Brand Guidelines v1.0
March 2026Nous (Greek: νοῦς) — In ancient Greek philosophy, nous refers to the mind, intellect, or the faculty of rational understanding. Plato used it to describe the highest form of knowledge; Aristotle considered it the divine element in human thought. In modern usage, it means practical intelligence or common sense.
The name captures the core purpose of the platform: transforming raw information into structured understanding. Just as nous represents the leap from perception to comprehension, our system bridges the gap between scattered documents and actionable knowledge.
"Multimodal Intelligence"
Secondary options: "Research at the speed of thought" / "Think deeper, retrieve faster"
The mark represents two interlocking orbital forms — symbolizing the convergence of multiple knowledge modalities (text, images, graphs) into unified understanding. The overlapping geometry evokes neural pathways and planetary orbits.
Maintain a minimum clear space around the logo equal to the height of the "N" in the wordmark. Never crowd the mark with other elements.
Use the mark at sizes 24px and above
Maintain clear space around the mark
Use on solid, uncluttered backgrounds
Use the dark variant on light and the light variant on dark
Rotate, skew, or distort the mark
Apply drop shadows or glows
Place on busy photographic backgrounds
Change the proportions of the orbital forms
Every color in the NOUS palette is named after a celestial body — reflecting the platform's origin in Greek cosmology and the orbital forms in our logo. The palette evokes the deep void of space, the luminous glow of distant worlds, and the subtle atmospheres between them.
Erebus #0A0A0E → Backgrounds, text, dark surfaces Selene #F7F7F5 → Light backgrounds, cards, surface Sol #D4A039 → Primary accent, buttons, links, focus rings Helios #E8B84A → Hover states, secondary accent Apollo #F5D680 → Highlights, gradients, decorative Aurum #FDF6E3 → Tinted backgrounds, accent wash Titan #4A4A4E → Body text, paragraphs Charon #9A9A9E → Captions, placeholders, secondary text Enceladus #E2E2E0 → Borders, dividers, separators Terra #34D399 → Success states, confirmations Corona #F59E0B → Warnings, attention required Mars #EF4444 → Errors, destructive actions
NOUS dark mode is built on warm, earthy tones that echo the gold accent — not the cold blue-greys typical of dark UIs. Every surface carries a subtle amber warmth, like parchment lit by candlelight. The result feels scholarly and human, not clinical.
Six layers of warm dark surfaces, each subtly lighter with amber undertones. Higher elevation = more visible warmth.
Text colors have warm ivory undertones rather than pure white, reducing eye strain and complementing the gold accent.
Gold accents glow against warm dark surfaces. The accent shifts one step brighter for WCAG AA contrast.
[data-theme="dark"],
.dark {
/* Surfaces — warm depth stack */
--nous-bg-void: #0A0A0B; /* Erebus — true black */
--nous-bg-base: #141210; /* Nyx — page canvas */
--nous-bg-raised: #1E1B17; /* Obsidian — cards, panels */
--nous-bg-elevated: #28241E; /* Umber — modals, sheets */
--nous-bg-overlay: #332E26; /* Sepia — tooltips */
--nous-bg-hover: #3D372E; /* Dusk — hover, active */
/* Text — warm ivory scale */
--nous-text-primary: #F5F0E8; /* Ivory — headings */
--nous-text-secondary: #C8BFA8; /* Parchment — body */
--nous-text-tertiary: #8A8070; /* Dust — captions */
--nous-text-muted: #524C42; /* Clay — disabled */
/* Borders — earthy separators */
--nous-border: #2A261F; /* Shade — dividers */
--nous-border-hover: #3D372E; /* Shade +1 — hover */
--nous-border-strong:#4A4338; /* Shade +2 — inputs, active */
/* Accents — gold shifts brighter */
--nous-accent: #E8B84A; /* Helios — primary */
--nous-accent-soft: #F5D680; /* Apollo — secondary */
--nous-accent-bg: rgba(212,160,57,0.10); /* Ember */
/* Semantic — adjusted for contrast */
--nous-success: #4ADE80; /* Terra +1 */
--nous-warning: #FBBF24; /* Corona */
--nous-error: #F87171; /* Mars +1 */
}
Warm dark mode follows three rules: (1) No pure white — the brightest text is Ivory (#F5F0E8), not #FFFFFF, reducing harshness; (2) Amber undertones throughout — every surface carries a hint of warmth, from Nyx (#141210) upward; (3) Elevation = warmth — as layers stack, the amber tone becomes more visible, creating natural depth without needing shadows. Always default to the system preference via prefers-color-scheme, with a manual toggle available.
Use consistent radii throughout the product: 4px for small elements (badges, tags), 8px for buttons and inputs, 12px for cards and panels, 16px for larger containers, and 24px for hero sections and modals.
NOUS speaks with the clarity of a well-organized mind. The voice is precise without being cold, intelligent without being intimidating, and confident without being arrogant.
Clear — Say exactly what you mean
Precise — Use specific language over vague claims
Warm — Welcoming to newcomers and experts alike
Grounded — Backed by capability, not hype
Buzzword-heavy marketing jargon
Overpromising or magical thinking
Condescending or overly technical defaults
Exclamation marks in product copy
:root {
/* Planetary Palette — Light Mode */
--nous-erebus: #0A0A0E; /* Ink / dark background */
--nous-selene: #F7F7F5; /* Surface / light background */
--nous-sol: #D4A039; /* Primary accent — solar gold */
--nous-helios: #E8B84A; /* Accent soft — warm glow */
--nous-apollo: #F5D680; /* Highlight — pale radiance */
--nous-aurum: #FDF6E3; /* Accent tint — parchment wash */
--nous-titan: #4A4A4E; /* Body text */
--nous-charon: #9A9A9E; /* Secondary text */
--nous-enceladus: #E2E2E0; /* Borders */
--nous-terra: #34D399; /* Success */
--nous-corona: #F59E0B; /* Warning */
--nous-mars: #EF4444; /* Error */
/* Legacy aliases (backward compatible) */
--nous-ink: var(--nous-erebus);
--nous-surface: var(--nous-selene);
--nous-accent: var(--nous-sol);
--nous-accent-soft: var(--nous-helios);
--nous-accent-bg: var(--nous-aurum);
--nous-highlight: var(--nous-apollo);
--nous-muted: var(--nous-titan);
--nous-subtle: var(--nous-charon);
--nous-border: var(--nous-enceladus);
--nous-success: var(--nous-terra);
--nous-warning: var(--nous-corona);
--nous-error: var(--nous-mars);
/* Typography */
--nous-font-heading: 'Inter', -apple-system, sans-serif;
--nous-font-body: 'Source Serif 4', Georgia, serif;
--nous-font-ui: 'Inter', -apple-system, sans-serif;
--nous-font-mono: 'JetBrains Mono', 'SF Mono', monospace;
/* Spacing */
--nous-space-xs: 4px;
--nous-space-sm: 8px;
--nous-space-md: 16px;
--nous-space-lg: 24px;
--nous-space-xl: 32px;
--nous-space-2xl: 48px;
--nous-space-3xl: 64px;
/* Radius */
--nous-radius-sm: 4px;
--nous-radius-md: 8px;
--nous-radius-lg: 12px;
--nous-radius-xl: 16px;
--nous-radius-2xl: 24px;
}