# Grace Reformed Church brand guide Version 1.3 · 20 October 2026 · working creative direction. Canonical studio: https://design.gracereformed.org/ ## Read this first This is a production-use reference for people and AI tools making GRC slides, documents, handouts, social artwork, and other materials. Preserve the user's content. Never invent church facts, quotations, Bible text, events, dates, endorsements, or official approval. Example headlines are illustrative copy, not attributed quotations or an approved church tagline. The supplied logos folder and original 2019-09-05 brand sheet by Andrew Scates are the original artwork/color authority. Its historical fonts are Roboto (body) and Roboto Slab Bold (headings). The current website uses Marcellus, Open Sans, Hanken Grotesk, and Azeret Mono. This working edition recommends original colors plus current website typography; it is not a formally approved replacement identity. The subtle painted artwork, simplified font roles, clear-space guidance, and layout specifications are working recommendations. Mineral and slate are included as supporting palettes at the owner’s request; the original logo palette remains the identity anchor. ## Identity and tone Grace Reformed Church (GRC). Grounded, welcoming, clear, spacious. Write with warmth and plain language. Avoid hype, invented familiarity, decorative uppercase labels, and long slogans. Keep the message more prominent than the art. ## Original brand colors - Brand blue: #236092 (Pantone 647 C). - Mid blue: #7BA0C4 (Pantone 645 C). - Pale blue: #C5D4E2 (Pantone 643 C). - Mist: #D2DCE5 (Pantone 642 C). - White #FFFFFF and black #000000. Original print CMYK values are in /logos/GRC_logo_sheet.pdf. Use those source values rather than converting the web hex values by guesswork. ## Current website colors - Deep ink: #05142B. Primary text on light backgrounds. - GRC navy: #16284B. Primary dark background. - Paper: #FAFAFA. Light surfaces and text on navy. - Action blue: #176FC1. Existing website accent. Use sparingly for functional links, not as the default fill for every heading, button, and graphic. Use the original supporting blues in blue artwork. Original blue mist means #D2DCE5. Do not assume every pair is accessible. Paper on navy and ink on mist are recommended solid text pairs. Check the exact pixels behind text over artwork. Aim for at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; projection needs additional practical testing. ## Supporting palettes These are available for everyday GRC materials at the owner’s request. Choose ONE family per piece; do not combine every palette on one slide. Keep supplied logos in their original colors. Mineral & mist: light surface #E4E9E6, mist #AABBB5, accent #667F7A, deep surface #233E41, ink #152C30. Evening slate: light surface #DDDFE7, mist #ADAEBF, accent #777D99, deep surface #303B59, ink #202941. Use lighter pigment shades behind text, not as small text on white. These families extend the system; they do not revise the original 2019 sheet. ## Typography - Marcellus Regular 400: short headings and display type. Sentence case, normal tracking, line height 1.1–1.2. Never synthesize bold or italic. Keep headlines to one or two lines. - Open Sans Regular 400 and Semibold 600: paragraphs, labels, captions, references. Body line height 1.45–1.6. - Azeret Mono Semibold 600: optional short eyebrow, label, or subheading. Confirmed in live www.gracereformed.org font configuration on 20 October 2026. Use sparingly, at most one small accent per slide. No mono paragraphs, long display headlines, or mono treatment on every label. Always use uppercase with 10–15% letter spacing (0.10–0.15em); default to 12% (0.12em). In apps using tracking units per 1000 em, use 100–150 (120 default). Variable TTF: /fonts/azeret-mono-variable.ttf, weight range 100–900. Set 600. Use a generic monospace only if the target tool cannot load the font, and disclose substitution. - Hanken Grotesk 600: inherited website interface role. Optional for website continuity; unnecessary in a new slide deck or document. Desktop TTF files and SIL Open Font License notices are supplied at /fonts/. Download and install actual fonts where possible. For a tool that cannot use the supplied font, disclose the limitation: Georgia for headings and Arial for body are fallback approximations. Recheck line wrapping after substitution. Do not silently replace the face with another trendy font. ## Logos Use the original transparent PNG, never a recreation. Preserve aspect ratio, original color, and built-in whitespace. Give the visible mark at least one quarter of its height in clear space on each side. This is proposed working guidance, not a historical official specification. - /assets/grc-dark-full.png: 3900 × 1500, full color, for light surfaces. - /assets/grc-light-full.png: 3900 × 1500, for dark surfaces. - /assets/grc-dark.png: 1500 × 1500 compact mark, full color, for light