RUCKUS COLLECTIVE is the integrated agency for bold brands, one accountable partner for strategy, media, content and technology. We solve the fragmented supplier problem: one partner owns the number, no finger pointing.
Co-founders: Paige Goodwin (Strategy, Media, Production & Performance) and Annette Skinner (Strategy, Brand, Creative & Technology).
50+ combined years of senior experience. NZ and AU client reach.
Brand Personality
Senior by default. Commercially fluent. Data-led. Outcome obsessed. We speak CFO, not just CMO. We're bold without being loud, strategic without being dry, direct without being blunt.
Strategy. Media. Content. Technology. One partner.
02 — Identity
Logo Suite
The RUCKUS mark is a custom letterform pairing of R and C — precise, confident, and unmistakable. Three formats exist in the suite, with a defined hierarchy for use.
Logo Hierarchy
01
Full Lockup
RC mark + "RUCKUS COLLECTIVE" wordmark + tagline sub-line
PRIMARY — Use wherever possible
02
Wordmark
"RUCKUS COLLECTIVE" text + amber rule + tagline. No RC mark.
SECONDARY — Digital & print headers
03
Mark Only
RC lettermark alone. Only where brand is already established.
TERTIARY — Favicon, avatar, embossed
Full Lockup — Primary Configurations
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
STRATEGY | MEDIA | CONTENT | TECHNOLOGY
White on Black — Primary
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
STRATEGY | MEDIA | CONTENT | TECHNOLOGY
Black on White — Secondary
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
STRATEGY | MEDIA | CONTENT | TECHNOLOGY
Black on Warm Stone — Tertiary
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
STRATEGY | MEDIA | CONTENT | TECHNOLOGY
Amber on Black — Accent
Wordmark — "RUCKUS COLLECTIVE"
The wordmark is the words "RUCKUS COLLECTIVE" alone — Poppins SemiBold (600), all caps, with generous letter-spacing. Small and sophisticated. Used on its own where the RC mark is not needed (headers, footers, document credits, partner listings). No tagline, no mark. Available in white, black, warm stone and amber, on black, white and transparent backgrounds (Drive → Ruckus Logos → Wordmark).
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
White on Black — Primary
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
Black on White — Secondary
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
Black on Warm Stone
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
Amber on Black — Accent
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
Warm Stone on Black
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
White on Off Black
Logo Lockup Variations — Full Set (10 lockups in Drive)
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
White on Black
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
Black on White
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
White on Warm Stone
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
Amber on Black
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
White on Off Black
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
Black on Light Grey
+ Transparent backgrounds in White, Black, and Amber. Full set of 10 lockups, 8 wordmarks, and 20 mark / colour-palette files available in Google Drive → Ruckus Logos.
Logo Usage Rules
✓ Do
Use the lockup as the primary logo wherever space allows
Maintain clear space equal to the height of the RC mark on all sides
Use on approved background colours only (Black, White, Warm Stone)
Scale proportionally — never distort
Use White or Amber mark on dark backgrounds
Use Black mark on light backgrounds
✗ Don't
Don't stretch, squash, rotate, or skew the mark
Don't use the mark on busy photography without sufficient contrast
Don't outline or add drop shadows to the logo
Don't use Amber text on Warm Stone background (poor contrast)
Don't place the wordmark smaller than 120px wide on screen
Don't recreate or alter the letterforms
03 — Colour
Colour Palette
Primary Colours
Ruckus Black
#07080C
Primary — Background, type, mark
Amber
#C8A84B
Primary — Accent, divider, tagline
White
#FFFFFF
Primary · Reversed type
Light Grey
#F0F0F0
Primary · Light backgrounds, sections
Secondary Colours
Warm Stone
#BAB2A8
Website backgrounds, Canva brand panels
Off Black
#1A1A1A
Body text, secondary dark surfaces
Approved Colour Combinations
RUCKUS
White on Black ✓
RUCKUS
Amber on Black ✓
RUCKUS
Black on White ✓
RUCKUS
White on Warm Stone ✓
04 — Typography
Typography System
The type system uses three distinct fonts, each with a specific role. This is the finalised hierarchy as confirmed by Annette (June 2026).
Display
Playfair Display
Hero · H1 Sentence Case Weight: Bold Italic (700)
Workhorse
Poppins
H2 · Body · Accent · CTA Sentence Case / Spaced Caps Weights: 300 · 400 · 600 · 700
Signature
Georgia Italic
Tagline only Italic Used sparingly
Type Scale & Usage (Finalised June 2026)
Hero — Playfair Display Bold Italic, Sentence Case
The integrated agency for bold brands.
