Version 1.0 — 2026

Tandara

Brand
guidelines

Everything you need to create work that feels unmistakably Tandara: our logo, colours, typography, imagery, voice, and the way we put it all together.

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Portrait of a woman in a white collar and printed top, in warm light
Fashion. Culture. Becoming.

01Who we are

Brand overview

Tandara is a platform built to discover, express and share the evolving story of Africa through fashion and creativity. We connect people, brands, creators and culture, and tell the stories behind what they make.

The Tandara idea

Fashion.

The things people create, wear and build businesses around.

Culture.

The people, places, histories, languages, materials and ideas that influence us.

Becoming.

Our central idea. People are becoming. Businesses are becoming. Culture is becoming. Tandara itself is becoming, and we document that process.

Our role

We keep asking: Who are the people behind what we see? What happens behind the finished product? Why do people create? What does fashion tell us about culture? How do African creators build? What does it mean to become something?

The goal is not simply to report what is happening. It is to make people notice what they normally overlook.

01The emotional core

We are all becoming something.

  • A designer becoming established.

  • A tailor building a business.

  • A customer discovering their style.

  • A young creative finding their voice.

  • A culture evolving.

  • A business moving from an idea into reality.

The stories may be different. The underlying idea remains.

Our personality

Eight qualities shape everything Tandara makes, from a caption to a campaign.

  • 01

    Editorial

    Thoughtful and considered.

  • 02

    Human

    People are more important than products.

  • 03

    Curious

    Always asking questions.

  • 04

    Cultural

    Connected to Africa without being stereotypical.

  • 05

    Modern

    Contemporary and digitally native.

  • 06

    Premium

    High quality without feeling inaccessible.

  • 07

    Intelligent

    Interesting without becoming academic.

  • 08

    Quietly confident

    Tandara does not need to shout.

Where we sit

Our visual world sits between African culture, contemporary fashion, editorial journalism and modern digital media.

African,
but not stereotypical.
Fashionable,
but not superficial.
Premium,
but not pretentious.
Minimal,
but not empty.
Creative,
but not chaotic.

Tandara should never feel like

  • A conventional fashion magazine
  • A corporate media company
  • A generic startup
  • An influencer page
  • A fashion catalogue
  • A news publication
  • A motivational quote account
  • A generic African lifestyle page
  • A Canva template collection

The visual identity should feel distinctive, rather than fashionable for the sake of being fashionable.

03Our palette

Colour

A restrained palette. Ivory gives every page room to breathe, Plum gives it depth, and Orange is saved for the details.

Primary palette

Four colours do most of the work. Click any value to copy it.

  • Tandara Ivory

    Primary background, editorial paper

  • Tandara Plum

    Primary brand colour, headlines, backgrounds

  • Tandara Ink

    Dark neutral, body copy

  • Tandara Orange

    Accent, highlights, call-to-action details

Secondary palette

Two supporting colours for cards, dividers and campaign variation.

  • Sand

    Secondary neutral, cards, dividers

  • Soft Lilac

    Secondary accent, campaign variation

Colour balance

As a general ratio: 60% Ivory and neutrals, 25% Plum, 10% Ink and 5% Orange. It’s a visual discipline, not a mathematical rule.

Colour combinations

Pair colours with enough contrast to read comfortably. Ratios are for text on the background, measured against WCAG 2.1.

  • Plum on Ivory · 11.1:1
  • Ink on Ivory · 15.4:1
  • Plum on Sand · 8.0:1
  • Ink on Soft Lilac · 6.6:1
  • Ivory on Plum · 11.1:1
  • Ivory on Ink · 15.4:1
  • Orange on Plum · 4.4:1 · Large text only
  • Ink on Orange · 6.1:1 · Small details only

Misuse

Keep the palette restrained and readable.

Fashion. Culture. Becoming.

Don’t introduce colours outside the palette.

Something is coming.

Don’t let Orange take over. It’s an accent, not a background.

Tandara is a platform built to discover, express and share the evolving story of Africa through fashion and creativity.

Don’t set text in Orange or Soft Lilac on light backgrounds. It’s too hard to read.

04Our typefaces

Typography

Two typefaces, one relationship. Spectral carries the emotion. Inter carries the information.

Display typeface

Spectral

Expressive and editorial. Use it for major headlines, Journal titles, campaign headlines, quotes, editorial statements, feature titles and large numbers.

Light · Regular · Italic · Free on Google Fonts

Get Spectral

Supporting typeface

Inter

Functional and clear. Use it for captions, dates, descriptions, labels, navigation, supporting information, social graphics and calls to action.

Regular · Medium · Free on Google Fonts

Get Inter

04The basic relationship

Spectral is emotion.

Inter is information.

Contrast between the two is the point. Let Spectral lead with feeling, and let Inter support it with the facts: captions, dates, labels and calls to action.

Hierarchy

Four levels cover almost everything we make.

Level 01 — Hero

Spectral Light · 96–200 px · Leading 90–95% · Tracking −2%

Becoming

Level 02 — Headline

Spectral Regular · 32–64 px · Leading 105–115% · Tracking −1%

The people behind what we wear.

Level 03 — Supporting copy

Inter Regular · 15–20 px · Leading 150–160%

A conversation with the people building fashion beyond the spotlight.

Level 04 — Microcopy

Inter Medium · 11–13 px · Uppercase · Tracking +12–16%

Tandara · Journal 04

Setting type

A few habits keep our typography calm and confident.

Do

  • Use large headlines.
  • Let typography breathe.
  • Create contrast between Spectral and Inter.
  • Use whitespace generously.
  • Let a headline become a visual element.

Don’t

  • Use multiple unrelated fonts.
  • Use decorative fonts or excessive text effects.
  • Fill every available space.

