Lyra AIBrand book

Version 1 · May 2026

The visual & verbal system

Lyra

Cream, prism, and quiet authority.

One book. Everything our team, our designers, and our partners need to make Lyra AI feel like Lyra AI — across product, social, decks and print.

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Contents02 / 26

Contents

What's inside this book.

Twenty-six slides. Built to scan in a meeting and to anchor decisions for years. Open in browser, export to PDF with Ctrl + P (landscape, no margins), then drop straight into PowerPoint or Google Slides.

Foundations

03Brand essence
04Four pillars
05Promise & audience

Identity

06Logo
07Logo — variants & don'ts
08Color palette
09Color origin
10Color — 60 / 30 / 10
11Color — pairing rules
12Sample compositions

Typography & feel

13Typography — families
14Typography — scale
15Photography direction
16Materials & texture

Voice

17Voice — principles
18Words — use & avoid

Communication

19Communication guide
20Content pillars
21Format mix & cadence
22Reference — Female Invest
23Reference — MasterClass
24Reference — EarthRise
25Reference — Foundr & Perplexity

Stewards

26Stewards & sign-off

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Brand essence03 / 26

The essence

A career engine that women can finally trust.

Lyra AI matches women to the right work, in the open. The algorithm is auditable, the criteria are visible, and the path to a better match is something you do — not something you wait for.

We are editorial, not corporate. Tender, not loud. Specific, not aspirational. The brand should feel like a thoughtful magazine that happens to run on technology.

We are

honest, editorial, iridescent, quiet

We are not

techy, hyped, neon, corporate

We sound

specific & generous

We feel

cream paper + prism light

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Four pillars04 / 26

Four pillars

The four words every decision answers to.

Honest.

Every score, every rejection, every match reason is auditable. Transparency is a product feature, not a marketing claim.

Editorial.

We compose like a magazine: serif headlines, generous space, deliberate photography. Information is luxury when it's well-arranged.

Iridescent.

Color comes from agate, opal and prismatic light — not flat gradients. Soft pinks, blues, golds caught in glass.

Quiet.

We don't shout. Confidence is whitespace, restraint, and one good sentence. Volume signals insecurity.

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Promise & audience05 / 26

The promise

Be matched to work that fits you. See exactly why.

We make career matching legible. Score, criteria, gaps, and the next skill to close — all open, all explained, all yours.

One sentence. Read out loud before any campaign.

She is

25–42, mid-career, often pivoting. She has tried generic job platforms and didn't trust the results. She doesn't want hype, she wants evidence — and a door that opens because she opened it.

Reads

The Cut, MR Porter, Substack essays

Watches

Long-form interviews, not 15-sec tips

Trusts

Numbers + lived experience

Disqualifies

Pink-washing, vague AI hype

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Logo06 / 26

The wordmark

Instrument Serif italic. One ash star. Nothing else.

The mark is the word "Lyra" set in Instrument Serif italic with a four-pointed star (✦) at the upper-right. The star is rendered in ash black with three layered shadows — a whisper of highlight, a soft cast, and a faint glow — so it reads as a small object catching light rather than a flat shape.

Glyph

U+2726 · ✦

Word tracking

−0.02 em

Star size

0.38–0.55 em of the word

Lyra

LyraAI

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Logo — variants & don'ts07 / 26

Approved variants

LyraInk on cream

LyraCream on void

LyraAIWith "AI" suffix

LyraOn prism — proceed with care

Don't

01Stretch, condense or italicise further. Instrument Serif is already italic.
02Recolour the star pink, purple or gradient. It is ash black, always.
03Place the wordmark over busy photography without a tonal scrim.
04Replace the ✦ with another star glyph (★, ☆, ✧). It must be U+2726.
05Use it smaller than 14px. The shadows collapse and the letter shape thins.
06Add taglines under the logo. Pair it with a separate headline if needed.

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Color palette08 / 26

Palette

Six colors. Pulled from agate, opal and prism.

