# Igata: the platform mark

The `igata` brand is the platform company's own mark and the staging brand, and never a customer's (ADR 0004).
The mark is Passage I: two cast halves around a channel that opens into a capital I, from the design pass of 2026-10-22 against `docs/design/brand-prompt-igata.md`.
The two halves are identical under a half-turn, so the casting idea is part of the construction.
`brand.json` is the draft brand file; it migrates to the `igata.brand/1` schema when `packages/contracts` v0 is tagged (IG-0045).

## The mark

The mark reads first as a passage and then as an I.
Use the two solid halves as one flat colour; the I is an opening, not an added letter or a separate element.
The 16-unit canvas contains a 12-unit mark, two-unit channels and two-unit minimum features.
The construction diagram colours the I only to explain the geometry and is not a production logo.
The taller I was selected over the compact study because its four-unit stem is easier to distinguish at 16 pixels; the two studies are kept under `explorations/`.

## Name and descriptor

The wordmark is Igata in outlined IBM Plex Sans Medium, title case, with -0.01em tracking.
"AI workflow & orchestration" is the descriptor, used beside the mark on the site and in technical documents when context requires it, and never inside the mark.
Let S be the icon canvas height; the horizontal lockup gap is S/4 and the visible ink is vertically centred.
The wordmark minimum is 60px or 16mm wide, and the lockup minimum is 36px or 9mm high.
Clear space around the standalone wordmark is one quarter of its visible height.

## Palette

| Token | Colour | Role |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Foundry | `#263B3B` | Primary mark, actions and dark panels |
| Brass | `#94663C` | Paper-ground links and small accents |
| Paper | `#F7F7F2` | Light background and dark reversal |
| Chalk | `#E2E4DE` | Light surfaces |
| Pewter | `#B2B8B0` | Secondary text on dark backgrounds |
| Slate | `#5E6861` | Secondary text on light backgrounds |
| Carbon | `#171C19` | Main text and dark background |

On Paper, Carbon is 16.06:1, Foundry is 11.03:1, Slate is 5.39:1 and Brass is 4.63:1.
On Carbon, Paper is 16.06:1 and Pewter is 8.53:1.
On Chalk, Slate is 4.52:1; on Foundry, Pewter is 5.86:1 and Paper is 11.03:1.
Every listed text pair meets WCAG AA for normal text; the pairs and the light and dark roles are in `brand.json`, and the site's tests recompute them.
Use Paper links on dark backgrounds, because Brass is decorative only there.
The black and white assets are reproduction variants, not additional palette colours.

## Typography and tone

| Role | Typeface | Size / leading |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Heading | IBM Plex Sans 500 | 24 / 29pt |
| Body | IBM Plex Sans 400 | 11 / 16pt |
| Caption | IBM Plex Sans 400 | 9 / 12pt |
| Code | IBM Plex Mono 400 | 9.5 / 14pt |

State the purpose first.
Use plain words and short sentences.
Name the owner, action and date.
Separate agreed terms from open points.
Close with the next step; omit praise and superlatives.

## Usage

Use on the platform company's site, the repository, technical documents, diagrams, letterhead, licence schedules, private staging and desktop folders.
Keep Igata off customer screens, emails, receipts, onboarding and shipped deployment branding; replace the staging placeholder before customer access.
On a licence schedule, use separately labelled blocks for the deployment brand and the platform licensor, with Igata at most half the customer's visible height and at least S between blocks.
The minimum icon canvas is 16px digitally or 5mm in print, with S/8 clear space from visible ink included in the export.
Use the inset avatar asset for circular crops, retaining the full silhouette.
Keep the mark upright, preserve the two-unit channel, and do not outline, round or trace the production mark.

## Files

The SVG sources are the production marks: the icon in Foundry, black, white and Paper; the wordmark and the lockup in Foundry and white; the avatar; the construction diagram.
Every raster, the icons at 16 to 512 pixels, the avatar and the site's preview image, is rendered from these sources by the site's build and never hand-exported (ADR 0004).
The typefaces are IBM Plex Sans and IBM Plex Mono under the SIL Open Font License 1.1; the site carries its own latin subsets with the licence beside them.

| Criterion | Score / 5 |
| --- | ---: |
| Legibility at 16 pixels | 5 |
| Distinctiveness from common software marks | 4 |
| Neutrality under a customer brand | 5 |
| How it reads to a lawyer or partner | 5 |
| Memorability after one viewing | 4 |
| Timelessness | 5 |

Distinctiveness and memorability remain the weakest scores; a brief unaided recall test would show whether the hidden initial improves recognition.