Cedar Creative · Visual Identity Guidelines

Cedar Creative

Visual Identity Guidelines

These guidelines are intended to help guide and inspire you as you bring the visual identity to life. Before you create new assets, consult these guidelines to ensure you're on the right track. You can also share this website with any partner agencies, writers, or designers who may be creating the work for you.

This is not an exhaustive representation of all visual elements, however it is intended to serve as a starting point for documenting fundamental aspects of the visual identity like the logo and color. As the visual identity evolves, this website should be updated accordingly.

02 / Strategy

Cedar tells stories through high-quality films for nonprofits, higher education, and corporate clients. Cedar is not a vendor. Cedar is an architect of story, a creative partner that brings vision, taste, and perspective to every project.

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Architect of story.

Positioning

"Every organization has a story worth telling. Cedar makes films that create connection and move people to care, to act, and to believe. When you need more than production, when you need perspective, ideas, and a creative partner who will surprise you, you call Cedar."

The Triangle

Cedar operates on a three-part framework, nature's strongest shape, where every element holds the others in tension.

Financial Stability

The business must be sustainable. Great creative work requires a healthy foundation, and Cedar treats profitability not as a compromise but as the fuel that makes everything else possible.

Creative Fulfillment

Every project should produce work the team is proud of, work they want to see exist in the world. Cedar invests in personal projects, non-billable exploration, and a culture where curiosity is the norm, not the exception.

Work-Life Balance

Sustainability applies to people, not just finances. Cedar is built for the long term, which means maintaining a pace that keeps the team sharp, healthy, and genuinely excited to show up.

Audiences

Nonprofit Organizations
Cedar's emotional storytelling roots run deepest here. The proving ground for every other category.
Higher Education
Institutions that need to communicate mission, culture, and identity through story.
Corporate & Industrial
Larger budgets, faster timelines, and a hunger for work that rises above typical corporate production.

03 / Logos

The logo is the most recognizable mark of the brand. This section covers its forms, spacing, and the best times to use each version so Cedar always shows up looking like Cedar.

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Logos.

03 / 01

Logomark

Shorthand for the visual identity. Use for internal contexts or sign-offs where the brand is already established.

mark_[color].[file-type]

Download ZIP

03 / 02

Cedar Creative Logo-type

Type-only lockup. Use when the full company name is needed but separate from the mark.

cedar_creative_[color].[file-type]

Download ZIP

03 / 03

Cedar Logo-type

Shorthand logotype, type-only. Pairs with the mark in custom layouts.

cedar_[color].[file-type]

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03 / 04

Full Logo (Mark + Cedar Creative)

External communication where Cedar may not be familiar to the audience.

mark_cedar_creative_[color].[file-type]

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03 / 05

Shorthand Logo (Mark + Cedar)

Internal or less buttoned-up contexts.

mark_cedar_[color].[file-type]

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04 / Logo Misuse

The Cedar marks should always feel deliberate and intentional. These are the most common ways the identity gets pulled off-brand. If a use looks like one of these, it isn't Cedar.

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Don't.

Don't stretch the lockup

04 / 01

Don't rotate the mark

04 / 02

Don't recolor outside the palette

04 / 03

Don't add effects or shadows

04 / 04

Don't enclose in containers

04 / 05

Don't apply on busy imagery

04 / 06

05 / Color

Color carries much of the feeling of the brand. This section defines the Cedar palette, how to balance it across applications, and how each color should be used to keep the identity consistent and intentional.

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Colors.

05 / 01

Brand Colors

These primary colors form the core of the Cedar visual palette. Click any value to copy it. Cedar Green leads, Charcoal and Off-White anchor, Cedar Yellow makes the moment.

05 / 02

Approved Combinations

Use only these foreground and background pairings. Each one clears contrast and keeps the palette intentional.

Light Green on Cedar Green

Off-White on Cedar Green

Off-White on Charcoal

Charcoal on Cedar Yellow

Cedar Green on Light Green

Charcoal on Warm Gray

06 / Typography

This section covers the Cedar typefaces, how to pair them, and the hierarchy that keeps every piece of communication clear, confident, and unmistakably Cedar's.

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Typography.

06 / 01

Primary Type

Suisse Intl. is a clean, modern grotesque that's approachable at display sizes and stays legible at body copy.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789

Light Book Regular Medium Semi-Bold

06 / 02

Live Specimen

Type whatever you like. Drag the slider to scale. The reference, in your hands.

