Brand Guide &
Design System

The single source of truth for every Imbila.AI property, build, and agent.

DM Sans only Honey Gold #EDAF42 Dark-first
Agent-Ready Brand Tokens

Point any AI agent at this URL to get the full Imbila.AI brand system — colors, fonts, spacing, voice, logos — as structured JSON. No browser needed.

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/imbilawork/brand/main/brand-tokens.json

The Honey Badger. Fearless by nature.

The name "Imbila" comes from isiZulu. Imbila.AI has adopted the honey badger as its brand animal — the most fearless creature on the planet. Pound for pound, it punches far above its weight. Tenacious, resourceful, relentless, and famously unbothered by larger predators.

This is the brand ethos: help the underdogs compete. Don't back down. Move fast. Get results.

The Zulu proverb "Imbila yeswela umsila ngokuyalezela" — the creature that lost its tail by sending others — remains the philosophical core: don't delegate your own AI journey.

Fearless Tenacious Resourceful Direct Punches above its weight
The Imbila Mark — Honey Badger

Copy-paste ready. Every project starts here.

Drop this :root block into any CSS file. This is the canonical reference — if a value isn't here, it doesn't exist in the system.

/* ═══ IMBILA.AI DESIGN TOKENS v3.0 ═══ */
/* brand.imbila.ai — single source of truth */

/* Font — DM Sans. No exceptions. */
--font:        'DM Sans', system-ui, -apple-system, sans-serif;

/* Honey Gold — brand accent */
--honey:       #EDAF42;
--honey-light: #F5C96E;
--honey-dark:  #C8922F;
--honey-deep:  #A67720;
--honey-wash:  #FAE0A5;
--honey-10:    rgba(237,175,66,0.10);
--honey-15:    rgba(237,175,66,0.15);

/* Blacks */
--black:       #0A0A0A;
--black-rich:  #111111;
--black-soft:  #1A1A1A;

/* Neutral Scale */
--grey-900:    #1F1E1E;
--grey-800:    #2A2A2A;
--grey-700:    #3D3D3D;
--grey-600:    #555555;
--grey-500:    #777777;
--grey-400:    #999999;
--grey-300:    #BBBBBB;
--grey-200:    #DDDDDD;
--grey-100:    #EEEEEE;
--grey-50:     #F5F5F5;
--white:       #FAFAFA;

/* Semantic */
--success:     #3A9E6B;
--warning:     #E8A838;
--error:       #D94F4F;
--info:        #4A90B8;

/* Radii */
--radius-sm:   6px;
--radius-md:   10px;
--radius-lg:   16px;
--radius-pill: 100px;

Honey Gold on black. That's the brand.

The palette is deliberately restrained — authority from black, warmth from honey, clarity from the grey scale. Every property must use these exact values.

Honey Gold — Brand Accent
Copied
Honey
#EDAF42
--honey
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Light
#F5C96E
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Dark
#C8922F
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Deep
#A67720
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Wash
#FAE0A5
Blacks & Neutrals
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Black
#0A0A0A
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Rich
#111111
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Soft
#1A1A1A
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900
#1F1E1E
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800
#2A2A2A
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700
#3D3D3D
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600
#555555
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400
#999999
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300
#BBBBBB
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White
#FAFAFA
Semantic
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Success
#3A9E6B
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Warning
#E8A838
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Error
#D94F4F
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Info
#4A90B8

Usage Ratio

Black 60% Dark 20% Honey 12% White 8%

Black dominates. Gold punctuates. Honey is never a background colour — it's for CTAs, headings, the logo, and critical highlights only.

DM Sans is the only font. No exceptions.

No Inter. No Roboto. No system fallbacks in final renders. If it's Imbila, it's DM Sans.

Google Fonts import: family=DM+Sans:ital,opsz,wght@0,9..40,300..800;1,9..40,300..800

Display / H1
Brand Guide & Design System
800 · -0.035em · 1.05
Section / H2
Honey Gold on black. That's the brand.
700 · -0.025em · 1.12
Label / H3
Section Label · Uppercase
700 · 0.14em · UPPER
Subhead / H4
Imbila Enterprise
600 · 18px
Body
We translate AI complexity into clarity, and clarity into execution. We help organisations and individuals move from uncertainty to structured implementation with measurable results.
400 · 16px · 1.7
Small / Caption
March 2026 · Craig Leppan, Founder
500 · 13px
Tag / Pill
Honey Gold   DM Sans   Dark-first
500 · 12px · pill

Building blocks. Ready to use.

These components should look and behave identically across www.imbila.ai, claude.imbila.ai, and any future microsite or agent-built page.

Buttons

Tags & Pills

Enterprise Studio Dojo Free Course 4D Framework

Inputs

Cards

Enterprise

AI Readiness Assessment

Evaluate process maturity, data quality, and governance foundations across your organisation.

Studio

AI Clarity Audit

A 1–2 week focused engagement to map where AI fits in your business — and where it doesn't.

Dojo

AI Mastery Workshop

Diagnostic-driven, hands-on AI training at Workshop17. No technical experience required.

Direct. Practical. Anti-hype.

Imbila speaks like a sharp, experienced colleague — someone who's been in the trenches, not an ivory tower. The voice adapts by channel, but the backbone is constant: no fluff, no weasel words, no hedging.

