# Simorgh Labs --- Brand Reference

*Captured 2026-06-29 during the roadmap brainstorming session.
Final logo adopted by the maintainer after iterating through several
SVG-code attempts and converging on a designer-quality artwork.*

This document is the **canonical reference** for the Simorgh Labs visual identity.
Use it to recreate / restore the logo if the source file is ever lost.

---

## Logo description (canonical)

A majestic Simorgh in profile, head turned right and slightly upward, body inscribed in a subtle circular halo. The visual is composed of three integrated layers:

### Layer 1 --- The Simorgh bird (mosaic tile aesthetic, evolved version 2026-06-29)

* **Pose** : profile view, head facing right, body in a powerful stance, one wing fully deployed upward in a fan/peacock-like spread
* **Crête** : 5+ pointed crown feathers rising from the top of the head, swept slightly backward
* **Bec** : hooked, eagle-like, pointing right
* **Eye** : single emphasized eye on the visible side of the head
* **Wing** : **the deployed wing is filled with Persian-Islamic geometric tile patterns** (8-point stars + hexagonal motifs interlocking), each "tile" outlined in **gold** (zarrin) and filled with varying shades of lapis blue. The wing visually evokes the **interior of a Safavid dome** (Masjed-e Shah, Masjed-e Sheikh Lotfollah). This is the signature visual element of the logo.
* **Tail** : flowing back and downward in elegant trailing curves, multiple distinct feather elements, each section also outlined in gold and filled with tile patterns where possible (lower density than the wing)
* **Body silhouette** : slim, elongated, outlined in **gold** giving it the appearance of being inlaid like a precious mosaic figure
* **Direction** : the bird occupies the upper-left two-thirds of the composition

### Why the mosaic tile aesthetic matters (the key visual metaphor)

The mosaic tile wing creates a triple-layer of meaning that all other logo elements support :

1. **Literal level** : the Simorgh is constructed from lapis lazuli tiles like the interiors of Isfahan's domes --- *the bird is built from the same material as the sovereign architecture of Iranian heritage*
2. **Metaphorical level** : Simorgh Labs builds cryptography from individual primitives (RSA, ECDSA, ML-KEM, ML-DSA, AES, SHA, ...) like the dome is built from individual tiles --- *each crypto primitive is one tile in the integrated security mosaic*
3. **Strategic level** : just as Isfahan's artisans engineered novel pigment chemistry to create these inimitable blues, Simorgh Labs engineers novel composite PQC signatures to create unique cryptography for our era --- *both are precision engineering in service of civilization's trust*

This metaphor can (and should) be reused in marketing copy, keynote slides, and blog tagline lines :

> "Each tile is a primitive. The Simorgh is the integrated crypto-engineering."
> "Cryptography, mosaicked."
> "We build digital trust the way Isfahan built sovereignty --- one engineered tile at a time."

### Layer 2 --- The integrated tech symbolism

Placed in the lower-right region of the bird, integrated as if grasped or revealed by the body :

* **Shield** : a small heraldic shield (hexagonal-ish) with **the same mosaic tile texture as the bird's wing**, outlined in gold (visual coherence with the bird --- the security symbol is built from the same material as the Simorgh itself)
* **Keyhole** : a classic keyhole cutout in the center of the shield, with gold outline (suggests HSM, secrets management, PKI)
* **Pixel dispersal + binary digits** : small square pixels disintegrating outward from the right edge of the shield, with **visible `0` and `1` binary digits** scattered among them. Faint **circuit-line traces** connect the pixels, evoking data flow + integrated circuit topology. This makes the "digital" aspect explicit but elegant rather than cliché

### Layer 3 --- The halo + Persian script + accent

* **Halo** : a thin circular outline behind the bird, suggesting nobility, transcendence (the Simorgh is the wise bird of the Shahnameh), but discreet enough to not feel religious
* **Star / sparkle** : a single small four-pointed sparkle in the upper-left of the halo (sovereignty / guidance / aspiration)
* **سیمرغ in nastaliq** : the Persian word "Simorgh" rendered in nastaliq calligraphy, placed inside the halo near the bird's head on the right side. Color : subtle gray, smaller than the Latin wordmark, deliberately understated as a cultural anchor rather than a primary element

### Layer 4 --- The wordmark + tagline

* **Wordmark** : "SIMORGH LABS" in a custom display sans-serif, weight bold, ALL CAPS, balanced letter-spacing
* **Distinctive feature** : a small triangle accent inside the counter of the "A" in LABS (a subtle signature that gives the wordmark personality without being decorative)
* **Tagline** : "— OPEN SOURCE CRYPTOGRAPHY AND DIGITAL TRUST —" placed below the wordmark, all caps, smaller weight, flanked by em-dashes for emphasis

