independently as a favicon, social avatar, embroidery mark, and watermark. At very small sizes (below 24px), simplify to the italic ampersand with a single leaf.

&
Forest Deep
&
Cream
&
Forest
&
Mono Gold
Favicon

Simplified to italic ampersand + one leaf at 16–32px

Target: 32px
Social Avatar

Full illustrated ampersand with ember sparks on forest circle

Target: 120px
Embroidery

Gold thread on forest fabric — leaves in cream thread

Target: Variable
Color System

Forest, Gold & Cream

Our palette maps directly to the brand name. Forest tones represent the Arbor half — organic, grounded, structural. Gold tones represent the Ember half — warmth, glow, atmosphere. Cream is the neutral canvas that lets both breathe.

Forest Deep
Primary dark background, headers
Forest
Primary brand, stats bars, accents
Forest Mid
Secondary text, subtle headings
Gold
Primary accent, CTAs, highlights
Gold Light
Accent on dark backgrounds
Cream
Warm neutral, secondary backgrounds
Cream Light
Page background, primary light

The Duality Principle

Every application of color should reinforce the arbor/ember tension. Forest anchors, gold illuminates. Use gold sparingly — it should feel like catching light, not flooding it. The palette reads best when forest dominates and gold punctuates.

Typography

Two Voices, One System

Display
Cormorant
Garamond
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm
Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz

Cormorant Garamond

All headlines, hero text, and large display typography. High-contrast serifs mirror the brand duality. Primarily used at Light (300) weight, with italic for emphasis and accent phrases.

font-display300 – 700normal + italic
Body
Outfit
Sans-Serif
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm
Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz

Outfit

Body text, UI elements, navigation, buttons, and supporting copy. Clean geometric sans-serif provides contrast with the elegant display font. Used across 300–700 weights.

font-body300 – 700normal only
Type Scale
H1 / Hero
We Decorate.
H2 / Section
Premium & Curated
H3 / Subsection
Design-First Approach
Body
Every display is intentionally designed — not just assembled.
Small / Card
Curated palettes, balanced compositions, and intentional symmetry.
Eyebrow / Label
OUR DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
Brand Voice

How We Sound

Our voice is confident but warm, design-forward but approachable. We speak with authority about our craft without being pretentious. We're the neighbor who happens to have impeccable taste.

Primary Tagline
We Decorate.
You Celebrate.
Confident

We know our craft. No hedging, no apologies.

Warm

Friendly, human, never clinical or corporate.

Design-Led

Speak to aesthetics, composition, and intention.

Effortless

Make premium feel easy, not exclusive.

We Say
  • "Designed to complement your home, not compete with it."
  • "Curated, cohesive, intentional."
  • "You'll be proud to have this in your front yard."
  • "Full-service — we handle every detail."
We Never Say
  • "Cheap" or "affordable" — we say "accessible" or "flexible pricing"
  • "Decorations" alone — we say "displays" or "installations"
  • "Simple" — we say "effortless" or "streamlined"
  • "Best in Dallas" — we let the work speak for itself
Media Kit

Downloads & Assets

Logo files, brand assets, and press materials for media coverage, partnerships, and co-marketing. All assets include usage guidelines.

Logo Package

Wordmark, icon mark, and lockup in SVG, PNG, and PDF. Light, dark, and monochrome variants.

Color & Type Guide

Full color specifications (HEX, OKLCH, RGB) and typography guidelines with usage examples.

Press Photos

High-resolution installation photography approved for editorial and media use.

Brand One-Pager

Single-page overview with logo, colors, tagline, and boilerplate — ideal for quick reference.

Voice & Tone Guide

Messaging frameworks, approved language, and editorial guidelines for written communications.

Social Templates

Figma templates for Instagram posts, stories, and Facebook covers using our brand system.

ARBOR&EMBER
We Decorate. You Celebrate.
Questions?

Need Something Specific?

For custom asset requests, partnership inquiries, or press materials not listed here, reach out and we'll get you exactly what you need.