RimalBrand guidelinesv1.0
An architecture studio that lets the work speak
- Version
- 1.0 · Jan 2026
- Discipline
- Brand
- Sector
- Architecture
- Prepared by
- Berke Tok
Foundations
Identity and website for a small studio building in the desert. Full-bleed photographs, a short project index and type that steps out of the way.
1.1Purpose
Two dunes on a slab: the site and the building that sits on it. Rimal means sands; the identity is as quiet as the architecture.
1.2Audience
Who it is for
Private clients commissioning a house, and the developers and juries who shortlist studios.
Positioning
For clients who want a building that belongs to its site. Unlike studios that lead with renders, Rimal leads with the land and the light.
1.3Principles
- P1
Dunes as a mark
Two dune lines over a slab: the landscape the studio builds in and the ground it builds on.
- P2
Photographs first
Every project opens on a single image. Text arrives only where the picture cannot say it.
- P3
An index, not a gallery
Projects are filtered by type and read as a list, so a client can find a precedent in seconds.
Voice
How Rimal sounds in product, support and marketing. One voice; the tone moves with the moment, not the channel.
2.1Traits
Restrained
The work speaks first. Copy sits beneath images and never on top of them.
Material
We name materials and conditions: rammed earth, north light, 46°C in August.
Patient
Projects are described over years, with the stages that took the longest.
2.2Say this, not that
- Say
Rammed earth, 600 mm thick, cool through August.
NotA stunning, award-winning design.
- Say
Al Faya House · Sharjah · 2019–2023
NotOur latest exciting project.
- Say
A courtyard sized to the shade of one ghaf tree.
NotSeamless indoor-outdoor living.
2.3House style
- 01Project titles: name · place · years
- 02Areas in m²
- 03Photographer credited on every image
Logo
One mark, one wordmark, one horizontal lockup. The mark is drawn on a 48-unit grid and is never redrawn, only scaled.
3.1Lockups
3.2Construction
Construction circles and the 4-unit grid the mark is drawn on.
- Grid
- 48 units, 4-unit subdivisions
- Construction
- Orthogonal, no curves
- Lockup
- Mark 132 : word 345 units wide
- Gap
- 48 units between mark and word
3.3Clear space and size
Shown at true size. Below these the mark fills in and the word loses its counters.
3.4Misuse
Do not stretch or squash
Do not rotate
Do not recolour
Do not outline
Do not add effects
Do not set on low contrast
Colour
Four colours with fixed roles. Values are the source of truth for screen; print is proofed against the CMYK starting points below.
4.1Palette
- PrimaryDune
- HEX
- #C9A878
- RGB
- 201 168 120
- HSL
- 36 43% 63%
- OKLCH
- 75.0% 0.075 77
- CMYK
- 0 16 40 21
- On it
- Basalt
- GroundBasalt
- HEX
- #1E1C1A
- RGB
- 30 28 26
- HSL
- 30 7% 11%
- OKLCH
- 22.8% 0.005 68
- CMYK
- 0 7 13 88
- On it
- Limewash
- TintSand
- HEX
- #EADFCC
- RGB
- 234 223 204
- HSL
- 38 42% 86%
- OKLCH
- 90.7% 0.028 81
- CMYK
- 0 5 13 8
- On it
- Basalt
- PaperLimewash
- HEX
- #F7F3EC
- RGB
- 247 243 236
- HSL
- 38 41% 95%
- OKLCH
- 96.5% 0.010 82
- CMYK
- 0 2 4 3
- On it
- Basalt
4.2Proportion
Share of a typical surface. Primary is an accent even where it leads.
4.3Tonal scale
Derived from Dune in linear light, for charts, states and illustration. Never for the mark.
- 50F9F6F2
- 100F4EFE9
- 200EAE0D4
- 300E0CFBC
- 400D5BD9E
- 500C9A878
- 600B89A6D
- 700A58961
- 8008E7653
- 900725E41
4.4Contrast
WCAG 2.2 ratios. AA needs 4.5:1 for text, 3:1 for large text and icons.
- Aa15.36:1AAA
- Aa12.88:1AAA
- Aa7.57:1AAA
- Aa1.19:1Fail
- Aa2.03:1Fail
- Aa15.36:1AAA
- Aa2.03:1Fail
- Aa1.70:1Fail
- Aa7.57:1AAA
Typography
Syne for everything, from display to captions. One family keeps the product and the marketing in the same voice.
5.1Typeface
Syne
Semibold 640 · Regular 400
5.2Scale
Base 16 px, ratio 1.333. Line height tightens as size grows.
- Display67 / 1.08 / -3%An architecture studio that lets the work speak
- Heading 151 / 1.08 / -3%An architecture studio that lets the work speak
- Heading 238 / 1.2 / -1.5%An architecture studio that lets the work speak
- Heading 328 / 1.2 / -1.5%An architecture studio that lets the work speak
- Lead21 / 1.5 / 0%An architecture studio that lets the work speak
- Body16 / 1.5 / 0%Identity and website for a small studio building in the desert. Full-bleed photographs, a short project index and type that steps out of the way.
- Caption12 / 1.5 / 0%Identity and website for a small studio building in the desert. Full-bleed photographs, a short project index and type that steps out of the way.
5.3Setting
Sentence case
Headings, buttons and labels. Title case only for product names.
Tabular figures
Every amount, time and count, so columns line up and values do not jump.
60–75 characters
Running text measure. Short labels may run to the edge of their container.
Layout
Two grids and one spacing scale cover every screen. Print uses the same 12 columns on the A-series.
6.1Grid
6.2Spacing
A 4 px base. Components step on 4 and 8; sections on 48 and up.
- space-14 px
- space-28 px
- space-312 px
- space-416 px
- space-524 px
- space-632 px
- space-748 px
- space-864 px
- space-996 px
Interface
The identity carried into the product: tokens first, then the handful of components every screen is made from.
7.1Tokens
- radius.sm
- 1 px
- radius.md
- 2 px
- radius.lg
- 3 px
- focus
- 2 px #C9A878 · 2 px offset
- elevation.1
- 0 1 2 / 8%
- elevation.2
- 0 12 32 / 14%
- motion.fast
- 160 ms · ease-out
- motion.base
- 240 ms · ease-out
- hit target
- 44 × 44 px
7.2Components
Live components, set in the brand typeface with the tokens above.
7.3In product
Applications
Where the rules meet the world. When something here is not covered, follow the checklist and keep the lockup clear.
8.1In context
8.2Checklist
Before anything ships.
- The lockup is at least 18 px tall on screen and 8 mm in print.
- Clear space around the lockup is at least half the mark’s height on every side.
- Body text is Basalt on Limewash: 15.4:1, AAA.
- Dune is not used for body text on Limewash (2.0:1); keep it for fills, marks and large type.
- Headings use Syne; amounts use tabular figures.
- Copy follows the house style in 2.3, starting with “Project titles: name · place · years”.