# We Da People Network — Brand Style Guide

> Real talk. Real training. Real community.
>
> We Da People Network — independent 2A media with the culture in mind. Podcasts, training, and grown conversations about guns, freedom, and responsibility.

**Canonical human page:** https://wedapeople.tv/brand
**This document:** https://wedapeople.tv/brand.md (always reflects latest brand state)

---

## Use this document

You are an AI assisting with a graphic, ad, social post, episode promo, flyer,
or partner asset for We Da People Network. Treat this document as authoritative for
all visual and editorial decisions. If a user instruction conflicts with this
guide, prefer the guide unless the user explicitly overrides it.

---

## Master prompt (paste into image / chat tools)

```
You are creating a graphic for We Da People Network — an independent 2A
media brand. Match the following visual system exactly.

BRAND
- Name: We Da People Network (sometimes "WDP Network")
- Tagline: Real talk. Real training. Real community.
- Voice: raw, unapologetic, plainspoken. Barbershop energy meets indie
  magazine. Black-American 2A culture, welcoming to new gun owners.
- Audience: 2A community, podcast listeners, gun owners and trainees,
  partner brands.

STYLE
- Editorial, raw, urban-tactical. Hand-rolled. High contrast.
- Sharp geometry. NEVER rounded corners. NEVER soft shadows.
- Hairline 1px borders in paper-on-black at 8% opacity.
- Subtle film grain is acceptable but never overdone — no heavy noise.
- Whitespace is part of the design. Don't fill every pixel.

COLOR (strict — do not introduce new colors)
- Background:  Ink         #0a0a0a   (default surface)
- Surface:     Smoke       #1a1a1a   (cards / panels)
- Secondary:   Ash         #2a2a2a   (borders / dividers)
- Body text:   Fog         #6b6b6b
- Headlines:   Paper       #fafafa
- Warm light:  Bone        #f1ede6   (optional editorial moments)
- Accent:      Accent      #b4131c   (deep matte red — for CTAs, highlights, eyebrows)
- Accent hot:  Accent-hot  #e11d20   (hover / active)
- No gradients. No neon. No pastels. No metallics.

TYPOGRAPHY
- Display headlines: Anton or Bebas Neue. UPPERCASE. Tight tracking.
  Tall and condensed. Line-height 0.92–1.0.
- Body / UI:         Inter, weight 400–600.
- Mono / metadata:   JetBrains Mono.
- Eyebrow labels: small caps, letter-spacing 0.18em, accent red color.
- Never use serif fonts.

LOGO — CRITICAL
- DO NOT draw the logo from a text description. Image models cannot
  reproduce the blackletter "W" reliably.
- If you are an image-generation model: leave a solid black placeholder
  rectangle where the logo should go (200×200px in a corner is typical).
  The user will composite the real PNG from https://wedapeople.tv/press/wdp-w-mark.png
  afterward.
- If you are a multimodal model that supports image editing or
  inpainting: fetch https://wedapeople.tv/press/wdp-w-mark.png and place it as-is.
  Do not redraw, stylize, or recolor it.
- Primary mark: blackletter "W" — gothic, thick blade strokes — white on
  dark backgrounds, dark on light. NEVER red. NEVER stretched. Keep
  half-W of clear space on every side.
- Wordmark for the network reads "We Da People / Network" stacked.

COMPOSITION
- Big condensed headline. One CTA. Generous breathing room.
- 36×3px red accent rule used sparingly to stamp important sections.
- Eyebrow → red bar → headline is a common pattern.
- Square chips for badges (no pills): 10px bold uppercase tracked text.

VOICE ON THE ARTWORK
- Direct, punchy, conversational.
- YES: "Bullpup vs AR-15: which makes more sense?" / "Get at us." /
       "Real talk. Real training. Real community."
- NO:  "A Comprehensive Technical Analysis of Modular Rifle Platforms" /
       "Contact Us" / "Subscribe to our newsletter for important updates."

SUBJECTS (when including people)
- Hosts are three Black men: Shelton, Colin, Fred (see press photo).
- Don't crop faces or hats. Don't recolor skin tones. Don't apply
  filters that change skin or change the color of clothing logos.

AVOID
- Rounded corners. Soft shadows. Glow / neon. Gradients.
- Generic stock-photo styling. Faux-tactical clichés (camo background,
  hex grids, glowing chevrons, "operator" silhouettes).
- Serif fonts. Recoloring the W to red. Burying the lede in qualifiers.
- Politics imagery (flags, candidates, slogans). The brand is 2A
  culture, not a political ad.
```