05Photography

Imagery

Photography is central to Tandara. It should feel observational rather than manufactured.

A woman in printed cloth standing in tall grass, arms raised
Movement
Hands stitching fabric at a workbench
Hands at work
Portrait of a man in a white kaftan and cap, outdoors
Environmental portraits
Folded wax-print textiles stacked by colour
Materials and detail
A woman on a balcony above the city at dusk
Streets and contemporary life

Our photography in six words

  • Human
  • Natural
  • Documentary
  • Editorial
  • Tactile
  • Contemporary

What we photograph

Look for the people and the process behind what we see, not just the finished product.

What to look for

Moments

Portraits, hands, faces, workshops, studios, streets, materials, tools, fabrics, details, movement and imperfect moments.

Who to photograph

People

Designers, tailors, artisans, photographers, stylists, fabric sellers, entrepreneurs, customers and creatives.

Light and treatment

Keep it honest. The picture should look like the moment felt.

Do

  • Use natural light.
  • Shoot in authentic environments.
  • Favour environmental portraits.
  • Capture documentary moments.

Don’t

  • Over-smooth skin.
  • Rely on artificial lighting.
  • Use glamour retouching.
  • Add heavy filters or exaggerated colour grading.

African identity

Africa should feel lived, not illustrated.

Tandara is proudly African, but Africa should never become a design cliché. Let identity emerge through people, places, language, materials, architecture, fashion, craft, food, music, history and contemporary life.

Avoid leaning on maps of Africa, flags, generic African patterns, safari imagery or stereotypical illustrations.

Portrait of a smiling man outdoors

06How we speak

Voice & tone

Thoughtful, simple and quietly confident. We say something, then stop.

Our voice is

Thoughtful. Simple. Intelligent. Human. Curious. Confident. Occasionally poetic.

Say something, then stop.

Six writing principles for every caption, headline and script.

  1. 01

    Avoid unnecessary words.

  2. 02

    Avoid corporate language.

  3. 03

    Avoid exaggerated claims.

  4. 04

    Avoid trying too hard to sound youthful.

  5. 05

    Avoid excessive exclamation marks.

  6. 06

    Avoid empty motivational statements.

The Tandara difference

The same idea, said the Tandara way.

  • Instead of

    “Check out these amazing Nigerian designers!”

    We say

    “There are people making remarkable things. Most of them are still waiting to be discovered.”

  • Instead of

    “Support African fashion.”

    We say

    “Discover the people behind what we wear.”

  • Instead of

    “Meet this amazing designer.”

    We say

    “She started with a sewing machine in her bedroom. Today, she has a studio of her own.”

  • Instead of

    “Our new podcast episode is out!”

    We say

    “What does it take to keep becoming when nobody is watching?”

06Signature language

  1. 01Fashion. Culture. Becoming.
  2. 02The people behind what we wear.
  3. 03Every piece has a story.
  4. 04There is always more to the story.
  5. 05The work behind the work.
  6. 06What does becoming mean to you?
  7. 07We are always becoming.

Use these selectively, rather than attaching them to every post.

07How we compose

Layout

Our layouts should feel like an editorial publication: spacious, structured and never templated. Consistency comes from the system, not from identical layouts.

Formats and grid

Instagram is our strongest visual expression. Portrait 4:5 is the default feed format; Stories and Reels run full screen at 9:16. Set margins at 6% of the shortest side and gutters at half the margin. On a 1080 px post, that’s a 64 px margin and a 32 px gutter.

Feed · 1080 × 1350 · 4:5
Stories and Reels · 1080 × 1920 · 9:16

Two kinds of layout

Every post leads with either type or image. Let one of them do the talking.

Type-led

When the words are the story. Scale the headline up, keep everything else small, and give it room.

Image-led

When the photograph is the story. Keep type to one area, add a soft shade only where text sits, and let the picture breathe.

Feed rhythm

The feed should read like an editorial publication, not a set of templates. Create rhythm: portrait, typography, editorial photograph, quote, Journal, behind the scenes, podcast, and back to a portrait.

Carousels

A carousel should read like a short editorial article, not a presentation.

01 · The hook

Large typography. One idea that makes people stop.

02 · The subject

Introduce who or what the story is about.

03–06 · The story

Tell it with photography and concise copy.

Final · The sign-off

A thought, a question or a Tandara signature.

08How we direct

Art direction

Design the content. Don’t decorate the content.

The formula

Human + Editorial + African + Modern + Restrained

This is the visual foundation for everything Tandara makes.

The designer’s rules

Six priorities to come back to whenever a design isn’t working.

  1. 01

    People before products.

  2. 02

    Story before sales.

  3. 03

    Meaning before decoration.

  4. 04

    Culture before cliché.

  5. 05

    Quality before quantity.

  6. 06

    Simplicity before complexity.

Graphic language

Thin lines, grids, borders, oversized typography, small numbers, editorial labels, cropping, subtle geometric shapes and negative space. Texture can add a physical quality too: paper, linen, fabric, subtle grain and woven surfaces.

In practice

Three recurring formats, all built from the same system.

Tandara Journal

The most editorial expression of Tandara: restrained, typographic, photographic and spacious. Each cover carries TANDARA JOURNAL, an issue number, a title, a primary image and an optional descriptor.

Tandara Podcast

Human and portrait-led. TANDARA PODCAST, the episode number, title and guest name, with the guest’s face as the focal point. Keep the artwork simple.

Editorial features

Introduce people rather than simply promote them. Lead with their story, then let the photograph do the rest.

The five-second test

Before anything goes out, ask:

  1. 01Would I recognise this as Tandara without seeing the logo?
  2. 02Is there one clear idea?
  3. 03Does the design have enough breathing room?
  4. 04Does the photography feel human?
  5. 05Does the design feel contemporary without chasing trends?