Playfair Display · up to 96px on the hero · Bold Italic (700) · Sentence case · Line-height 1.0–1.1
Poppins · 10–13px · Bold (700) · ALL CAPS with letter-spacing 3–4px · Hairline border, transparent background only
Body — Poppins Regular, Sentence Case
We solve the fragmented supplier problem. One partner owns every stage — from strategy and creative to media, content, and reporting. No finger-pointing. Full commercial accountability.
font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic;
05 — Voice
Tagline System
RUCKUS has one primary tagline and a suite of supporting expressions. The primary tagline should be used consistently across all touchpoints. Supporting lines are for campaigns, sub-contexts, and situations where variation adds meaning.
Primary Tagline
Primary
Bold brands don't whisper.
Used in: all brand expressions, email signatures, business cards, website footer, presentations, social bio
Supporting Taglines — Approved Variations
Positioning
Strategy. Media. Content. Technology.
Use when describing services. Always with the period after each word.
Value Prop
One partner. Every outcome.
Use in new business contexts, pitch decks, elevator pitches.
Descriptor
The integrated agency for bold brands.
Use in Google My Business, LinkedIn About, directory listings.
Sales conversations, case study endings, pitch decks.
Contrast
Not your average agency. Not even close.
Social, contrast marketing, comparison contexts.
Differentiation
Senior thinking from the first conversation.
SME market, SPARK/IGNITE tier positioning. Emphasises senior access without reference to junior pricing.
05B — Messaging
Copy Guidelines & Approved Language
These guidelines reflect decisions made in the June 2026 website feedback session. Apply consistently across all written touchpoints: website, decks, proposals, emails.
Testimonials: footer only (not top nav). No dropdown menus in header.
06 — Website
Website
This documents the live site (staging: chipper-haupia-250f7e.netlify.app) so every page stays on-brand. The build is dark-first on the Ruckus Black palette: Poppins for UI and navigation, Playfair Display for the hero and H1s, Georgia italic for taglines, amber as the single accent.
Global Header — RC Mark + Wordmark
The global header uses the RC mark followed by the "RUCKUS COLLECTIVE" wordmark on the left, on a Ruckus Black bar, matching the live site. Navigation is Poppins SemiBold with the active/Contact item in amber, and a single amber-outlined "Book a session" button on the right.
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
AboutServicesOur WorkPackagesResourcesContactBook a session
RC mark + wordmark left, Poppins nav, amber "Book a session". Approved nav labels: About · Services · Our Work · Packages · Resources · Contact. "Packages", never "Pricing". No dropdowns. Testimonials live in the footer, not the top nav.
Home — Page Structure
The launched homepage runs in this order. Keep all section copy in sentence case, no em dashes, amber as accent only.
01
Hero
Playfair Display "Bold brands don't whisper." + sub-line "One accountable partner for strategy, media, content and technology." CTAs: Work with us / See our work.
02
Proof bar
50+ combined years · $2M+ media managed annually · NZ & AU reach · One accountable partner.
03
Services — four pillars
Strategy, Media, Content, Technology — each with a "what's included" list. Content notes the marketing infrastructure platform.
Discover → Strategy → Execute → Measure & grow. "We own the number."
06
Testimonial + closing CTA
Testimonial block held until a genuine, attributed client quote is available (do not use the placeholder Prego quote). Closing: "Let's solve the challenge behind the brief." Book a discovery session / View packages.
Interaction & Detail Notes (approved from the staging build)
The staging site set a restrained, premium interaction language. These details are approved as the house style. Carry them across every page, including the Field Notes blog, so the system feels consistent.
Hover hairlines. Interactive elements (nav items, cards, links) reveal a thin amber hairline, about 0.75px, on hover, eased in subtly. Quiet and confident, never a heavy fill or colour wash.
Eyebrow device. Each section opens with a short amber hairline rule followed by a spaced amber-caps label (for example "WHAT WE DO" or "THE INTEGRATED AGENCY FOR BOLD BRANDS"). Use it consistently to signpost every section.
CTAs. Hairline amber border, transparent fill, Poppins Bold spaced caps. Primary buttons fill amber on hover. Secondary links use a trailing arrow and pick up an amber underline on hover.
Editorial cues. A thin vertical "SCROLL" indicator and vertical rotated section labels add an editorial, premium feel. Keep them subtle, never decorative for its own sake.
Section rhythm. Dark-first sections, generous whitespace, a faint hairline divider between sections, and a thin amber scroll indicator down the right edge.
Motion. Restrained fade and reveal on scroll. Nothing bouncy. Bold without being loud.
