# Bracen brand

**Version:** 1.0
**Status:** Strategy, architecture, identity and voice locked. Photography policy locked; the owned library is an asset backlog.

## Position

Bracen is an independent building decision platform. It helps homeowners understand likely costs, plan the right questions, evaluate options and choose who to contact before commitment.

The organising promise is **confidence before commitment**. The useful customer outcome is: **Know what you are getting into before you build.** Bracen is not merely a builder directory and does not lead with “find and compare builders”. Discovery is one useful downstream step in a larger decision journey.

The brand should feel calm, protective, specific, editorial and grounded in real construction. It must not feel like a SaaS dashboard, a generic property-tech template, a lead-auction marketplace or a luxury architecture magazine.

Reference patterns, never copied styling:

- ArchiPro for real project photography and assured whitespace.
- Consumer Reports and Which? for methodology and comparison hierarchy.
- GOV.UK-style clarity for forms and uncertainty.
- BuildHub for answer-first pages, linked supporting questions and visible ranking order, while improving its imagery, spacing and type consistency.

## Audiences

| Audience | Primary need | What loses trust |
|---|---|---|
| Homeowner planning a build or renovation | Clear costs, risks, next steps and honest evidence boundaries | Hype, vague claims, false precision and bidding-war framing |
| Builder managing a listing | Fair terms, accurate representation and clear commercial separation | Paid status presented as approval or rank |
| Industry, media and research reader | Dated data, method, provenance and limitations | Undated claims or unexplained numbers |

The homeowner is the primary character. Bracen is the guide and evidence layer, not the hero. A mascot is not part of the identity.

## Brand and market architecture

- **Bracen** is the parent brand and global product system.
- `/` is the global brand homepage.
- `/nz` is the New Zealand market surface and current complete homeowner journey.
- Builders Near Me is the inherited NZ acquisition, domain and SEO context. Preserve relevant URLs, attribution and high-intent language without presenting it as a second visual brand.
- Future `/au` content must use the same identity but cannot launch until its local data, content and operational gates are met.

One header carries one Bracen wordmark. Market context such as `NZ`, `New Zealand` or `Global` is a quiet text label, not a second logo.

## Wordmark

The wordmark is live text: **`Bracen`**.

| Property | Rule |
|---|---|
| Case | Uppercase B, lowercase remainder |
| Typeface | IBM Plex Sans Bold (700) |
| Tracking | `-0.045em` |
| Size | 25px mobile, 28px desktop; never below 16px |
| Colour | Navy/ink on light; white on a compliant dark field |
| Clear space | At least one cap height around the standalone wordmark |

Do not add a symbol, monogram, shield, house, brace glyph, avatar or alternate lockup. Do not set `BRACEN`, `bracen` or `BraCen`. Do not render it as an image when live text works. No gradient, outline, shadow, box or texture.

## Voice and content

Voice is direct, protective and specific. Write as an informed party on the homeowner's side of the table.

- Use New Zealand English on `/nz`.
- Prefer concrete nouns: quote, consent, contract, deposit, site visit, `$/m²` and Code Compliance Certificate.
- One idea per sentence. State limits beside the claim they qualify.
- “You” is the homeowner. “We” is Bracen.
- No emoji and no em dashes in product copy.
- Avoid hype such as `revolutionary`, `unlock`, `game-changing`, `best-in-class`, `hassle-free` and `dream home`.
- Avoid manufactured urgency and multi-builder competition language.
- Never state `winner`, `best overall` or `editor's choice` without the visible method and support for that exact claim.

| Situation | Pattern |
|---|---|
| Unknown | `Not checked`, `Not available`, `Not published` |
| Verification | State what was checked, source and date |
| Indicative figure | Range, region, date, units, basis and uncertainty |
| Primary action | Verb plus object: `Get an estimate` |
| Error | What happened, what remains safe, next action |
| Commercial relationship | Plain disclosure adjacent to the affected content |

## Imagery

Priority order:

1. Permissioned builder/project imagery with recorded attribution.
2. First-party NZ project, people, process and detail photography with usage rights.
3. Licensed NZ editorial photography that cannot be mistaken for a listed builder's work.
4. A deliberate type-led or abstract construction placeholder.

AI imagery may illustrate an abstract concept only when clearly labelled. It must not depict a house, room, site, builder or project as if it were real. Do not use stock handshakes, generic foreign architecture or unsourced dream-home renders.

Crop buildings with verticals intact and avoid cutting rooflines or people awkwardly. Heroes use 3:2 or 16:9, rows 3:2 and grids 4:3 or 1:1. Do not apply heavy filters or misleading colour grades. Real-project captions name what is shown and only include builder/location attribution when governed. Alt text describes the frame and its relevance, not the article title. Use `next/image`, explicit dimensions and responsive sizes.

The missing owned photography library is an asset backlog, not an unresolved design rule. Target roughly 40 governed NZ images across homes, builders at work, process, materials and details. Each asset needs source, permission basis, location, subject, approved crops, caption and alt-text record.