CadenceBrand guidelinesv1.0
A roadmap that records what it said no to
- Version
- 1.0 · Feb 2026
- Discipline
- Product management
- Sector
- Product tooling
- Prepared by
- Berke Tok
Foundations
Roadmapping for payments squads. Bets, timelines and the decisions behind them live in one place, including the ideas that were turned down and why.
1.1Purpose
Two open rings and a point, all broken on the same quarter. A team’s rhythm: the cycle, the sprint inside it, the decision at the centre.
1.2Audience
Who it is for
Product squads, their leads, and the stakeholders who read the roadmap without editing it.
Positioning
For teams who have to say no in public. Unlike roadmap boards that only show what is in, Cadence keeps what was deferred and why.
1.3Principles
- P1
Timeline by stream
Work sits in lanes by outcome, not by team, so a stakeholder can see what conversion or reliability is getting this half at a glance.
- P2
A log of decisions
Every deferral is written down with an owner and a reason, which keeps the same idea from being argued over again next quarter.
- P3
Scoring in the open
Impact and effort are scored by several people and plotted together, so a priority call can be traced back to the scores behind it.
Voice
How Cadence sounds in product, support and marketing. One voice; the tone moves with the moment, not the channel.
2.1Traits
Decisive
Every item has a state and an owner. We avoid “exploring” and “considering” as statuses.
On the record
We quote the decision, the date and who made it.
Light
Product teams read a lot. Labels stay under three words.
2.2Say this, not that
- Say
Deferred to H1 by Lina: waiting on the card issuer.
NotThis item has been deprioritised.
- Say
3 of 5 scorers rate this high impact.
NotThis feature is a top priority.
- Say
Offline mode is in. Bulk export is out this half.
NotWe have an exciting roadmap ahead!
2.3House style
- 01Halves as H2 2026
- 02States: Now, Next, Later, Deferred
- 03Owner first names only
Logo
One mark, one wordmark, one horizontal lockup. The mark is drawn on a 48-unit grid and is never redrawn, only scaled.
3.1Lockups
3.2Construction
Construction circles and the 4-unit grid the mark is drawn on.
- Grid
- 48 units, 4-unit subdivisions
- Construction
- 2 circles, radii 22 / 12.5
- Lockup
- Mark 132 : word 530 units wide
- Gap
- 48 units between mark and word
3.3Clear space and size
Shown at true size. Below these the mark fills in and the word loses its counters.
3.4Misuse
Do not stretch or squash
Do not rotate
Do not recolour
Do not outline
Do not add effects
Do not set on low contrast
Colour
Four colours with fixed roles. Values are the source of truth for screen; print is proofed against the CMYK starting points below.
4.1Palette
- PrimaryRaspberry
- HEX
- #C2185B
- RGB
- 194 24 91
- HSL
- 336 78% 43%
- OKLCH
- 53.1% 0.202 6
- CMYK
- 0 88 53 24
- On it
- Paper
- GroundPlum Night
- HEX
- #2A0F1C
- RGB
- 42 15 28
- HSL
- 331 47% 11%
- OKLCH
- 21.6% 0.049 352
- CMYK
- 0 64 33 84
- On it
- Paper
- TintPetal
- HEX
- #F9D7E5
- RGB
- 249 215 229
- HSL
- 335 74% 91%
- OKLCH
- 91.1% 0.042 351
- CMYK
- 0 14 8 2
- On it
- Plum Night
- PaperPaper
- HEX
- #FFF7FA
- RGB
- 255 247 250
- HSL
- 338 100% 98%
- OKLCH
- 98.3% 0.009 352
- CMYK
- 0 3 2 0
- On it
- Plum Night
4.2Proportion
Share of a typical surface. Primary is an accent even where it leads.
4.3Tonal scale
Derived from Raspberry in linear light, for charts, states and illustration. Never for the mark.
- 50F8EFF1
- 100F3E3E6
- 200E8C8CF
- 300DCA8B3
- 400D07B90
- 500C2185B
- 600B21553
- 7009F1249
- 800890E3E
- 9006D0930
4.4Contrast
WCAG 2.2 ratios. AA needs 4.5:1 for text, 3:1 for large text and icons.
- Aa16.84:1AAA
- Aa13.42:1AAA
- Aa3.02:1AA Large
- Aa1.26:1Fail
- Aa5.58:1AA
- Aa16.84:1AAA
- Aa5.58:1AA
- Aa4.44:1AA Large
- Aa3.02:1AA Large
Typography
Bricolage Grotesque for everything, from display to captions. One family keeps the product and the marketing in the same voice.
5.1Typeface
Bricolage Grotesque
Semibold 640 · Regular 400
5.2Scale
Base 16 px, ratio 1.2. Line height tightens as size grows.
- Display40 / 1.08 / -3%A roadmap that records what it said no to
- Heading 133 / 1.2 / -1.5%A roadmap that records what it said no to
- Heading 228 / 1.2 / -1.5%A roadmap that records what it said no to
- Heading 323 / 1.5 / 0%A roadmap that records what it said no to
- Lead19 / 1.5 / 0%A roadmap that records what it said no to
- Body16 / 1.5 / 0%Roadmapping for payments squads. Bets, timelines and the decisions behind them live in one place, including the ideas that were turned down and why.
- Caption13 / 1.5 / 0%Roadmapping for payments squads. Bets, timelines and the decisions behind them live in one place, including the ideas that were turned down and why.
5.3Setting
Sentence case
Headings, buttons and labels. Title case only for product names.
Tabular figures
Every amount, time and count, so columns line up and values do not jump.
60–75 characters
Running text measure. Short labels may run to the edge of their container.
Layout
Two grids and one spacing scale cover every screen. Print uses the same 12 columns on the A-series.
6.1Grid
6.2Spacing
A 4 px base. Components step on 4 and 8; sections on 48 and up.
- space-14 px
- space-28 px
- space-312 px
- space-416 px
- space-524 px
- space-632 px
- space-748 px
- space-864 px
- space-996 px
Interface
The identity carried into the product: tokens first, then the handful of components every screen is made from.
7.1Tokens
- radius.sm
- 4 px
- radius.md
- 8 px
- radius.lg
- 12 px
- focus
- 2 px #C2185B · 2 px offset
- elevation.1
- 0 1 2 / 8%
- elevation.2
- 0 12 32 / 14%
- motion.fast
- 160 ms · ease-out
- motion.base
- 240 ms · ease-out
- hit target
- 44 × 44 px
7.2Components
Live components, set in the brand typeface with the tokens above.
7.3In product
Applications
Where the rules meet the world. When something here is not covered, follow the checklist and keep the lockup clear.
8.1In context
8.2Checklist
Before anything ships.
- The lockup is at least 18 px tall on screen and 8 mm in print.
- Clear space around the lockup is at least half the mark’s height on every side.
- Body text is Plum Night on Paper: 16.8:1, AAA.
- Raspberry can carry text on Paper (5.6:1).
- Headings use Bricolage Grotesque; amounts use tabular figures.
- Copy follows the house style in 2.3, starting with “Halves as H2 2026”.