Note on Annette's homepage: the staging eyebrow and CTA treatments are approved as above. Two fixes still apply before launch: remove the em dash from the hero sub-line ("every dollar, from positioning to paid performance") and keep all hover states to the amber hairline (no filled colour blocks).
Resources — Organic Strategy (Annette, June 2026)
Annette's direction for the Resources section, to build organic reach and the email list:
✓ Lead magnets behind an email gate
Gate the high-value downloads (frameworks, checklists, templates) behind an email-capture form to build the email list. The asset delivers after sign-up.
✓ Blog posts, not PDFs, for reach
Publish thought-leadership as on-page blog posts rather than PDFs. PDFs are nearly invisible to organic search; indexable HTML articles rank and drive discovery.
In short: ungated, indexable blog posts for organic search reach, plus a few gated lead magnets with email capture to grow the list. Reserve PDFs for the gated downloads, not for content meant to be found.
07 — Assets
Asset Mockups
Email Signatures
Email Signature — Paige Goodwin
Email Signature — Annette Skinner
Business Cards — Two Approved Colourways
90 × 55 mm. RC mark on the left, divider, details to the right (mirrors the email-signature layout). Two approved colourways: Ruckus Black (primary) and White. Add 3 mm bleed for print.
Ruckus Black (primary) — Front (Paige)
Ruckus Black (primary) — Back
White — Front (Paige)
White — Back
08 — Web Typography
H1 Heading Colour Treatments
Annette has defined four background treatments for hero headings and H1 typography on the website. Each background is paired with two text colour options — Pure White and Off-Black — giving eight possible combinations. Below is the approved system with recommended use cases.
Text colour #1A1A1A on background #07080C — insufficient contrast, fails WCAG AA. This combination renders text nearly invisible.
✗ White on Amber or Warm Stone
Pure white on the Amber or Warm Stone pills creates contrast issues at smaller heading sizes. Off-Black is always the correct text colour on light pill backgrounds.
Quick rule: Dark background pill → White text. Light background pill (Amber, Warm Stone) → Off-Black text. No pill → Off-Black text on white/light page. Never mix light text on light pills.
09 — Drive
Google Drive Asset Library
All brand assets are stored in the shared RUCKUS COLLECTIVE Google Drive. Use the links below to access each folder.
📁
Ruckus Logos → Lockup (10 files)
All 10 lockup colour variations (SVG)
📁
Ruckus Logos → Wordmark (8 files)
All 8 wordmark colour variations (SVG)
📁
Ruckus Logos → Brand Colour Palette (20 files)
RC lettermark in all 20 colour variants — transparent, on-solid, and circle badge (SVG)
📁
Signatures (3 files)
Paige, Annette, and Template email signature SVGs
📁
Business Cards (4 files)
Front (Paige, Annette, Template) + Back SVGs
📁
Brand Positioning
Brand Guidelines v1.5 (this document) + Brand Foundation documents
📁
Presentations
Branded PPTX templates and client presentations
RUCKUS COLLECTIVE
Bold brands don't whisper.
Brand Guidelines v1.5 · June 2026
10 — Asset Library
Production Asset Files
All production-ready assets are saved in the RUCKUS COLLECTIVE iCloud folder alongside this document. Open each file in any browser. Print files include @media print CSS for A4 output.
New business intake form. 7 sections: Client, Challenge, Current state, Audience, Brand, Budget/timing, Internal fit check. A4 printable. Tier recommendation included.
NEW BUSINESS
RUCKUS_Campaign_Brief.html
Internal campaign brief for trading partners and creative partners. Channel plan table, creative asset checklist, measurement framework, sign-off block. A4 printable.
OPERATIONS
Logo & Brand SVG Files
Stored in: Brand Assets/Logos/
Lockup Versions/ (10 files)
Full lockup: RC mark + wordmark + tagline. Primary format for presentations, pitches, documents.
Wordmark/ (8 files)
"RUCKUS COLLECTIVE" text + amber rule + tagline. No RC mark. Use for headers, digital banners.
Brand Colour Palette/ (20 files)
RC lettermark alone in all colour variants. Favicon, avatar, embossed, circle treatments.
Business Cards/ (5 files)
Paige, Annette, Template (front) + Back. Print at 90x55mm, 300DPI.
Signatures/ (3 files)
Paige, Annette, Template email signatures. HTML versions in root folder.
Mockups/ (6 files)
Business cards, email signatures, social banner, letterhead preview SVGs.
11 — New Business
Forms & Production Assets
The two intake forms are embedded in full below. The production ad sets are linked (open in a new tab) with their logos corrected. All four files also live alongside this document in Asset Files/ and in the shared RUCKUS COLLECTIVE folder.
