Brand Guidelines

candid

Code Review for the AI Era

Our brand embodies radical honesty in code review. These guidelines ensure Candid is represented consistently across all touchpoints.

01

Logo

Our mark represents honest conversation

candid
The Comment BubbleRepresents honest dialogue and open communication. The foundation of meaningful code review.
candid
The WordmarkLowercase, approachable, and direct. Set in Inter Medium for clarity and warmth.

Variations

candid
Full LogoPrimary usage
Icon OnlyFavicons, small spaces
candid
WordmarkText-heavy contexts

Usage Guidelines

Use on light backgrounds with sufficient contrast
Maintain the original aspect ratio
Give the logo breathing room (min. icon height on all sides)
Don't stretch, skew, or distort
Don't add shadows, gradients, or effects
Don't change the brand colors
02

Color

A warm, sophisticated palette inspired by honest conversation

Currently viewing: Light Mode
Warm Tan--accent-main
#d4a27f
Primary brand accent. CTAs, highlights, interactive elements, and brand moments.
Parchment--bg-light / --bg-dark
#fdfdf7
Page backgrounds. Warm cream in light mode, deep charcoal in dark mode.
Canvas--surface-light / --surface-dark
#f8f7f3
Elevated surfaces. Cards, code blocks, and interactive containers.
Ink--text-primary
#1a1612
Primary text. Headlines, body copy, and important content.
Graphite--text-secondary
#5c5850
Secondary text. Captions, metadata, and supporting content.
Stroke--border-light / --border-dark
#e8e6df
Borders and dividers. Subtle visual separation between elements.
03

Typography

Three typefaces, carefully paired for clarity and warmth

FrauncesDisplay Serif
Aa
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789
Weights600 (Semibold)
UsageHeadlines, section titles, brand moments
CharacterWarm, elegant, with soft terminals and optical sizing
InterSans Serif
Aa
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789
Weights400 (Regular), 500 (Medium)
UsageBody text, UI elements, navigation
CharacterClean, highly legible, with tall x-height
JetBrains MonoMonospace
01
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
=> -> !== === <= >= () {} []
Weights400 (Regular), 500 (Medium)
UsageCode blocks, CLI commands, technical content
CharacterLigatures for programming, high character distinction

Type Scale

Page HeadlinesHero72px--text-hero
Section TitlesSection48px--text-section
Card HeadersCard Title24px--text-card-title
Body copy and paragraphsBody18px--text-body
Captions and metadataSmall14px--text-small
npx skills add candidCode14px--text-code
04

Voice & Tone

Rooted in Radical Candor: caring personally while challenging directly

"The best feedback cares personally and challenges directly. It shows understanding of context and difficulty, while never hedging or softening real issues."
Radical Candor Principles
Harsh Mode
"This function is a mess. Six levels of nesting? Seriously? Refactor this before it infects the rest of the codebase."
Brutally honest feedback that doesn't sugar-coat issues.
  • Pre-commit self-review
  • Finding edge cases
  • Security audits
  • When you want brutal honesty
Constructive Mode
"This function has grown complex. Consider extracting the validation logic into a helper function. Here's a suggested approach..."
Caring but direct feedback based on Radical Candor.
  • Team code reviews
  • Mentoring situations
  • Documentation reviews
  • When teaching is the goal

Writing Guidelines

Be specific: "Line 42 has a potential null reference"
Provide context: Explain why something matters
Offer solutions: Don't just point out problems
Don't use vague language: "This could be better"
Don't be condescending: "Obviously you should..."
Don't skip the why: Context builds understanding