CreamBase · paper#F4F1EB

InkType · contrast#1A1A1A

Agate RoseAccent · warmth#E4B8C9

Opal SkyAccent · cool#B8B5D8

Apricot MineralAccent · earth#E8B89C

VoidInverse base#0E0C0A

Cream prints best on uncoated stock 120–180 gsm

Digital

Cream #F4F1EB · Ink #1A1A1A · WCAG AA on body copy

Restraint

Use one accent per layout — never all three

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Color origin09 / 26

Where it comes from

Extracted from mineral, not picked from a wheel.

Every accent in the palette was sampled from imagery we love — slices of agate, the inside of an opal, prismatic film on glass, late afternoon light through a window. That's why the palette feels like a found object, not a brand template.

When adding a new accent, sample it from a photograph and check it against cream and ink before approving. If it can't live next to the others without one shouting, it doesn't belong in the palette.

Agate · banded rose

Sampled at the seam

Opal · cool flash

Inner refraction

Mineral · apricot

Sunlit surface

Void · obsidian

Light at rest

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Color — 60 / 30 / 1010 / 26

Distribution

The 60 / 30 / 10 rule keeps us composed.

60% · Base

Cream paper

Backgrounds, large surfaces, breathing room. Cream is what people remember.

30% · Contrast

Ink & void

Type, deep sections, the dark sibling that gives the cream its weight.

10%

Prism

Read left to right — that's roughly the visual weight of any well-made Lyra layout.

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Color — pairing rules11 / 26

Pairing

Pairings we approve. Ratios we audit.

Every approved pairing meets WCAG AA on body text. The accent colors are never used for type smaller than 14px. If a layout needs an accent for type, set it on cream and use ink for the words.

Lyra AI

#1A1A1A / #F4F1EBHeadlines · body · UIWCAG AAA

Lyra AI

#1A1A1A / #E4B8C9Accent cards · quotesWCAG AA

Lyra AI

#1A1A1A / #B8B5D8Accent cards · quotesWCAG AA

Lyra AI

#1A1A1A / #E8B89CAccent cards · quotesWCAG AA

Lyra AI

#F4F1EB / #0E0C0AInverse sectionsWCAG AAA

Lyra AI

#F4F1EB / #1A1A1AInverse typeWCAG AAA

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Sample compositions12 / 26

Compositions

Three layouts you can re-use forever.

A · Editorial cover

Lyra

A career engine women can finally trust.

Cream · ink · one accent corner

B · Quote card

"I finally know why I keep being matched to roles that aren't a fit."

Beta candidate · March 2026

C · Void announcement

In beta

Match. See why. Close the gap.

Wait-list now → lyra.ai

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Typography — families13 / 26

Display

Instrument Serif · italic · variable

The voice of the brand. Used for headlines, pull-quotes, and any moment that should feel composed and human. Italic only — the upright cut feels editorial in a colder way than we want.

Body

Inter · regular & medium

The everywhere font. Body copy, UI, captions, micro-labels. Inter holds composure at every weight and pairs cleanly under Instrument Serif without competing.

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Typography — scale14 / 26

Scale

One scale. Used everywhere.

The scale is calm because we don't deviate. If a layout needs a size that isn't in the scale, find the closest match instead of inventing a new one.

Display 1

Match. See why. Close the gap.

76px · Slide hero · landing hero

Display 2

Match. See why. Close the gap.

56px · Section headline

Display 3

Match. See why. Close the gap.

40px · Card title · pillar name

Lead

Match. See why. Close the gap.

22px · Hero subhead · pull-quote

Body

Match. See why. Close the gap.

16px · Default paragraph

Caption

Match. See why. Close the gap.

13px · Footnote · table cell

Eyebrow

Match. See why. Close the gap.

10px · Uppercase · 0.4em tracking

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Photography direction15 / 26

Photography

People at rest. Materials up close.

Soft, north-facing window light. No hard flash, no studio ring.
Subjects mid-thought, not mid-laugh. Eyes can be off-camera.
Cream, sand, plaster, paper, glass. Backgrounds are textures, not sets.
Skin tones honest — colour-correct on screens, don't oversmooth or lift.
Aspect ratios 3:4 and 4:5 for portraits; 16:9 only for environment shots.