surfaces. - /assets/grc-light.png: 1500 × 1500 compact mark, for dark surfaces. Do not stretch, crop, add shadows, recolor, or recreate with type. Align the visible artwork, since the files have different internal padding. Original Adobe Illustrator vector masters are supplied under /logos/vector%20files/ and included in /logo-masters.zip. Use them for professional print. The files are .ai, not SVG. The original /logos/GRC_logo_sheet.pdf provides color and chevron usage guidance: the chevron’s right edge must extend to the right bleed. The original sheet permits recoloring monochrome marks; this edition recommends the supplied black/white variants for consistency. ## Art direction The brand guide is the main product. There is no background generator in the current site. Use the downloadable library, the palette, typography, and original logos as your source. Backgrounds must be EXTREMELY subtle, not just suitable for a two-word title. They must work behind events, information, member meetings, announcements, and other ordinary slide content. Use soft organic shapes, faint pigment, broad quiet areas, and gently painted edges. Avoid mountains, dramatic horizons, hard facets, busy marks, high-contrast patches, or a focal object that fights the message. The desired relationship to Theocast is organic softness, not copying its colors, logo, or display face. Light artwork uses dark ink #05142B. Dark navy artwork uses paper #FAFAFA. Keep text editable ABOVE the image. Never bake labels, grain, or textures into the text. Let the artwork be barely noticeable. A plain background remains preferable for dense tables or long documents. Changing palette does not require changing type. Library (new AI-generated art, not historical church artwork): - /assets/blue-wash.png: very pale GRC blue pigment. - /assets/mineral-wash.png: pale mineral painting. - /assets/slate-wash.png: light slate painting. - /assets/navy-wash.png: dark navy painting for paper-white text. - /assets/blue-forms.png: softer rounded organic forms in pale blue. - /assets/mineral-forms.png: softer rounded organic forms in pale mineral. See /backgrounds.json for exact native dimensions and measured contrast. These are near-16:9 images; fit or crop gently to a 16:9 slide. Do not claim they are native 4K. Downloads contain no text. The sample overlay on the site is separate editable HTML. ## Slides Canvas: 16:9, 1920 × 1080 or 13.333 × 7.5 inches. Keep a 6–8% safe margin. At presentation size start with 48–64 pt title, 28–36 pt body, and at least 20 pt supporting references. Typography sizes are starting points; check on the actual screen from the back of the room. Events: short Marcellus title, optional Azeret Mono label, Open Sans date/time/location. Information: one main point with practical details. Member meetings: a readable agenda. Announcements: clear title and next step. Use subtle light artwork or paper surfaces for any of these; dark navy with paper type is an alternate. Use the full logo only when it remains readable. No text embedded in the background. Keep text editable. Never shrink a long paragraph to fit; split it into another slide. Quote only user-supplied or source-verified text and retain its attribution. Browser starter: /templates/slides.html. This is HTML, not a PowerPoint file. It prints to a landscape PDF. Download the complete kit to edit offline. When asked for a PowerPoint, create an actual editable PPTX using these rules and explicitly check fonts, overflow, and image placement in the target app. ## Documents US Letter (8.5 × 11 inches), 0.7–0.8 inch margins. Use 26–32 pt Marcellus title, 16–20 pt section headings, and 11–12 pt Open Sans body. Keep line length around 60–75 characters. Use dark ink on white or paper. A small logo and disciplined hierarchy are enough. Keep artwork to an optional cover or restrained header; never place textured art behind paragraphs. Browser starter: /templates/document.html. HTML printable to PDF, not DOCX. For a Word/Google Docs deliverable, create a real document with named heading styles and editable text, using the same roles. Embed fonts where supported, otherwise disclose substitutions. ## Handoff and verification Read /brand-tokens.json for machine-readable values. /llms.txt lists entry points. All root-relative paths resolve against https://design.gracereformed.org. /brand-kit.zip includes the guide, tokens, logos, font files and licenses, backgrounds, styles, and editable browser starters. Before delivery: check the requested output format, font availability, accurate content, logo proportions, contrast, safe margins, clipping, and legibility at actual size. Check every page/slide, including the longest heading. Use one palette family per piece. If you cannot browse, ask the user to upload the guide and assets; do not claim to have read them. A reference URL improves consistency but does not guarantee that a tool will fetch assets or embed fonts automatically.