Size72px

06 / 03

Secondary Type

Suisse Intl. Mono for spec callouts, captions, and machine-feeling metadata. Use Regular only.

ABCDEFG abcdefg 0123

· 50MM Lens
· 25 Minute Film
· 5 Days of Shooting
· Post Production

Regular

06 / 04

Type Hierarchy

The default scale for editorial moments. Click any line to copy its CSS.

Headline 1

Suisse Intl. · Book · 85pt

Headline 1 · Suisse Intl. Book 85pt

Headline 2

Suisse Intl. · Book · 36pt

Headline 2 · Suisse Intl. Book 36pt

Subcopy

Suisse Intl. · Book · 18pt

Subcopy · Suisse Intl. Book 18pt

Body Copy

Suisse Intl. · Regular · 12pt

Body Copy · Suisse Intl. Regular 12pt

07 / Layout

This section outlines the grid, spacing, and composition principles that give every Cedar asset room to breathe and the structure to feel intentional.

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Layout.

07 / 01

10×10 Grid Structure

Cedar layouts use a 10×10 grid. It guides spacious compositions that convey confidence, boldness, and leave room for the work to make an impact.

Cedar layouts on a 10×10 grid: an editorial composition with the grid overlaid to guide placement

07 / 02

Grid Assisted Motion

The 10×10 extends into motion, a helpful resource for type-shifting intros and title cards.

The 10×10 grid extended across a motion frame with kinetic type

07 / 03

Poster Composition

The same grid carries into key art and posters, holding type and imagery in a balanced, unmistakably Cedar composition.

A Cedar Creative poster composed on the 10×10 grid

08 / Icons

This section covers the Cedar brand element icons, their meaning, and how they were created to reinforce the craft and clarity of the rest of the identity.

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Icons.

01 / Brand Element

Creative Vision

Cedar walks into every project looking for the conflict, story, and real people living it. The creative comes easy, the natural result of deep talent, relentless curiosity, and a team that never stops sharpening its craft.

02 / Brand Element

Distinguished Quality & Taste

Having great ideas is only half the work. Having the confidence to say which one is right takes time. It takes a sharp eye and trusted gut to strip it back and let the right answer surface.

03 / Brand Element

Sustainability & Integrity

Cedar is built for the long term, in the work, the partnerships, and the business behind both. Films are designed to last, relationships assumed to grow, and every decision is balanced against the studio's integrity.

09 / Voice & Tone

Cedar's voice is confident, direct, and human. We talk like creative partners, not vendors. We lead with insight, never buzzwords. And we always sound like a team that's done the work.

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How Cedar talks.

09 / 01

Voice Pillars

Confident

Cedar takes a position. Direct, never hedged. We say what we think, and we mean it.

Editorial

Restraint over flourish. Specifics over abstraction. Strip back until the right answer surfaces.

Warm

Cedar is a partner, not a vendor. The voice should feel like a creative friend who's done the work.

Curious

Lead with insight. Cedar walks into every project hunting for the real conflict and the real people.

09 / 02

Do · Don't

DoWe
Don'tWe at Cedar Creative®
DoWork that endures
Don'tCutting-edge solutions
DoTell the human story
Don'tLeverage synergies
DoStrip it back
Don'tDisruptive deliverables
DoWe make films
Don'tWe provide video services

10 / Messaging

Cedar's messaging is built on three core values that show up in everything we make, from the brief to the final cut. Each one is a lens for what to greenlight, what to push back on, and what makes Cedar Cedar.

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Work that endures.

Brand Pillars

Creative Vision

Cedar walks into every project looking for the real conflict and the real people living it. Ideas overflow naturally, the product of deep talent, relentless curiosity, and a team that never stops sharpening its craft. The creative is the easy part.

Distinguished Quality & Taste

Having great ideas is only half the work. Someone has to be confident enough to say which one is right. Cedar's instinct is to strip it back and let the right answer surface. That editorial discipline is what separates work that feels effortless from work that feels overproduced.

Sustainability & Integrity

Messaging Lines

Creative vision. Lasting work.

Impactful stories deserve bold ideas.

Work that endures.

11 / Application

The following examples show the brand in action across real surfaces. Use them as a reference for how Cedar comes together in print, digital, and environmental contexts, and as inspiration for what to build next.

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