We are women shot the way they want to be seen — not the way stock photography sees them.

Portrait · 3:4

Window light · paper backdrop

Object · 1:1

Mineral · glass · cream

Environment · 16:9

Studio in soft afternoon

Detail · 4:5

Hands · paper · pen

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Materials & texture16 / 26

Materials

What it feels like to hold the brand.

Cream paper

Uncoated · 180gsm

Prism glass

Backlit · soft

Obsidian

Matte black · light at rest

Mineral grain

Sanded · warm

Backdrop

Always cream or void. Never pure white. Never grey.

Surface

Mineral, paper, glass — anything that catches light softly.

Forbidden

Plastic, neon, chrome, holographic foil, stock gradients.

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Voice — principles17 / 26

Voice

How we sound out loud.

Specific beats aspirational.

Name the role, the score, the gap. Don't promise transformation — show the next move.

Evidence beats assertion.

If we say the algorithm is fair, we cite how. If we cite a number, we link the source.

Tender beats neutral.

We are writing to real women with real careers. Warmth is not optional — but warmth is not pink either.

Short sentences. Short paragraphs. Period.

Confidence is the willingness to stop. Most of our sentences could lose a clause.

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Words — use & avoid18 / 26

Use

Matchwhat the algorithm produces

Fitthe human reading of the match

Gapthe visible distance to a higher score

Close the gapthe verb of upskilling on Lyra

Auditableanyone can inspect the math

Field noteswhat we share — not 'content'

Avoid

Empower / empowermentlazy shorthand · over-claimed

Revolutionary / disruptwe don't disrupt — we clarify

Game-changing / 10x / next-gentech-bro register

Boss babe / girlboss / queenpatronising · era over

AI-poweredsay what it does, not how it runs

Just / simply / easyyou don't know how easy it is for her

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Communication guide19 / 26

Communication guide

What our feed should look, sound and feel like.

People should recognise us before they read the handle. The next seven slides give the team — and any creator we work with — a single source of truth for content pillars, formats, cadence, and the references we study.

Three questions are asked of every post before it ships: Does it look like Lyra? Does it sound like Lyra? Would our reader screenshot it?

Look

Does it look like Lyra?

Cream or void background. Instrument Serif italic in the headline. One accent maximum. Photography honest, not stock.

Sound

Does it sound like Lyra?

One clear sentence. Specific number or fact. No empowerment language. No exclamation marks.

Feel

Would our reader screenshot it?

Does it tell her something true, useful, or a little surprising? If it's only nice — it's not enough.

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Content pillars20 / 26

Pillars

Five things we post about. Nothing else.

0130%

Show the math

Explainers on how the matching engine actually works. Score breakdowns, criteria, weights. Anti-black-box.

"How a 73% match becomes an 81% in two weeks."

0220%

Industry truth

Honest data about women, careers, AI, hiring. Cite the source on the post itself.

"Why women apply when they meet 100% of criteria — and the cost."

0325%

Founder field notes

From Stephany & Maja. Building in public, decisions, mistakes, what we learned this week.

"We rejected our first VC term sheet. Here's why."

0415%

Skill closing

Micro-lessons tied to a real role on Lyra. Five-minute AI literacy. Tied to a clickable gap-close action.

"The 6 AI workflows every PM should run before Q3."

0510%

Quiet wins

Candidate stories told without spectacle. First name, first match, what changed. With consent.

"Lucía went from 41% to her first match in 9 days."

Mix targets are weekly averages — not a quota. Reshuffle when the week needs it.

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Format mix & cadence21 / 26

Formats

Six formats, six cadences, one editorial calendar.

FormatCadenceWhat it doesSpec

Carousel

2× / week

Teach the math. Walk through a score, a gap, a fix.

8–10 slides · cream or void · Instrument Serif on slide 1, Inter inside

Single post

2× / week

One sentence + one image. Quote cards. Stats with source.

1:1 or 4:5 · cream paper · one accent max · attribution bottom-left

Reel

2× / week

Founder field notes. 30–60s. Soft cuts. No on-screen captions unless quoting.

