# Tan Brand Guide: From Identity to Don’ts

> Which expression, color and tone fit each use of Tan? The 14-section brand guide answers on one page, from identity to what to avoid.

- Last updated: 2026-09-30
- Source: https://muhammetsafak.com/tan/guide/
- Language: en-US
- Author: Muhammet Şafak

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If you’re putting Tan in an image or a piece of text, the rules are all here on one page, from identity and voice to expressions and the palette.

## Identity

Tan is a beaver. Beavers build dams and reshape their surroundings; they are ecosystem engineers, building patiently, branch by branch. The animal reads as calm and trustworthy, and its hands, teeth, and tail make it easy to animate.

The name comes from the Turkish word for the first light of dawn. The indigo and purple of the body carry the shift from night to dawn; the amber carries the light of the rising sun.

Tan doesn’t speak the same way on every surface:

| Surface | Tan |
| --- | --- |
| Blog and Labs post body | Doesn’t speak. |
| Cover, OG, and social images | Stays silent; the image carries no text. |
| 404, empty search, empty states | Says one short sentence. |
| Reactions and video | Says one short sentence; the line sits outside the image. |
| Incidents and security | Silent in lines and notes; appears only with the serious expression. Comment exception: for a closed incident, only with the serious or concerned-but-calm pose. |
| The Tan page | Speaks in the first person. |

## Personality

Five traits, each with its own body language:

- **Patient teacher** — A pointing hand, an open stance.
- **Honest** — Paw on chin when the answer is unknown.
- **Opinionated, not dogmatic** — A nod or a thumbs-up.
- **Grounded in experience** — Holds a real tool.
- **Calm authority** — A relaxed stance; never shouts.

### Signatures

- Measures before speaking.
- Pauses when unsure, and says so.
- Splits a big job into small branches.
- Carries a flashlight in the dark.

**Likes:** Things that can be measured, work that moves piece by piece, a well-drawn plan, the quiet hour before dawn.

**Dislikes:** Rushing, unmeasured numbers, “one true way” thinking, noise.

## Values

Five values, each with a line that carries it:

| Value | Meaning | Example line |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Patience | Splits a big job into small branches. | “Let’s start with a small step.” |
| Honesty | Says what isn’t known; never states what wasn’t measured. | “I don’t know this, I’ll look into it.” |
| Curiosity | Doesn’t hide a surprising result; looks for the reason. | “The result didn’t come out as I expected, so let’s look at why.” |
| Evidence | Every opinion rests on a measurement or a reason. | “Let’s measure first, then talk.” |
| Simplicity | Says little, and says it where it fits. | “This much is enough.” |

## Voice

- Speaks in the first person, in the present tense, and addresses the reader directly.
- A line is one sentence, a note one or two, a comment four at most.
- No exclamation marks, emoji, puns, or slang.
- No number that isn’t in the post or the record; lines and notes carry no numbers.
- Shares a view; no condescension, no dogma.
- The English text isn’t a translation but a natural sentence in its own right. No pronoun for Tan: the sentence reads “Tan builds.”

### Examples

| Surface | Tan |
| --- | --- |
| 404 line | “I couldn’t find this page.” |
| Reaction | “I measured it, and it holds.” |
| Note | “A decision’s cost shows up on the day it is paid, not on the day it is made.” |
| Note | “Splitting a big job into small branches keeps the mistakes small too.” |

## Vocabulary

The list isn’t closed; the voice rules above are the measure.

| Preferred | Avoided |
| --- | --- |
| I measured it, it holds, let’s look | awesome, amazing, incredible |
| the cost, the reason, the limit | obviously, simply, just (as a minimizer) |
| small step, piece by piece | game-changer, blazing fast, 10x |
| I’d do it this way | the only right way, you must |
| Tan says, Tan builds | it, he (for Tan) |
| calm, measured | hype, buzzwords, product praise |

## Expressions

The first five are the standard set, the last four the extended set. The expression follows the tone of the topic.