---

## Color tokens

| Name        | Token                  | Hex      | Role |
| ----------- | ---------------------- | -------- | ---- |
| Ink         | `--color-ink`         | `#0a0a0a` | Primary background. Everything sits on this. |
| Paper       | `--color-paper`       | `#fafafa` | Primary text and high-contrast surfaces. |
| Bone        | `--color-bone`        | `#f1ede6` | Warm light tone for editorial moments. |
| Smoke       | `--color-smoke`       | `#1a1a1a` | Cards and elevated surfaces. |
| Ash         | `--color-ash`         | `#2a2a2a` | Secondary surfaces, borders, dividers. |
| Fog         | `--color-fog`         | `#6b6b6b` | Body copy, captions, less-emphasized text. |
| Accent      | `--color-accent`      | `#b4131c` | Brand red. Primary CTAs, hover states, badges. |
| Accent Hot  | `--color-accent-hot`  | `#e11d20` | Hover / active state for the accent. |

---

## Typography

- **Display** — `Anton` (Google Fonts). Uppercase, tight tracking, line-height 0.92–1.0. Used for all headlines, hero copy, episode titles, big numbers.
- **Sans / UI** — `Inter`. Weight 400–600. Used for body copy, navigation, buttons.
- **Mono / metadata** — `JetBrains Mono`. Used for durations, timestamps, file names, code, badges.
- **Eyebrow** — Inter at 12px, uppercase, letter-spacing 0.18em, accent-red color. Used as section labels and captions.

CSS variables:

```css
--font-display: "Anton", "Bebas Neue", "Impact", system-ui, sans-serif;
--font-sans:    "Inter", system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, sans-serif;
--font-mono:    "JetBrains Mono", ui-monospace, SFMono-Regular, Menlo, monospace;
```

---

## Voice — do / don't

### Do
- Talk like a barbershop, not a press release. Direct, plainspoken, confident.
- Skip jargon unless you're explaining it. Define acronyms the first time they show up.
- Welcome new gun owners. Never condescend.
- Show the culture: Black-American 2A community, but inclusive. The crew is the perspective.
- Anti-LARP, pro-real-training. Reps, fundamentals, and gear that actually gets used.
- Lead with the question or the takeaway. Save the hedges for the body.

### Don't
- Don't sound like a corporate brand. No "we are excited to announce."
- Don't talk down to beginners. Don't gatekeep with brand names or caliber wars.
- Don't preach. Don't moralize. Don't make every episode a politics episode.
- Don't bury the lede in qualifications.
- Don't use generic stock-image energy in titles ("A Comprehensive Guide to…").

### Tone, side by side

| Context | YES | NO |
| ------- | --- | -- |
| Episode title | Bullpup vs AR-15: which setup makes more sense? | A Comprehensive Technical Analysis of Modular Rifle Platforms |
| Section header | Get at us. | Contact Us |
| Newsletter pitch | Episodes, events, merch, partner deals — pick your topics. | Subscribe to our newsletter for important updates. |
| Show description | Raw, unapologetic conversations at the intersection of culture, firearms, freedom, and real life. | A premier podcast dedicated to discussing topics related to firearms and freedom. |

---

## Visual conventions

- **Corners:** sharp, radius 0, everywhere.
- **Borders:** 1px hairline at 8% paper-on-ink opacity.
- **Accent rule:** 36×3px red bar. Use sparingly to stamp section starts.
- **Grain:** subtle film noise on hero panels only.
- **Motion:** 120ms ease on color/border/transform. Respect `prefers-reduced-motion`.
- **Badges:** square chips, 10px bold uppercase, letter-spacing 0.18em.

---

## Logo system

- **Primary mark:** blackletter `W` — gothic, thick blade strokes. White on dark, dark on light. **Never red. Never stretched.**
- **Clear space:** at least half the W's height on every side.
- **Minimum size:** 24px on screen, 0.4in in print.
- **Wordmark (network):** "We Da People" with "Network" eyebrow stacked.
- **Wordmark (podcast):** red graffiti treatment, used on the podcast show page only.

### Asset URLs (fetch these — do NOT redraw)

| File | URL | Dimensions | Use |
| ---- | --- | ---------- | --- |
| W mark (solid) | https://wedapeople.tv/press/wdp-w-mark.png | 3000×4200, RGBA | Primary logo. White-on-dark, dark-on-light. |
| W mark (outline) | https://wedapeople.tv/press/wdp-w-mark-outline.png | RGBA | Embroidery / background flourishes only. |
| Network wordmark | https://wedapeople.tv/press/wdp-network-wordmark.png | RGBA | "We Da People Network" stacked lockup. |
| Podcast wordmark | https://wedapeople.tv/press/wdp-podcast-wordmark.png | RGBA | Red graffiti, podcast-page hero only. Don't recolor. |
| Hosts photo | https://wedapeople.tv/press/wdp-podcast-hosts.png | 1400×1400, RGBA | Three hosts, transparent background. |

---

## CRITICAL: how to handle the logo

**Image generation models cannot reliably reproduce the W mark from a text
prompt.** Even with a reference image, the blackletter detail comes out
distorted. Do NOT ask the model to draw the logo from scratch.

