GAY INVESTOR NETWORK (GIN) - BRAND DESIGN BRIEF (November 2026)
Use these rules when designing anything for the Gay Investor Network (GIN), the UK's first UKBAA-accredited LGBTQ+ angel investment syndicate. GIN has two visual formats. Choose one per piece and match it exactly.
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FORMAT A - WEB (light system, used on thegin.uk)
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COLOURS
Page background: #eef2f6 (pale sky)
Card background: #ffffff
Secondary surface: #e4eaf1
Ink (headlines, body): #0f1a3a
Secondary text: #5b6475
Hairline borders: #d9e0e8
Accent (links, hover, underlines): #b14a78 (rose)
Deep navy (feature cards, CTA bands): #001479
Highlight on navy: #f1c050 (gold)
WASH BACKGROUND (optional, for one or two sections)
linear-gradient(100deg, #fbf0f3 0%, #fdf5ec 22%, #fbfaee 42%, #eff6ef 62%, #ecf2f8 82%, #e8eefa 100%)
TYPOGRAPHY
Headlines: Archivo Black, weight 400, letter-spacing -0.04em, line-height 1.04
Body and UI: Inter, weights 400 / 500 / 600
Section labels: Inter 600, 0.64rem, letter-spacing 0.32em, uppercase, colour #5b6475, with an 18px x 3px stripe-gradient bar before the text
Load: https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Archivo+Black&family=Inter:wght@400;500;600&display=swap
COMPONENTS
Cards: white, 1px #d9e0e8 border, 18px radius, 30px 28px padding. Hover: translateY(-3px) and a 5px stripe-gradient bar reveals along the top edge (scaleX 0 to 1, 0.45s).
Buttons: pill (999px radius), 15px 28px padding, Inter 600 0.9rem. Primary: #0f1a3a background, white text, hover #b14a78. Secondary: 1px #0f1a3a outline. On navy: white background, #001479 text, hover #f1c050.
Text links: Inter 600 with a 2px #b14a78 underline border.
Photos: 18px to 22px radius, hero photo tilted 1.2deg with a white sticker card overlapping the corner.
Navy feature cards: #001479 background, white headline, gold (#f1c050) label and link underline.
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FORMAT B - GRAPHICS (navy system, social, decks, email, print)
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COLOURS
Hero / header background: #001479 (deep navy)
Nav strip background: #15176e
Page background: #ffffff
Light section background: #f0f5fa
Body text: #1e293b
Secondary text: #334155
Borders / dividers: #e2e8f0
Menu text: #b3e0fd, hover #d5e4fa
TYPOGRAPHY
Headings: Montserrat, weight 700
Body: Source Sans Pro, weight 400 (600 for emphasis)
Section labels: Montserrat 700, 0.6rem, letter-spacing 0.4em, uppercase, colour #001479, often preceded by a small coloured dot
Load: https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Montserrat:wght@700&family=Source+Sans+Pro:wght@400;600&display=swap
COMPONENTS
Cards: white, 1px #e2e8f0 border. Hover: background #f0f5fa, translateY(-2px), border-top 3px solid #001479.
Layout: white page with navy hero sections, a 6px pastel stripe under heroes and between sections, alternating white and #f0f5fa sections.
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SHARED BY BOTH FORMATS
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THE WORDMARK
"GAY INVESTOR NETWORK" in spaced caps with the pastel stripe directly underneath. Never redraw or retype it: use the supplied PNG. Ink version on light backgrounds, white version on navy or black. Do not add a symbol, icon or cross next to it. Minimum width 180px on screen, 40mm in print. Keep clear space equal to the cap height on all sides.
THE PASTEL STRIPE
Sampled from the logo file. A soft, muted gradient, dusty rose to cool grey-blue. NOT the vivid six-colour pride flag.
linear-gradient(90deg, #ae719a, #c4929c, #dab39e, #ccbba7, #9aaab8, #6899c8)
Used as the bar under the wordmark, as a 5px or 6px section divider, as the card hover bar, and as a text fill on dark backgrounds.
GRADIENT TEXT
On navy or black, fill one or two headline words with the pastel stripe gradient above.
On light backgrounds the pastels fail contrast, so use the deep ramp instead:
linear-gradient(90deg, #8e5a7c, #a4747e, #b8907c, #a89a84, #7a8a9a, #4f7aa6)
Recipe (works for either): display inline-block; background-size 100% 100%; -webkit-background-clip text; background-clip text; -webkit-text-fill-color transparent; color transparent.
TONE OF VOICE
Direct, professional, commercially literate. No corporate fluff. UK English, UK tax and finance defaults (SEIS/EIS, HNW and sophisticated investor language). Make the commercial case plainly.
HARD RULES
- No em dashes or double dashes anywhere. Use single dashes ( - ).
- No italics except where genuinely needed for emphasis.
- No emojis. Use plain HTML symbols or coloured dot elements instead.
- No neon or glow effects.
- Never the vivid rainbow flag.
- Avoid AI-tell phrases: delve, navigate, it's worth noting, quietly, in the realm of, a testament to.
- Plain, direct language.
- Refer to the organisation as the Gay Investor Network, GIN, or The GIN. Never "the GIN Network".
WHAT GIN IS
Gay Investor Network (GIN), run by GI Network Ltd. The UK's first UKBAA-accredited LGBTQ+ angel syndicate. A syndicate of LGBTQ+ investors and allies backing founders at the earliest stages. Sector agnostic, UK-wide. Backs LGBTQ+ founded companies as a priority and demonstrably inclusive ventures. Does not invest in tobacco, fossil fuel extraction, weapons and defence, gambling, high-cost consumer credit, or any business that discriminates against LGBTQ+ people. Founded 2026, London.