BRAND GUIDELINES v1.0

The Overclock
Visual System

A comprehensive guide to our visual language, voice, and the principles that make our brand distinctive.

Dark Machine Intelligence

Our aesthetic sits at the intersection of enterprise credibility and cyberpunk energy. It's the visual language of infrastructure that's alive—not cold server racks, but warm, pulsing neural networks. Think Bloomberg Terminal meets a starship's AI core.

01

Running Hot

The name "Overclock" drives everything: we're pushing systems beyond their rated limits, extracting maximum performance. The orange glow represents heat—controlled, productive heat.

02

Always On

Nothing in our visual system is static. Orbs pulse, rings rotate, particles flow. This communicates that the system is always processing, always working.

03

Void & Signal

Deep black backgrounds serve as the void from which glowing elements emerge. Light comes from the elements themselves, not external sources.

04

Enterprise Credible

Despite the cyberpunk energy, we maintain enterprise credibility through clean typography, generous spacing, and subtle borders. A command center, not a video game.

Signal Orange & Void Black

Our palette is built on contrast: deep blacks as the canvas, Signal Orange as the heat of computation, and carefully calibrated grays for hierarchy. Orange elements always glow—they emit light.

Signal Orange
#FF6B35
Primary accent. CTAs, highlights, the "heat" of overclock. Always rendered with glow effect.
Void Black
#000000
Primary background
Carbon
#0D0D0D
Cards, elevated surfaces
Elevated
#111111
Hover states, depth layers
Pure White
#FFFFFF
Headlines, primary text

Semantic Colors

Used to communicate system states in the before/after narrative.

Chaos Red

#FF6464 — Overloaded, inefficient, the "before" state. Used sparingly to show problems being solved.

Calm Blue

#3B82F6 — Controlled, optimal, the "with Overclock" state. Represents order from chaos.

Inter & JetBrains Mono

Two typefaces with distinct roles: Inter for human-readable content, JetBrains Mono for machine-precision labels. Headlines are tight and dense; body text is open and readable.

Display / Inter
Overclock It
Inter Bold · -0.03em tracking · 1.1 line-height
Technical / JetBrains Mono
ENTERPRISE AI INFRASTRUCTURE
JetBrains Mono Medium · 0.1em tracking · All caps

Type Scale

H1
Display Headlines
H2
Section Titles
H3
Card Headings
Body
Body text uses Inter Regular at 1rem with comfortable 1.6 line-height for readability.
Small
Secondary text, captions, and supporting information.
Code
LABELS · BADGES · TECHNICAL_INFO

Central Visual Metaphor

The orb represents the AI core—a pulsing, ring-surrounded sphere that's always processing. It appears in hero sections, loading states, and as a brand mark. It's never static.

Anatomy

1

Core

Radial gradient from accent color, semi-transparent, with breathing animation (4s cycle)

2

Rings

Three concentric circles, 1px stroke, rotating at different speeds (20s, 25s, 30s) and directions

3

Glow

Blurred radial gradient behind everything, creating the "emits light" effect

4

Pulse

Periodic scale animation (1.0 → 1.05 → 1.0) suggesting heartbeat or processing

Orb States

The orb can be modified to communicate different states. On error pages (404), fragments drift away and animations become stuttered/glitchy. In loading states, rotation speeds increase. The orb should never be completely static—even subtle pulse animation maintains the "alive" feeling.

Purposeful Animation

Every animation communicates state or flow. We use smooth, confident easing for interactions, and continuous slow motion for atmosphere. Nothing moves without meaning.

Pulse / Breathe

System heartbeat. Used for the orb core and active indicators. Slow, 2-4s cycles.

animation: pulse 2s ease-in-out infinite;

Rotate

Continuous processing. Used for orb rings. Very slow, 20-30s per revolution.

animation: rotate 20s linear infinite;

Flow

Data movement toward center. Used for particle effects and ingestion visualization.

animation: flow 3s ease-in-out infinite;

Hover Lift

Interactive affordance. Subtle Y translation with enhanced glow. 0.2-0.3s duration.

transition: all 0.3s ease;

Motion Principles

Purposeful, not decorative: Every animation communicates state or flow—no gratuitous movement.

Smooth and confident: Use ease-out curves, 0.2s-0.4s durations for interactions. Never jarring.

Continuous for atmosphere: Background elements use slow rotations and gentle pulses (4s-20s cycles).

GPU-accelerated: Use transforms and opacity only. The site should feel fast—"overclocked."

Technical but Human

Our copy is confident and declarative, using metaphors of heat, signals, and frequency. We're technical enough for engineers, clear enough for executives.

Do

"Don't change your business. Overclock it."

Confident, declarative. Uses the brand name as a verb. Creates contrast.

Don't

"We help businesses leverage AI to enhance their document processing capabilities."

Generic, passive, uses empty buzzwords. Could be any company.

Do

"Signal not found. The page has drifted outside our knowledge graph."

Stays in metaphor system even for errors. "Signal" and "knowledge graph" reference the product.

Don't

"Oops! We can't find what you're looking for. 🙈"

Too casual, uses emoji, breaks the serious enterprise tone.

Voice Attributes

Confident: We state, we don't suggest. "Surface contract risk in seconds" not "May help with contract review."

Technical: We use precise terminology. "Semantic layer" not "smart document tool."

Metaphor-rich: Temperature, signals, frequency, clock speed—all fair game.

Enterprise-credible: Stats, precision percentages, audit trails. We're accountable.

Downloads

Logo files, color palettes, and brand assets for approved use.

Overclock's visual identity is dark, warm, and alive. Deep black backgrounds serve as a void from which orange-glowing elements emerge—pulsing orbs, flowing particles, rotating rings—all suggesting an AI system that's constantly processing, always on. The aesthetic is premium enterprise crossed with controlled cyberpunk energy. Everything says: this is serious infrastructure that runs hot and handles chaos so you don't have to.

Brand Essence