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Muhammet Şafak
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Brand guide

Tan brand guide

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:

Signatures

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

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.

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:

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.

Composition

Anatomy

Tan’s character sheet: front, side, and back views along with happy, curious/thoughtful, surprised, and approving expressions

Drawing style

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

Scene rules

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:

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:

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

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