ipa-brand-guidelines

name	ipa-brand-guidelines
description	Applies Innovations for Poverty Action's official brand colors and typography to any sort of artifact that may benefit from having IPA's look-and-feel. Use it when brand colors or style guidelines, visual formatting, or company design standards apply.

IPA's Brand Styling

Overview

To access Innovations for Poverty Action's official brand identity and style resources, use this skill.

Keywords: branding, corporate identity, visual identity, post-processing, styling, brand colors, typography, IPA brand, visual formatting, visual design, writing guidelines

Brand Guidelines

Colors

Primary Brand Colors:

• IPA Green: #49ac57 - Primary brand color
• Dark Green: #155240 - Success states and emphasis
• Charcoal: #414042 - Primary text and dark elements
• White: #ffffff - Background and light text

Secondary Colors:

• Dark Blue: #2b4085 - Secondary accent
• Light Blue: #84d0d4 - Tertiary accent
• Red Orange: #f26529 - Attention and highlights
• Secondary Gray: #707073 - Secondary text elements
• Tertiary Gray: #C2C2C4 - Tertiary elements

Supporting Colors:

• Light Grey: #f1f2f2 - Subtle backgrounds
• Dark Grey: #c9c9c8 - Borders and dividers
• Blue Accent: #ceecee - Light backgrounds

Categorical Colors (for data visualization):

1. Light Blue: #84d0d4
2. Dark Blue: #2b4085
3. Red Orange: #f26529
4. Purple: #be9ffa
5. Yellow: #f5cb57
6. IPA Green: #49ac57

Sequential Colors (for gradients and scales):

1. IPA Green: #49ac57
2. #3f9953
3. #35874e
4. #2b754a
5. #216345
6. Dark Green: #155240

Divergent Colors (for comparative visualizations):

• Cool side: #032b6c, #5566b0, #a0a9ea
• Warm side: #fc9757, #c8420a, #730000

Typography

Official IPA Fonts:

• Body Text: Arial
• Headings: Georgia

Web Implementation (Google Fonts alternatives):

• Base Font: Arimo (Google Fonts alternative to Arial)
• Headings: Gelasio (Google Fonts alternative to Georgia)
• Monospace: Fira Code (from Google Fonts)
• Note: Arimo and Gelasio are freely available Google Fonts that closely resemble IPA's official fonts and are used for consistent web availability

Monospace Styling:

• Inline code: Dark green text (#155240), medium weight (500)
• Code blocks: Dark green text on light grey background (#f1f2f2)

Link Styling:

• Color: Dark blue (#2b4085)
• Decoration: Underline

Writing Guidelines

IPA follows strict writing guidelines to ensure clear, accessible, and professional communication. Key principles include:

Core Principles

• Keep it short and simple: Use concise sentences averaging 15-20 words
• Write clearly and avoid jargon: Write for general audiences; explain technical terms on first use
• Use active voice: Prefer "Researchers conducted a study" over "A study was conducted"
• Be evidence-based and objective: Present findings neutrally without advocacy
• Show, don't tell: Use concrete evidence and specific examples
• Maintain professional tone: Avoid contractions, slang, and casual language

Key Terminology

• ✅ Use "evaluation" instead of "experiment"
• ✅ Use "participants" or "respondents" instead of "subjects"
• ✅ Use "Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)" instead of "developing countries"
• ✅ Use "people living in poverty" instead of "poor people" or "the poor"
• ✅ Use "randomized evaluation" for general audiences instead of "RCT"
• ✅ Avoid "treatment" and "control" language - use descriptive alternatives like "enrolled in the program" vs. "did not receive the program"

Style Standards

• Follow Associated Press Stylebook (56th edition)
• Use American spelling and punctuation
• Follow Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition) for citations
• Write out numbers one through nine; use numerals for 10 and above
• Spell out acronyms on first use: "Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)"
• Use active voice and avoid passive constructions
• No contractions: "it is" not "it's"

For complete writing guidelines, see: .claude/skills/ipa-brand-guidelines/references/writing_guidelines.md

Features

Smart Font Application

• Applies Gelasio font to headings
• Applies Arimo font to body text
• Applies Fira Code to monospace/code elements
• Automatically loads fonts from Google Fonts
• Preserves readability and brand consistency

Text Styling

• Headings: Gelasio font in appropriate weights
• Body text: Arimo font
• Code/monospace: Fira Code with dark green color
• Smart color selection based on background (charcoal on light, white on dark)
• Preserves text hierarchy and formatting

Color Application

• Primary branding uses IPA Green
• Text uses charcoal for readability
• Accent colors follow categorical/sequential/divergent palettes
• Maintains visual interest while staying on-brand
• Background/foreground contrast follows accessibility standards

Logo Integration

• Medium logo: assets/logos/IPA-primary-color-RGB.png
• Logo placement follows brand guidelines

Technical Details

Font Management

• Official IPA fonts: Arial (body text) and Georgia (headings)
• Web implementation uses Google Fonts alternatives: Arimo (resembles Arial) and Gelasio (resembles Georgia)
• Fira Code used for monospace/code elements
• Fonts loaded from Google Fonts for consistent web availability
• No local font installation required
• Fallback to system fonts (Arial, Georgia) if Google Fonts unavailable

Color Application

• Uses RGB/hex color values for precise brand matching
• Color definitions from assets/design-styles/light-brand.yml
• Applied via python-pptx's RGBColor class or CSS hex values
• Maintains color fidelity across different systems
• Supports categorical, sequential, and divergent color schemes for data visualization

Writing Style Enforcement

• Automated checks via Vale linting tool
• Style rules defined in .vale.ini and styles/ directory
• Pre-commit hooks ensure compliance before committing changes
• Guidelines configurable as strict, moderate, or loose enforcement