stationery that makes you feel something.
This document defines how Betterday Studio looks, sounds and behaves across every touchpoint — from product pages and packaging to social media and email. Follow it consistently and the brand compounds.
who we are
Before any design decision, every person working on this brand should be able to answer three questions. If the answer to any of them is unclear, come back to this page.
we make the little things that make everyday a betterday.
The rejection of the category followed by the reframe. Nobody else in stationery says this — and it is true of what Betterday actually makes. The little things that quietly shift how a day feels.
Women 25–40 investing in their own wellbeing and routines. She buys deliberately. She notices paper quality. She has a morning ritual. She would shop Papier, Aesop, Anthropologie. She also gifts to people exactly like her — so capturing her captures the gift market too.
Intention over impulse. Quality over quantity. The belief that the right journal, planner or notepad can genuinely change how a day feels. Founded by Kush & Himi in 2020, with one product and a simple idea. That story is part of the brand.
Clean and minimal. Aspirational but not cold. Premium without being intimidating. Think Appointed's restraint with warmer, more personal energy. The brand should feel like walking into a very well-considered independent shop — everything chosen with care.
Warmer and more personal than Appointed. More premium and restrained than mass-market stationery. Less editorial than Kinfolk. The gap is real — and our sunburst mark, hunter green accent, and founder story give us everything needed to own it.
the mark
The Betterday Studio logo is a sunburst mark above a serif wordmark. It is warm, optimistic and distinctive. Do not alter it in any way. Three approved background treatments are shown below.
Maintain clear space equal to the height of the B in the wordmark on all four sides. Nothing enters this zone.
No smaller than 120px wide digitally or 30mm in print. For favicon or wax seal, the sunburst mark may be used alone.
SVG or EPS for print. PNG with transparent background for digital. Never screenshot or export from a low-resolution source.
- Use the approved file — never recreate in type
- Use on stone white, sand, or hunter green only
- Scale proportionally — never stretch or distort
- Use sunburst mark alone only for favicon or wax seal
- Use the white version on hunter green backgrounds
- Never place on photographic backgrounds
- Never recolour in terracotta or any other brand colour
- Never add shadows, outlines, gradients, or effects
- Never alter spacing between mark and wordmark
- Never use the logo at an angle
the palette
Six colours. Each has a precise role. Hunter green is the primary brand accent. Terracotta is the secondary accent for gifting and warmth. The neutral base layers from soft white through to parchment — use lighter tones for backgrounds and text surfaces, parchment for borders only.
Background hierarchy lightest to deepest. Parchment for borders and dividers only — never as a surface where body text sits.
Subtle warm tint for callout sections and highlighted cards.
Gifting labels, seasonal tiles, packaging ribbon. Never for primary CTAs.
CTAs and buttons. Navigation active states. Category labels. Section label text. Instagram quote tile backgrounds. Used precisely — its power comes from restraint.
Gifting labels. Seasonal campaigns. Instagram gifting tiles. Packaging ribbon. At 10%, warm tint for callout backgrounds. Never a primary CTA colour.
All body copy and headlines. Buttons and form elements. Never as an Instagram tile background. Always #1A1818 — never pure black #000000.
Card backgrounds where text is present. Quote blocks. Section highlights. Use wherever parchment would be too dark for comfortable reading.
Borders, dividers, and deepest nested surfaces. Never as a background where body copy sits. If placing text on it, use sand instead.
The outermost background of every page and document. Never pure white #FFFFFF. The warmth of #FDFCFA keeps everything from feeling clinical.
the type system
Three fonts. Each has a defined role and they never compete. All three are free on Google Fonts — accessible to any designer or social media manager immediately.
STUDIO
1–2 words in italic. Roman text leads. Italic in hunter green for emphasis.
Never italicise a full sentence. Italic is an accent alongside roman text, never replacing it.
- Use Ibarra Real Nova in lowercase for all headlines
- Use Tenor Sans in uppercase only, generously spaced
- Use League Spartan 400 for body, 500 for callouts, 600 for CTAs
- Pair an Ibarra headline with a Tenor sub-label above it
- Keep line-height 1.7–1.8 in all body copy
- Never italicise a full sentence or headline
- Never use more than 2 consecutive italic words
- Never use Ibarra in uppercase
- Never introduce a fourth font
- Never use League Spartan below 400 weight on screen
how we speak
The brand voice should feel like a thoughtful, knowledgeable friend — warm without being gushing, considered without being distant. Every piece of copy should pass this test: could she imagine a real person saying this?
We care about what we make and the people who buy it. But we do not over-promise or pile on adjectives. One well-chosen word beats three enthusiastic ones.
We are Kush & Himi. We started this ourselves. That story belongs in the brand — but we speak to her as an equal, not a best friend we just met.
Clever copy that makes you work for the meaning is not premium — it is just confusing. Say what you mean. The product is the hero, not the headline.
We believe in what stationery can do for someone's day. But we do not lecture. We invite. She already wants to be more intentional — we give her the little things.
Your new bedtime ritual. 124 pages of guided prompts and reflection space — beautifully finished with gold foil detailing and 100gsm ivory pages that feel as good as they look.
Five minutes at the end of the day. That is all it takes. The Sweet Dreams Journal — your new evening ritual. Link in bio.
Always "Kush & Himi" or "Kush & Himi at Betterday Studio" — never "The Team" or "Betterday Studio".
"Thank you for being here. We hope this makes your day a little better. — Kush & Himi"
the grid system
The Instagram grid is a brand touchpoint as much as the website. It should feel curated, consistent, and immediately recognisable. Quote tiles use hunter green or terracotta only — never near black.
the studio
Quote tiles: hunter green or terracotta only. Ibarra lowercase, 1–2 italic words maximum. Near black never used as a tile background.
- Use hunter green or terracotta for all quote tile backgrounds
- Use Ibarra lowercase with 1–2 italic words max on quote tiles
- Keep captions short, warm, direct — one thought per post
- Tag products in every product post
- Respond to every comment within 24 hours in brand voice
- Never use near black as a quote tile background
- Never post two quote tiles consecutively
- Never italicise more than 2 words on a quote tile
- Never use generic stock imagery
- Never write captions in third person