- **Happy** — A relaxed, everyday moment; an understated smile.
- **Curious / thoughtful** — Paw on chin, working something out.
- **Surprised** — Only for a genuinely unexpected result.
- **Approving** — Only for a verified result.
- **Serious** — For incidents and security; no smile, level brows, teeth visible.
- **Focused** — Routine and teaching content; eyes on the work.
- **Concerned but calm** — For warnings; inner brows raised, no smile.
- **Proud** — Only for a result that has actually happened.
- **Reflective** — Personal and reflective content; gaze down and to the side.

### Tone matrix

| Topic | Expressions | Poses |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Routine, teaching | happy, curious, approving, focused, proud | pointing hand; laptop, branch, or scroll |
| Warning | curious, slightly surprised, concerned but calm | paw on chin, pointing, flashlight |
| Incident, security | serious only | flashlight, upright stance |
| Personal, reflective | happy (restrained), curious, reflective, proud (restrained) | notebook and pen, sitting, paw on chin |

The approving gesture is only for a measured result, and the surprised expression only for a genuinely unexpected one.

## Poses

The reference set has four poses:

- **Pointing** — For a practical tip.
- **Sitting at a desk** — The desk and chair are the only objects allowed in the set.
- **Walking** — Mid-stride, seen from the side.
- **Waving** — One hand raised in greeting.

The set also has four transparent reaction images: “hmm”, “looks good”, “ready to ship”, and “thinking”.

## Props

An image has one main prop at most, and it comes only from this table. No worn items such as headphones, glasses, or hats. Screens and pages carry no text, numbers, or code, and props use no amber.

| Prop or gesture | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Flashlight | Debugging, incidents (violet beam) |
| Rolled-up plan | Architecture |
| Open scroll and open palm | Teaching |
| Measurement dashboard | Measurement, Research |
| Laptop | Labs, building |
| Notebook and pen | Reflective writing |
| Branch | Step-by-step progress (dark indigo bark, violet leaves) |
| Paw on chin (gesture) | Uncertainty |
| Approving gesture | A verified result |

## Environments

The background is dark and the accent is indigo and violet only; only Tan keeps the mascot palette. Amber appears only as Tan’s rim light, and scenes carry no text.

| Scene | When | Prop |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Digital dam | Architecture | Scroll, branch |
| Desk | Writing, reflective content, planning | Notebook, laptop |
| Server room | Labs, infrastructure | Laptop |
| Dark corridor | Debugging, incidents | Flashlight |
| Measurement panel | Research | Dashboard |
| Dawn horizon | Closing, identity | Violet sun |

## Colors

The palette was sampled from the canonical image. Tan should read with the same colors on both light and dark backgrounds.

| Role | Hex | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Body main tone | `#675ade` | Primary fur color |
| Body shadow / deep tone | `#473b9c` | Shaded areas |
| Belly and muzzle | `#fed59f` | Light-toned area (belly, around nose and mouth) |
| Dawn accent / rim light | `#fec356` | Amber rim light; on Tan only |
| Teeth | `#fefae3` | Off-white — not pure white |
| Outline | `#1d1757` | Dark indigo outline |
| Body on dark background | `#818cf8` | Not yet sampled — to be confirmed once a dark-background image is generated |
| Iris | `#5a3413` | Warm brown eyes |
| Pupil | `#241101` | Dark center of the iris |
| Inner ear | `#b577b1` | Mauve |
| Nose | `#2b2274` | Dark indigo |
| Brow | `#1c1656` | One shade darker than the outline |

## Composition

### Anatomy

- A stocky, stylized body with a large head.
- The two front teeth are visible in every image.
- Large, warm eyes with brown irises.
- A paddle-shaped tail with diamond cross-hatching.
- Four-fingered hands.
- Reads as a beaver even at a 64-pixel avatar size.
- The amber rim light sits on the tail and back side.

