IPA's Brand Styling

Overview

To access Innovations for Poverty Action's official brand identity and style resources, use this skill.

Keywords: branding, corporate identity, visual identity, post-processing, styling, brand colors, typography, IPA brand, visual formatting, visual design, writing guidelines

Brand Guidelines

Colors

Primary Brand Colors:

• IPA Green: #49ac57 - Primary brand color
• Dark Green: #155240 - Success states and emphasis
• Charcoal: #414042 - Primary text and dark elements
• White: #ffffff - Background and light text

Secondary Colors:

• Dark Blue: #2b4085 - Secondary accent
• Light Blue: #84d0d4 - Tertiary accent
• Red Orange: #f26529 - Attention and highlights
• Secondary Gray: #707073 - Secondary text elements
• Tertiary Gray: #C2C2C4 - Tertiary elements

Supporting Colors:

• Light Grey: #f1f2f2 - Subtle backgrounds
• Dark Grey: #c9c9c8 - Borders and dividers
• Blue Accent: #ceecee - Light backgrounds

Categorical Colors (for data visualization):

1. Light Blue: #84d0d4
2. Dark Blue: #2b4085
3. Red Orange: #f26529
4. Purple: #be9ffa
5. Yellow: #f5cb57
6. IPA Green: #49ac57

Sequential Colors (for gradients and scales):

1. IPA Green: #49ac57
2. #3f9953
3. #35874e
4. #2b754a
5. #216345
6. Dark Green: #155240

Divergent Colors (for comparative visualizations):

• Cool side: #032b6c, #5566b0, #a0a9ea
• Warm side: #fc9757, #c8420a, #730000

Typography

Official IPA Fonts:

• Body Text: Arial
• Headings: Georgia

Web Implementation (Google Fonts alternatives):

• Base Font: Arimo (Google Fonts alternative to Arial)
• Headings: Gelasio (Google Fonts alternative to Georgia)
• Monospace: Fira Code (from Google Fonts)
• Note: Arimo and Gelasio are freely available Google Fonts that closely resemble IPA's official fonts and are used for consistent web availability

Monospace Styling:

• Inline code: Dark green text (#155240), medium weight (500)
• Code blocks: Dark green text on light grey background (#f1f2f2)

Link Styling:

• Color: Dark blue (#2b4085)
• Decoration: Underline

Writing Guidelines

IPA follows strict writing guidelines to ensure clear, accessible, and professional communication. Key principles include:

Core Principles

• Keep it short and simple: Use concise sentences averaging 15-20 words
• Write clearly and avoid jargon: Write for general audiences; explain technical terms on first use
• Use active voice: Prefer "Researchers conducted a study" over "A study was conducted"
• Be evidence-based and objective: Present findings neutrally without advocacy
• Show, don't tell: Use concrete evidence and specific examples
• Maintain professional tone: Avoid contractions, slang, and casual language

Key Terminology

• ✅ Use "evaluation" instead of "experiment"
• ✅ Use "participants" or "respondents" instead of "subjects"
• ✅ Use "Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)" instead of "developing countries"
• ✅ Use "people living in poverty" instead of "poor people" or "the poor"
• ✅ Use "randomized evaluation" for general audiences instead of "RCT"
• ✅ Avoid "treatment" and "control" language - use descriptive alternatives like "enrolled in the program" vs. "did not receive the program"

Style Standards

• Follow Associated Press Stylebook (56th edition)
• Use American spelling and punctuation
• Follow Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition) for citations
• Write out numbers one through nine; use numerals for 10 and above
• Spell out acronyms on first use: "Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)"
• Use active voice and avoid passive constructions
• No contractions: "it is" not "it's"

For complete writing guidelines, see: .claude/skills/ipa-brand-guidelines/references/writing_guidelines.md

Features

Smart Font Application

• Applies Gelasio font to headings
• Applies Arimo font to body text
• Applies Fira Code to monospace/code elements
• Automatically loads fonts from Google Fonts
• Preserves readability and brand consistency

Text Styling

• Headings: Gelasio font in appropriate weights
• Body text: Arimo font
• Code/monospace: Fira Code with dark green color
• Smart color selection based on background (charcoal on light, white on dark)
• Preserves text hierarchy and formatting

Color Application

• Primary branding uses IPA Green
• Text uses charcoal for readability
• Accent colors follow categorical/sequential/divergent palettes
• Maintains visual interest while staying on-brand
• Background/foreground contrast follows accessibility standards

Logo Integration

• Medium logo: assets/logos/IPA-primary-color-RGB.png
• Logo placement follows brand guidelines

Technical Details

Font Management

• Official IPA fonts: Arial (body text) and Georgia (headings)
• Web implementation uses Google Fonts alternatives: Arimo (resembles Arial) and Gelasio (resembles Georgia)
• Fira Code used for monospace/code elements
• Fonts loaded from Google Fonts for consistent web availability
• No local font installation required
• Fallback to system fonts (Arial, Georgia) if Google Fonts unavailable

Color Application

• Uses RGB/hex color values for precise brand matching
• Color definitions from assets/design-styles/light-brand.yml
• Applied via python-pptx's RGBColor class or CSS hex values
• Maintains color fidelity across different systems
• Supports categorical, sequential, and divergent color schemes for data visualization

Writing Style Enforcement

• Automated checks via Vale linting tool
• Style rules defined in .vale.ini and styles/ directory
• Pre-commit hooks ensure compliance before committing changes
• Guidelines configurable as strict, moderate, or loose enforcement