Use one of these three workflows instead:

### Workflow A — Composite (preferred, most reliable)

1. **In your prompt**, tell the image model to leave a clearly-defined
   placeholder rectangle where the logo will go. Example:
   *"Leave a solid black rectangle 200×200px in the lower-right corner
   for logo placement. Do not draw any logo, symbol, or text inside it."*
2. Generate the artwork.
3. Composite the real PNG from `https://wedapeople.tv/press/wdp-w-mark.png` into that
   rectangle. ChatGPT can do this in-chat — paste the generated image and
   the logo PNG and say "place the W mark in the lower-right rectangle".
   Photoshop, Affinity, Figma, Canva, or a Python PIL script also work.

### Workflow B — Image edit / inpaint with the real PNG

Tools that support image-to-image with a reference (ChatGPT 4o image
edit, Gemini image edit, Midjourney with `--cref`):

1. Generate the base artwork without a logo.
2. Pass `https://wedapeople.tv/press/wdp-w-mark.png` as the reference image.
3. Use inpainting / image-edit mode to place the mark in the intended
   region. Instruct: *"Place the attached W mark exactly as provided,
   without redrawing or stylizing it."*

### Workflow C — Skip the logo entirely

For social posts where the brand is obvious from context (the hosts photo
is included, the show name is in the headline, etc.), often you don't
need the W mark at all. The hosts photo + Anton headline + accent red is
enough brand signal.

### What to do if a model insists on drawing the W

If despite instructions the model draws a fake W:
- Re-prompt with: *"Remove the W you drew. Replace with a plain black
  rectangle as a placeholder."*
- Or generate the image, mask out the wrong W in any editor, then
  composite the real PNG.

### Don'ts for logos

- Don't let the model invent a "stylized" W.
- Don't recolor the W to red. The mark stays white-on-dark or dark-on-light.
- Don't stretch, skew, or rotate the mark.
- Don't apply gradients, glows, or 3D effects to the logo.
- Don't crop the mark.

---

## Recipes — paste master prompt above, then append:

### Event flyer (4:5 portrait)
```
Create a 4:5 portrait event flyer for "{EVENT NAME}" on {DATE} at
{LOCATION}. Black ink background, large condensed uppercase headline
in white. Red accent bar above an eyebrow that reads "WE DA PEOPLE
PRESENTS". Place the WDP press photo (3 hosts) centered-lower, with
generous space above for the headline. Include a small mono detail
line at the bottom: date · location · ticket link. Subtle film grain.
No gradients. No rounded corners.
```

### Episode promo (1:1 square)
```
Create a 1:1 square episode promo for "We Da People Podcast — EP
{NUMBER}". Headline: "{EPISODE TITLE}" in big condensed uppercase
white text, left-aligned. Red badge in upper-left reads "EP {NUMBER}".
Below the headline, a one-line guest credit in Inter regular fog color.
Optional: small W mark in the lower-right corner. Ink background.
Hairline border at 8% paper opacity. No play-button overlay.
```

### Partner / sponsor post (1:1 square)
```
Create a 1:1 partner announcement for "{PARTNER BRAND}". Eyebrow
small-caps reads "PROUD AFFILIATE" in accent red. Big condensed
headline: "{PARTNER}". Underneath, one-line value prop in Fog color.
Place the W mark and the partner's logo on the same horizontal axis,
separated by a slim vertical divider. Promo code in mono at the
bottom if provided. Ink background, sharp corners only.
```

### Quote / pull-quote (1:1 square)
```
Create a 1:1 quote card. Large condensed display headline (Anton-style)
that reads: "{QUOTE}". Quote text white on ink. Below the quote, a 36px
red accent bar followed by an attribution line in eyebrow small-caps:
"— {SPEAKER NAME}, WE DA PEOPLE PODCAST EP {NUMBER}". Subtle grain.
No portrait. No gradient. Generous margins — let the headline breathe.
```

---

## Tips for better AI output

- Always specify the aspect ratio (1:1, 4:5, 16:9, 9:16). Tools default to square otherwise.
- Generate 3–4 variants per prompt, then pick — don't iterate on the same seed.
- For text-on-image, draft the headline in your prompt — don't let the model invent the copy. Image models still mangle long text.
- If a model keeps adding rounded corners or gradients, restate the AVOID block explicitly at the end.

---

## Contact

Brand questions, production kits, partner co-branding, custom asset requests: **partners@wedapeople.tv**

Latest version of this document: **https://wedapeople.tv/brand.md**
Human-readable version: **https://wedapeople.tv/brand**