### Drawing style

Flat 2D drawing, a thick rounded outline, a plain background. The image carries no text.

### Scene rules

- Tan is the primary subject: at least half of the frame height and at least 12% of the area.
- No red or green.
- No text in the image.
- A dark background with indigo and violet accents.
- One main prop.
- The expression follows the tone matrix.
- The rim light sits on the tail and back side.

### Formats

| Context | Ratio and placement |
| --- | --- |
| Blog and Labs cover | 16:9; Tan is the hero |
| OG share card | 1200×630; in the right column, next to the title |
| Avatar, corner logo | 1:1; next to the profile photo, not in place of it |
| YouTube thumbnail | 16:9; the character on one side |
| In-video reaction | 1:1, transparent |
| Social media post | 4:5 or 1:1 |
| Story, Reels | 9:16 |

## Animation

When Tan is animated, motion carries the character rather than decorating it:

- Slow and calm: no bouncing, shaking, or sudden zoom.
- One thing moves at a time: a blink, the tail, a breath, or a gesture.
- Gestures carry meaning: a nod only for a measured result, paw on chin only for the unknown.
- Incidents and security get minimal motion: the flashlight steady, the stance upright.
- The reduced-motion preference is respected: motion stops and a static pose remains.
- A line never arrives with the motion; it sits outside the image as a caption or text.

## Usage

Every image produced for the site after September 28, 2026 includes Tan. Covers made before then stay as they are.

You’ll see Tan in the following places:

- Blog and Labs covers (16:9) — the hero, bringing the post’s topic to life
- Share cards (1200×630) — in the right column, next to the title
- Free-form generations — produced to fit the scene, consistent with the two canonical reference images
- Video and broadcasts — YouTube and social media
- The landing and guide pages themselves

In scenes produced for the site, the background is dark and the accent is indigo/violet only; only Tan keeps the mascot palette.

### Tan’s comments

Tan can add a short comment to a suitable post. The comment doesn’t summarize the post; it adds a new angle.

**Candidates**

- Posts that carry a decision or a trade-off
- Posts that carry a measurement result
- Posts that correct a common misconception or carry a warning
- Every Research record

**Not candidates**

- Personal posts and posts about grief
- Announcements and short notes
- Sponsored content or content with tool placement
- Series summaries
- Content published before 2025

**Placement**

- One comment per post at most
- Not on the first screen; after the main argument or before the conclusion
- Four sentences at most
- On roughly a third of suitable posts; never on two posts in a row in the same list

Exception for incident and security posts: once the incident is closed, a comment may be added, only with the serious or concerned-but-calm pose. An ongoing incident, or content that identifies a person or customer, is not a candidate.

### Tan’s notes

A note is a one- or two-sentence observation that stands on its own and carries no numbers. Notes are listed on the Tan page and can be copied as they are.

## Don’ts

### Do

- Show the two front teeth
- Keep the palette
- Show Tan working with a tool (laptop, branch, plan)
- Use the sun motif sparingly

### Don’t

- Use a pure black outline or pure white teeth
- Shift to brown “real beaver” tones
- Give Tan an angry, mocking, or frightened expression
- Add another brand, logo, or language mascot (elephant, gopher)
- Embed text in the image
- Leave the character secondary in the scene
- Add a prop that isn’t in the table
- Use more than one main prop
- Add red or green status markers

### Tan never

- Mocks anyone: not the reader, a tool, or a community.
- Panics; Tan can be surprised but stays calm.
- Claims “one true way”; Tan shows the reason and the cost.
- Joins a language, framework, or product war.
- States an unmeasured number or makes up an estimate.
- Shows off seniority.
- Speaks in exclamations or uses emoji.
- Praises or knocks a product or a company.
- Says anything that could reveal a person, a customer, or a system.
- Jokes or smiles about incidents or security.
- Talks down to the reader; Tan encourages instead.
- Appears next to another mascot or a language symbol.

[Back to the Tan page](https://muhammetsafak.com/tan/)