WARD
Brand Identity System
WARD
Protocol · v1.0 · March 2026
The complete visual identity for Ward Protocol — the open specification for default protection on XLS-66 lending vaults on the XRP Ledger. This document is the canonical reference for the wordmark, colorways, typography, geometry, and usage rules.
StatusApproved · v1.0
Primary markWARD Protocol
Primary color#a8c5e8 Ice Blue
Background#0d1f35 Steel
Display typefaceBarlow Condensed 900
Body typefaceSpace Mono
Protocol invariantward_signed = False
WARD Protocol
Default Protection Protocol · wardprotocol.org
01
The Wordmark
★ Default
WARD Protocol
Primary
Ice Blue on Steel
#a8c5e8 on #0d1f35
Web · Digital · Decks · Social
WARD Protocol
Secondary
Gold on Deep Navy
#c8a94a on #050d1a
Formal · Print · Certificates
WARD Protocol
Tertiary
Black on White
#1a1a1a on #ffffff
Documents · Legal · Light Backgrounds
02
Design Rationale
WARD, stated plainly.
The wordmark is the name — four letters, maximum weight, no abstraction. WARD means protection, guardianship, custody. That meaning needs no icon, no symbol, no device. When institutional capital is at stake, you spell it out.
WARD bold. Protocol light.
The same typeface — Barlow Condensed — at opposing weights creates instant hierarchy. 900 vs 300. The protection (WARD) dominates. The category (Protocol) contextualizes. Two words. One read.
The temperature of infrastructure.
Ice blue on deep steel deliberately rejects DeFi's amber-and-neon aesthetic. This is the color of a Bloomberg terminal — a clearing system, a collateral ledger, a legal instrument. Not retail. Not consumer.
Barlow Condensed 900.
Condensed type at maximum weight has a long history in financial display — ticker boards, trading terminals, wire headlines. Letter-spacing at -2: the letters press together the way a specification should. Nothing loose.
03
Wordmark Anatomy
WARD Protocol ① x=10 ORIGIN ② BASELINE y=148 ③ viewBox 0 0 1300 160 CAP HEIGHT y≈2 letter-spacing: -2
01 — WARD
900 Weight
Barlow Condensed at maximum weight. Font-size 172px in the base SVG. Fill #a8c5e8. The four characters form a single dense mass — the protection, stated with full force.
02 — Protocol
300 Weight
Same typeface, same size, weight 300, opacity 60%. The category contextualizes the name without competing with it. The contrast is immediate and unmistakable.
03 — Proportion
1300 : 160
ViewBox aspect ratio. The full lockup fills the width completely. Aspect ratio 8.125 : 1. Rendered via SVG — infinitely scalable with no rasterization artifacts at any size.
04
Geometry & Specifications
SVG Element Specifications
viewBox0 0 1300 160
Text x originx="10"
Text baseliney="148"
Font familyBarlow Condensed
WARD weight900
Protocol weight300
Font size172px
Letter spacing-2
WARD fill#a8c5e8
Protocol fillrgba(168,197,232,0.6)
Display & Sizing Rules
Aspect ratio8.125 : 1
Minimum rendered width200px
Nav / small context180–240px
Hero / large context360–560px
Article banner380–420px
Print minimum60mm wide
Clear space= cap-W height all sides
Small-size fallbackWARD only (below 160px)
Favicon cropWARD letterforms only
Recommended glowdrop-shadow rgba(168,197,232,0.2)
Scale Matrix
Hero / Banner
420px
Landing page, article headers
WARD Protocol
Standard / Deck
280px
Presentations, social headers
WARD Protocol
Navigation
200px
Site nav, app header
WARD Protocol
Favicon Crop
WARD only
Below 160px rendered width
WARD
WARD
05
Color System
Ice Blue
#a8c5e8
Primary wordmark fill
Steel
#0d1f35
Primary background
Deep Navy
#050d1a
Page / canvas BG
Inst. Gold
#c8a94a
Secondary mark / accents
Ice Mid
#6a9fd0
Supporting UI elements
Ice Light
#d0e4f7
Highlights / emphasis
Border
#1a2e4a
Borders / dividers
Signal Green
#00cc66
Live / confirmed / pass
Signal Red
#ff4455
Error / default / fail
White
#ffffff
Tertiary mark BG (print)
06
Typography
Barlow Condensed
Wordmark · Display headlines · Section labels · Protocol tags
WARD
Protocol
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0–9
Wordmark172px SVG / 900 / ls -2
Display48–72px / 900
Section heading32–42px / 900
Label / tag16–24px / 900
Weights used300 · 400 · 900
Space Mono
Body copy · Data · Code · UI labels · Descriptors · Metrics
ward_signed = False
The quick brown fox jumps over
the lazy dog. F·01 → F·06
XLS-66 · XLS-80 · Discussion #474
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0–9
Body13–15px / 400 / lh 1.85
Data / metrics12–14px / 700
UI label9–11px / 700 / ls 0.2em
Descriptor / caption9–10px / 400 / ls 0.3em
Weights used400 · 700
07
Usage Rules
✓ Always
Use the SVG wordmark — never render WARD Protocol as plain HTML text
Use an approved colorway: ice blue / gold / black on their correct backgrounds
Keep "Protocol" at weight 300 and 60% opacity relative to WARD
Pair all body copy, data, and UI labels with Space Mono
Maintain clear space equal to the cap-W height on all sides
At small sizes (below 160px rendered), use WARD letterforms only
Apply a subtle glow (drop-shadow rgba 168,197,232,0.2) on dark backgrounds
✗ Never
Don't change the weight relationship — WARD must always dominate Protocol visually
Don't stretch, skew, rotate, or alter the letterforms in any way
Don't change letter-spacing from -2 — it defines the compressed density of the mark
Don't use Georgia, serif, Inter, Roboto, or any weight other than 300/900
Don't place the mark on mid-tone, warm-tinted, or busy photographic backgrounds
Don't add outlines, shadows, fills, or effects inside the SVG element itself
Don't abbreviate to "WP" — the full lockup is always the correct representation