Cognora AdvisoryCognora AdvisoryBrand identity
The aperture

Cognora Advisory  ·  Brand identity

FinalThe Aperture, Garnet and Gold

Cognora Advisory

October 2026  ·  Prepared by Curio:City

01  The idea

Intelligence, observing intelligence.

Every organisation is full of thinking: decisions, data, systems, people. Most of it points in different directions. Cognora brings it to one clear centre, so leaders can see how their organisation really thinks before they change it.

The identity shows this rather than saying it. The first o of the name opens into an aperture, with a second ring of rays turning inside the first: the organisation, looking at itself. At the corner of the name, a bracket marks the vantage point.

02  The mark

The Aperture.

An aperture is the opening that lets light in and decides what a lens can see. Here it takes the place of the o, so the mark is part of the name rather than set beside it.

The aperture
  1. The outer raysThe organisation at work: many lines of activity, all pointing to the same place.
  2. The inner raysA second ring inside the first, slightly turned. The organisation’s view of itself.
  3. The open centreClarity. The one place every line points to, left open on purpose.
  4. The bracketSolid garnet, at the top of the name beyond the a. The vantage point, from where the whole can be seen.

03  Construction

Set in the name.

The name is set in Newsreader Semibold at its display size. The aperture takes the place of the first o: 1.10 times the height of the o, centred on it, with a small space either side. The bracket sits level with the top of the C, its arm on the edge of the a, one unit beyond it. ADVISORY is set in Inter capitals and ends exactly on the a.

Cap heightBaselineo height1.10 o heightBracket, three units squareADVISORY ends on the a

04  The logo

Name, aperture, bracket, descriptor.

On light grounds the name is Ink; on Ink it turns white and the garnets step up so they keep their weight. The aperture is always used exactly as drawn, at every size.

Cognora Advisory
The logo on White
Cognora Advisory
The logo on Ink
Cognora Advisory
Without the descriptor
The aperture
The aperture alone
The apertureThe apertureThe aperture
The aperture, down to 48 pixels

05  The symbol

The C and the bracket.

The C from the name with the bracket, drawn at the logo’s proportions. It stands for Cognora where the full logo cannot be read: profile pictures, browser tabs, app icons and the corner of a post. Everywhere else, the full logo is used.

The Cognora symbol
The symbol on White
The Cognora symbol
The symbol on Ink
The Cognora symbol
The Cognora symbol
The Cognora symbol
Profile picture, app icon, browser tab

06  Colour

Garnet and Gold.

Gold sweeps into garnet across the aperture and holds there. The bracket is solid garnet. Everything else is Ink, Graphite, Mist and White. Print values are set on a press proof with the printer.

The sweep, left to right
Gold
HEX
#DCB155
RGB
220 177 85
Role
Start of the sweep
Garnet
HEX
#BF293C
RGB
191 41 60
Role
End of the sweep, the bracket
Ink
HEX
#1A1A1A
RGB
26 26 26
Role
The name, text, dark grounds
Graphite
HEX
#6E6E6E
RGB
110 110 110
Role
The descriptor, supporting text
Mist
HEX
#F3F1EC
RGB
243 241 236
Role
Light grounds
White
HEX
#FFFFFF
RGB
255 255 255
Role
Paper, screen
Garnet on Ink
HEX
#D3374B
RGB
211 55 75
Role
The bracket on Ink
Aperture on Ink
HEX
#E13F4F
RGB
225 63 79
Role
End of the sweep on Ink

In use: mostly White, Mist and Ink. Garnet and gold live in the aperture and the bracket, and garnet marks one word or link on a page.

Where the category sits

We reviewed thirty advisory and consulting brands. Fourteen lead with blue and eight with black. The five reds are bright corporate tones. A warm sweep from gold into a deep garnet sits in open space.

Blue14
Black8
Red5
Green3
Purple3
Yellow2

07  Grounds

On White, Mist and Ink, and in one colour.

The logo and the symbol sit on White, Mist or Ink only. Never on garnet, gold or a busy image. One-colour versions cover foil, embroidery, etching and blind deboss.

Cognora Advisory
On White
Cognora Advisory
On Mist
Cognora Advisory
On Ink
Cognora Advisory, one colour
One colour, Ink
Cognora Advisory, one colour
One colour, white
Cognora Advisory, one colour
One colour, gold, for foil and metal

08  Typography

Newsreader and Inter.

Newsreader

Clarity before change.

The face of the name. Newsreader carries headlines, quotes and figures, set large and close. A serif with the calm authority of a well-made report.

Inter

We help organisations understand themselves.

The face of the descriptor. Inter carries text, labels and navigation: clear at every size, on paper and on screen.

Both are published under the SIL Open Font Licence: free for print, web and video, with no per-seat cost.

09  In the world

Where Cognora will be met.

Twelve places the identity will be seen first. The aperture does the large work, cropped and carried by light; the logo and the symbol do the small work.

Building. The aperture as a mural on limestone, cropped by the roofline.
Building The aperture as a mural on limestone, cropped by the roofline.
Reception. Applied lettering, crossed by the light from the louvres.
Reception Applied lettering, crossed by the light from the louvres.
Meeting rooms. A coloured film on frosted glass. The sun carries it onto the floor.
Meeting rooms A coloured film on frosted glass. The sun carries it onto the floor.
Executive forum. The logo on the LED wall, and nothing else.
Executive forum The logo on the LED wall, and nothing else.
Business cards. White for the front; Ink for the reverse, the aperture cropped off the corner and the symbol below.
Business cards White for the front; Ink for the reverse, the aperture cropped off the corner and the symbol below.
Correspondence. Letterhead, envelope, card and a black notebook with the aperture in gold foil.
Correspondence Letterhead, envelope, card and a black notebook with the aperture in gold foil.
Perspectives. Reports and briefings on Ink, the headline marked by the bracket.
Perspectives Reports and briefings on Ink, the headline marked by the bracket.
Campaign. A lightbox in the metro: one line, one aperture.
Campaign A lightbox in the metro: one line, one aperture.
Social. The symbol as the profile picture, and a feed in White, Mist and Ink.
Social The symbol as the profile picture, and a feed in White, Mist and Ink.
Tote. Natural canvas, printed in colour.
Tote Natural canvas, printed in colour.
Event badge. Name first, the logo above it.
Event badge Name first, the logo above it.
Website. The aperture as the hero graphic, cropped at the edge.
Website The aperture as the hero graphic, cropped at the edge.

Contact details on stationery and figures in posts are placeholders until confirmed.

10  In good company

Among the firms it will be compared with.

Cognora will be read beside these names in tenders, on panels and in a client’s inbox. Placed among thirty-five of them, it holds its own and is still unmistakably itself.

Cognora Advisory

Logos shown for comparison only. They belong to their respective owners.

11  Next

Three confirmations, then we build.

  1. 01Confirm where the symbol is used. Our recommendation: small spaces only, with the full logo everywhere else.
  2. 02Confirm the details for stationery: names, titles, phone numbers and the domain.
  3. 03Approve print values for garnet and gold on a press proof.

With these in hand we prepare the master files and move into collaterals and the website.

See the creative direction
Cognora Advisory

Prepared by Curio:City for Cognora Advisory. October 2026. Confidential, for client review.