9:16 · soft window light · serif lower-third only · always captioned for accessibility

Story

Daily

Behind the scenes. Polls. Build-in-public diary. Short and ephemeral.

Native fonts ok · cream sticker palette · max 3 frames per topic

Long-form

1× / month

Substack essay or LinkedIn deep-dive. The position pieces.

1200–1800 words · sourced · pull-quote in Instrument Serif

Live

1× / month

Office hours. Q&A with a beta candidate. Conversation, not pitch.

30 min · scheduled 7 days ahead · recap reel within 48h

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Reference — Female Invest22 / 26

Reference account

Female Invest

@femaleinvest · finance education for women

We borrow

Bold headline cards anchored to a single number or claim. Confident editorial voice that respects the reader's intelligence. Topics ladder from beginner to advanced without dumbing down.

We don't copy

Heavy neon palettes, party-finance energy, and headline density that feels like a textbook. Their bright pink saturation reads younger than our reader.

Insight for Lyra

Treat every carousel as a teach-in. Lead with a number or a counter-intuitive claim on slide 1. Carry one editorial colour through the whole carousel — never switch palettes mid-set.

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Reference — MasterClass23 / 26

Reference account

MasterClass

@masterclass · cinematic expert tuition

We borrow

Cinematic portraits with rich shadow. The person's name in restrained serif type. The promise of access to a specific expert's mind. Every post says: 'here is a real human worth listening to'.

We don't copy

Celebrity gravitational pull — we are not selling the famous person, we are showing our reader. Pure black backgrounds risk feeling cold; we soften to cream or void.

Insight for Lyra

When we feature founders, candidates or experts, shoot them like MasterClass: directional light, considered crop, name in serif, no on-image marketing. Let the portrait do the work.

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Reference — EarthRise24 / 26

Reference account

EarthRise Studio

@earthrise.studio · poster-grade editorial storytelling

We borrow

Poster-grade craft. Layouts that look like a magazine cover, not a social tile. Reverence for the subject. A serif headline doing the heavy lifting, never the caption.

We don't copy

Mission-led austerity that risks feeling pious. We share their craftsmanship — not their cause register. Lyra is generous, not earnest.

Insight for Lyra

The aesthetic ceiling we should reach toward. Every quote card and pillar piece should be designed as if it could be framed and hung. If a layout doesn't survive being printed at A3 — rework it.

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Reference — Foundr & Perplexity25 / 26

Reference account

Foundr

@foundr · founder education

We borrow

Grid discipline — every tile reads as part of a series. Founder portraits with strong type lock-up. A clear visual hierarchy across the feed when you scroll back.

We don't copy

The yellow / black bro register and 'hustle' headlines. Our founder content is reflective, not heroic.

Insight for Lyra

Design the feed as a grid, not as posts. Pre-mock the next 9 tiles in a 3×3 before approving any single one.

Reference account

Perplexity

@perplexity.ai · quiet tech confidence

We borrow

Restraint as authority. Dark, glossy palette used sparingly. Product is the hero, claim is short, layout is calm.

We don't copy

The all-dark feed and tech-monochrome register — we live primarily in cream, with void used for emphasis only.

Insight for Lyra

Borrow the confidence-through-restraint. When we announce something product-level, use void sparingly and let one sentence carry it.

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Stewards & sign-off26 / 26

Stewards

Who protects the brand.

Two people approve anything that goes out under the Lyra wordmark. If it doesn't pass the three checks on slide 19, it doesn't ship — even if the deadline is tonight.

Stephany Oliveros

Co-founder · product, tech, brand integrity

Maja Ribó

Co-founder · brand, partnerships, community

House rules

1 · No new accent colours without a steward signing off.
2 · No new fonts. Instrument Serif italic + Inter, forever.
3 · No campaign without a quote, a number, or a name attached.
4 · No empowerment language. No exclamation marks.
5 · Every claim about the algorithm links to a public explanation.
6 · This book is updated, not replaced. Versions are dated and kept.

Brand book v1 · May 2026 · hello@lyra.ai

Lyra