Internal doc · Rev 1.0 · Handle with dirty hands
The Brand
System
Dominion Print Works looks like a flyer that's been photocopied eleven times and still slaps. Every rule below pushes distress as far as it can go while the site stays fast, legible, and easy to buy from. Grunge is the voice; the machine underneath is Swiss.
01 · The marks
Logo suite
Rules
- + Clear space = height of one cross arm
- + Ink or Blood on light; Paper on dark
- + Never recolor, outline, or un-distress
- + Never scale below 24px tall — the grit clogs
02 · Two inks and a stack of paper
Color
This is a two-ink press: black and red on warm stock. Everything else is toner wear. If a design needs a third color, the answer is more red.
Ink
#231F20 · CMYK 0 · 11 · 9 · 86
Primary type, borders, dark sections. Never pure #000 — ink has warmth.
Blood
#ED2224 · CMYK 0 · 86 · 85 · 7
The loud pass. Accents, CTAs, misregistration shadows. One shout per view.
Paper
#F4F0E6 · CMYK 0 · 2 · 6 · 4
Default background. Warm handled stock, never sterile white.
Bone
#FFFDF7 · CMYK 0 · 1 · 3 · 0
Cards and tickets — the fresh sheet on top of the stack.
Pulp
#E7E1D2 · CMYK 0 · 3 · 9 · 9
Recessed surfaces, ghost numerals, quiet dividers.
Smoke / Ash
#4A4645 / #8A8580 · CMYK worn toner
Body copy and metadata — toner that has seen some things.
03 · Typography
Type system
Bad Copy One — display. Hero statements, product names, numbers.
Print loud.
Bad Copy Two — subheads, marquees, loud labels.
Stay heavy. Run it again.
Bad Copy Three — stamps and seals only.
Approved
Helvetica — body. The professional half of the deal.
Body copy stays clean, set in the workhorse of print shops everywhere. Grunge display over Swiss body is the whole trick: the noise reads as intentional because everything around it is disciplined.
Courier — job tickets, specs, metadata.
Spec 01 · 18pt uncoated
Run: 500 · Ink: 2/2
⌖ Reg OK · Proof approved
Law of the shop:Bad Copy is for shouting, never for paragraphs. If it's more than six words, it goes in Helvetica. If it's data, it goes in Courier.
04 · Texture library
The photocopy layer
All procedural — inline SVG turbulence and CSS gradients, zero image downloads. They tile infinitely and cost nothing.
.tx-grain — toner speckle
.tx-streaks — copier streaks
.tx-halftone — halftone screen
.tx-grain-light — failed toner (dark)
.tx-halftone-light — halftone (dark)
.tx-halftone-heavy — loud dots
.tx-lines — scan lines
.tx-grain on blood — inked panel
05 · Hardware
Components
Buttons — letterpress physics, they push in
Chips — job ticket options
Labels & ephemera
Inputs — everything is a form at a print shop
06 · Voice
How we talk
Do
- Short. Declarative. Like it's stapled to a phone pole.
- Print-shop slang: runs, proofs, stocks, ink coverage.
- Confidence with a wink — "no templates, no mercy."
- Real specs, real prices, zero fine-print games.
Don't
- Corporate filler — "solutions," "premium quality," "synergy."
- Edgy-for-edgy's-sake. The grit serves the craft, not shock.
- Transactional coldness in checkout — stay human where money moves.
- More than one shout per screen. Pick the loud thing.