The print design system
How Pierce Law Group shows up on paper, vinyl, and board: stationery, collateral, and event display. It uses the Brand system's logo, type, palette, and gold lozenge, and adds what the screen never needs: trim, bleed, safe areas, stock, and ink.
The emphasis scale
Every print family ships three templates on the same grid. Choose the step that fits the setting. A letter to a grieving client is Minimal, a seminar handout is Accent, and a booth in a busy exhibit hall is Bold. Don't mix steps inside one piece. A set, such as a card and its matching letterhead, may use different steps.
Minimal
Quiet and correspondence-grade. Paper does the work; the brand is a signature, not a statement.
- Surface
- White or ivory stock, navy type only.
- Gold
- One hairline or rule. No gold fills.
- Logo
- Full PLG lockup in colour (navy).
Accent
Recognizably Pierce at arm’s length. A navy or gold band frames ivory content.
- Surface
- Ivory stock with a navy band or edge.
- Gold
- Lozenge, eyebrows, and one rule. Gold never fills more than ~10% of the face.
- Logo
- Full PLG lockup: colour on ivory, yellow inside navy bands.
Bold
Full-bleed navy with gold ink, and full-bleed photography where the format has room. For rooms, not envelopes.
- Surface
- Navy flood (rich black build), full bleed.
- Gold
- Display type and keylines. Optional foil on short runs.
- Logo
- Full PLG lockup in yellow (gold).
Principles
| Principle | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Brand owns the identity. | Logo files, type families, and colours come from Brand. Print never adds a typeface or a colour. It only defines how those assets meet ink and stock. |
| Paper is a surface. | Prefer natural or ivory stock to a printed ivory tint. A tint across a whole sheet muddies type and shows banding on digital presses. |
| Gold is ink, not decoration. | On white or ivory, set gold text in Gold ink (--gold-600). The brighter --gold-400 is for rules, the lozenge, and anything on navy. |
| Readable at arm's length, then across a room. | Many Pierce clients are older readers. Body text on letters, brochures, and worksheets is at least 12 pt with generous line spacing, fill-in items are 15 pt, and running text is upright, never italic. Only supporting lines go smaller: business card contact lines (8.5 pt), booklet running heads and labels, pad footers, calendar dates in the year view, and fine print such as disclaimers. Nothing goes below 7.5 pt. Banner headlines are sized to read from about 12 m (40 ft). See the Conference Banners specs. |
| Write on paper, never on ink. | Anything a reader fills in, ticks, circles, or signs sits on white or ivory: write-in lines, tick boxes, notes, calendar dates, date fields, signature lines. Navy bands and floods carry only printed type. Ballpoint and pencil vanish on navy. |
| Compliant by default. | Advertising pieces (posters, banners, brochures) carry the firm name and office address and avoid claims and results, the same as on social. When in doubt, send it for review. |
Ink
Proposed print builds for the brand palette. These values are a starting point, not verified matches: request a hard proof on the chosen stock before the first run, and record any press-corrected builds here.
| Colour | Token · screen | CMYK | Spot | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navy | --navy-800 #10243d | C100 M80 Y40 K55 | PMS 2965 C (nearest) | Type, bands, Bold floods |
| Rich navy flood | --navy-900 #0a1729 | C100 M85 Y45 K70 | — | Full-bleed backgrounds only (total ink ≤ 300%) |
| Gold | --gold-400 #c2a15a | C22 M34 Y74 K4 | PMS 7562 C (nearest) or gold foil | Rules, lozenge, display type on navy |
| Gold ink | --gold-600 #8a6a2e | C30 M48 Y90 K30 | PMS 7559 C (nearest) | Gold text on white/ivory (legible at small sizes) |
| Ivory | --neutral-100 #f6f2ea | C2 M3 Y7 K0 | Natural stock preferred | Paper tone — choose natural stock before printing a tint |
Formats
Every template page sizes its previews from this one table (src/lib/print-templates.ts). Bleed extends past the trim line. Keep live type and logos inside the safe area.