Enterprise
"We evaluate your process maturity, data quality, and governance foundations before recommending any AI adoption path."

Measured · Authoritative · Governance-aware

Studio
"Stop wondering how AI fits into your business. Start using it. We'll have you running in two weeks."

Energetic · Direct · Action-oriented

Dojo / Blog
"I really had 'fun' this weekend. My birthday present to myself was a Mac Mini M4. For anyone following AI you will know why..."

Conversational · Opinionated · Insightful

Use these phrases

"Clarity into execution"
"Working solutions, not just advice"
"Weeks, not months"
"Capability, not dependency"
"No transformation theater"
"The smartest system is the one that keeps learning"

Never use these

"Digital transformation"
"Leverage synergies"
"AI revolution" / "AI disruption" (without context)
"Cutting-edge" / "state-of-the-art"
"We believe that potentially..."
"Paradigm shift" / "next-gen"

Three tiers. One brand.

Every microsite, landing page, and agent-built asset maps to one of these tiers. The visual system is shared; the tone adapts.

Imbila Enterprise

50+ employees · Regulated industries · Board-level

AI Readiness Assessment · Fractional AI Leadership · Implementation & Integration · MindFront.ai Alliance · SOC2 Assessment

Imbila Studio

Consultants · Agencies <20 · Small business · Freelancers

AI Clarity Audits · Co-Design Labs · AI Sprints & Roadmaps · AI-Augmented Service Delivery

Imbila Dojo

Community · Newsletter · Workshop attendees · Self-learners

Blog · AI Mastery Workshops (Workshop17) · AI Assessment · YouTube · Podcast · Anthropic Academy guided courses

Subdomain Map

DomainTierPlatformPurpose
www.imbila.aiAll tiersGhostMain site — blog, services, membership, newsletter
claude.imbila.aiDojoStatic HTMLAnthropic Academy guided learning microsite
brand.imbila.aiInternalStatic HTMLThis brand guide — design system reference for humans and agents

Protect the mark. Enforce the system.

These restrictions apply to all properties, decks, documents, social posts, and agent-generated content.

imbila.ai
No gradients / rainbow
imbila
No rotation or distortion
imbila.ai
No colour changes
imbila.ai
No low-contrast backgrounds
imbila.ai
No glows or drop shadows
IMBILA
No altered spacing or all-caps

For AI agents building on-brand.

Any AI agent (Claude or third-party) creating content, pages, emails, or assets for Imbila must follow these rules. This section is the machine-readable contract.

Visual Rules

  • Always import DM Sans from Google Fonts. No other typefaces permitted.
  • Use the design tokens in Section 03 as your :root block — copy them verbatim.
  • Primary background is #0A0A0A. Cards use #1F1E1E. Borders use #2A2A2A.
  • Accent colour is always Honey Gold #EDAF42 — for CTAs, links, highlights, and tags.
  • Never use gradients, glows, shadows on the logo, or colours outside this palette.
  • Border radius: 16px for cards, 10px for inputs, 100px for pills/tags/buttons.
  • Body text is #BBBBBB (grey-300). Headings are #FAFAFA (white).
  • Use the SVG honey badger mark from this guide. No raster fallbacks in new builds.

Voice Rules

  • Write as a sharp, experienced colleague — not a corporate brochure.
  • Be direct. No fluff, no hedging, no "leverage synergies."
  • Match tone to tier: measured for Enterprise, energetic for Studio, conversational for Dojo.
  • Use signature phrases: "Weeks, not months" · "Clarity into execution" · "No transformation theater"
  • Never say: "digital transformation," "cutting-edge," "paradigm shift," or "we believe that potentially..."
  • Keep the South African voice natural — not performative, not Silicon Valley.

Structural Rules for Microsites

  • Every page must include the sticky nav with: Imbila mark (SVG) + wordmark, navigation links, and version tag.
  • Use the .page wrapper at max-width 1120px with 40px padding.
  • Section labels use the pattern: 01 · Section Name — 10px, 700 weight, 0.2em tracking, uppercase, honey-dark colour.
  • H2 headings pair plain text with a .accent span in honey gold.
  • Cards: grey-900 background, grey-800 border, 16px radius, 28px padding. Hover lifts 2px and lightens border.
  • All CTAs link back to imbila.ai properties. External links get the ↗ suffix.
  • Footer: centred, minimal — logo, document title, date, confidentiality note.

Live brand tokens. Inspect and copy.

This is the exact JSON that agents fetch from the raw URL. Search, browse, or copy the whole thing.

brand-tokens.json
Loading tokens...

The cheat sheet. Pin this.

Font

DM Sans

800 for display · 700 for headings · 600 for subheads · 400 for body · 300 for light text

Primary Accent

#EDAF42

CTAs · Links · Tags · Highlights · Section accents. Never as a background fill for large areas.

Background

#0A0A0A

Page background. Cards on #1F1E1E. Borders on #2A2A2A. Dark-first, always.

Body Text

#BBBBBB

All body copy. Max-width 64ch for readability. Line-height 1.7.

Tagline

"AI Strategy & Implementation That Actually Delivers ROI"

Primary tagline. Supporting: "Clarity, not chaos. Speed, not risk."

Brand Animal

Honey Badger

Not the hyrax/dassie. The brand shifted to honey badger. All references updated.