| Format | Trim | Bleed | Safe area | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letterhead · US Letter | 8.5″ × 11″ | 0.125″ | 0.5″ | 70–80 lb text, smooth or laid, white or natural. Laser/inkjet compatible (uncoated). |
| Business card · US | 3.5″ × 2″ | 0.125″ | 0.125″ | 16–32 pt uncoated or soft-touch; Bold may use gold foil on navy. |
| Tri-fold brochure · letter | 11″ × 8.5″ | 0.125″ | 0.25″ | 100 lb gloss or silk text; 80 lb uncoated for the Minimal variant. |
| Booklet · 6 × 9 trade | 6″ × 9″ | 0.125″ | 0.375″ | Interior 60–70 lb natural uncoated text. Cover 100 lb cover with matte or soft-touch laminate. |
| Worksheet · US Letter | 8.5″ × 11″ | 0″ | 0.5″ | 24 lb bond or 70 lb uncoated text so it takes pen and pencil. Office laser printing. |
| Calendar · US Letter | 8.5″ × 11″ | 0.125″ | 0.5″ | 100 lb uncoated cover, so the sheet pins flat without curling and takes pen and pencil. |
| Notepad · half letter | 5.5″ × 8.5″ | 0.125″ | 0.375″ | 60–70 lb uncoated text, 50 sheets, padded at the head onto a 30 pt chipboard back. |
| Desk pad · 4 × 6 | 4″ × 6″ | 0.125″ | 0.25″ | Same text stock, 50 sheets, padded at the head onto a 30 pt chipboard back. |
| Retractable pull-up | 33″ × 80″ | 0.5″ | 1″ | 13 oz anti-curl vinyl or polyester fabric. |
| Hanging / table banner | 96″ × 36″ | 0.5″ | 1.5″ | 13 oz matte vinyl with grommets, or dye-sub fabric. |
| Poster · Tabloid | 11″ × 17″ | 0.125″ | 0.5″ | 100 lb gloss text; in-office or digital press. |
| Poster · Medium | 18″ × 24″ | 0.125″ | 0.75″ | 100 lb silk cover or 9 mil satin photo. |
| Poster · Large | 24″ × 36″ | 0.125″ | 1″ | 9 mil satin photo; foam-core mount for easels. |
| Poster · One-sheet | 27″ × 40″ | 0.125″ | 1″ | 9 mil satin photo or backlit film for light boxes. |
Updating content
Every word, name, and photo choice in these templates comes from one file, src/lib/print-content.json. Change it once and every Minimal, Accent, and Bold template updates. Agents edit it through the TimDS MCP server (npm run timds -- mcp) with read_file and write_file, then confirm with run_check.
| Key | Drives |
|---|---|
firm | Name, descriptor, address, phone, web, and office hours on every piece |
letterhead | The sample letter shown on the letterhead templates |
businessCards | The default team roster for the batch builder and the Bold card's back line |
photos | The photo library the templates may use, each with a focus point at the centre of its people |
brochure | Copy and photo for each of the six brochure panels |
worksheet | Title, checklist sections, callout, and notes label for the worksheet |
booklet | Cover, front matter, chapter opener, body pages, glossary and about page for the booklet |
calendar | Year, sample month, titles, planning reminders, notes label, disclaimer, and the Bold masthead photo for the calendar |
notepad | The date label at the head of each notepad |
banners | Headline, call to action, and the tall and wide banner photos |
posters | Headline, event details, learning points, and the poster photo |
headline and accent; the accent renders in gold italic. Templates name photos by key from photos; an unknown key fails the build. Logos are not configurable: every template uses the full Pierce Law Group lockup.Handing off to a printer
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| File | PDF/X-4, CMYK (or CMYK + spot for foil), fonts embedded, crop marks offset beyond the bleed. |
| Images | 300 ppi at final size for sheet goods; 100–150 ppi at final size for banners and posters 24″ and up. |
| Logos | Vector files only, from Logo. Never place a screenshot or raster export. |
| Proof | A hard proof on the chosen stock for every first run and every new stock. |