---

## Color palette (lapis lazuli inspired)

### Primary tones

| Color | Hex (approx.) | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Lapis primary (deep navy) | `#1A2C5B` | Bird body silhouette, wordmark "SIMORGH LABS", outer halo, deepest tile fills |
| Lapis mid | `#2B5293` | Wing tile fills (mid-tone), shield body |
| Lapis bright | `#3B7FC4` | Brighter tile accents, wing highlights |
| Lapis light | `#6BA5D9` | Lightest tile fills, pixel dispersal, circuit traces |
| Zarrin gold (Persian gold) | `#C9A227` (or `#D4A656`) | Tile outlines throughout the wing + body + shield, bird silhouette outline, decorative accents. **Critical brand element** --- the gold lines are what give the mosaic its Isfahan-dome reading |
| Ivory canvas | `#FFFFFF` (or `#FAFAF7`) | Background, negative space, white between tiles |
| Subtle gray | `#B0B8C5` | Persian script سیمرغ, secondary details |

### Dark mode adaptation (if applied)

| Color | Hex | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Lapis light | `#6BA5D9` | Primary (was Lapis primary in light mode) |
| Lapis bright | `#A3CCF1` | Mid-tone |
| Cream | `#F0EBE0` | Persian script + accents |
| Deep navy | `#0A1428` | Background |

---

## Cultural rationale for the lapis lazuli palette

The lapis lazuli pigment has been used in Iranian art since pre-history (mines of Sar-e-Sang in modern Afghanistan, traded across the Iranian plateau since circa 7000 BCE). It is foundational to Iranian miniature painting (Ilkhanate period, 13th century onward) and is the signature blue of the great Isfahan mosques (Masjed-e Shah, Masjed-e Sheikh Lotfollah, 16th-17th century).

These mosques were not built as royal monuments but as **spiritual + scientific centers** of the Safavid Isfahan --- the city was known as *Esfahan nesf-e jahan* (Isfahan, half of the world), one of the largest and most cosmopolitan capitals of its era, home to mathematicians, astronomers, calligraphers, mystics, and architects.

The pigment **transcends dynasties and regimes** : it belongs to Iranian craft, science, and spirituality, not to any monarchy or government. The famous blue of the Isfahan domes is the result of genuine technical innovation (lapis grinding + cobalt oxide layering + high-temperature glazing) developed by Iranian artisans across centuries, with techniques that 18th-century Europeans tried to reproduce (Sèvres porcelain, Delft tiles) and never quite matched.

Choosing this palette positions Simorgh Labs as inheritor of the tradition of **Iranian engineering precision in service of civilization** --- a metaphor that maps directly onto the project's mission : *crypto-engineering for the open digital trust of our era*, the way Isfahan's artisans engineered pigments for the open spiritual + scientific trust of theirs.

---

## Terminology guide

Use these terms consistently across all communication :

* **"Iran"** (not "Perse / Persia") : official name of the country since 1935, signifies "land of the Aryans", encompasses all ethnicities (Persans, Azéris, Kurdes, Lors, Baloutches, Arabes du Khouzistan, Turkmènes, Mazandaranis, Gilanis, Talyshs, Arméniens, Assyriens, Juifs, Zoroastriens, and others)
* **"Iranian"** (not "Persian") : adjective referring to the country, its civilization, its diverse peoples
* **"Persian"** : reserved for narrow uses --- the Persian language, the Pars / Fars region specifically, or the Persian ethnic group within Iran
* **"Simorgh"** : the project name; refers to the mythical bird of the Shahnameh + Sufi literature (especially Attar's Conference of the Birds). Etymologically rooted in Iranian Avestan (saēna-mərəga). Belongs to the shared cultural heritage of Iran, not to any specific ethnicity within it
* **"Simorgh Labs"** : the company / organization
* **"FreeHSM"** : the open-source PKCS#11 library (Apache-2.0)
* **"Simorgh PKI"** : the product MVP v2.0 (built on FreeHSM, with PQC composite signature support)

---

## File inventory

* **Original logo file** : (saved manually by the maintainer; the auto-save from chat was not possible due to the inline image not being persisted to `uploads/`)
<!-- doc-audit: allow STRATEGY_v2_0_2026-06-29.md -- cited, not in this
     repository, and whether it survives elsewhere is no longer established. -->
* **Strategic plan reference** : `STRATEGY_v2_0_2026-06-29.md` — not in this
  repository. Whether it survives elsewhere under that name is no longer
  established, and this line is kept as the record that it was cited.
* **Old SVG drafts** (not for production use, kept as historical reference of iteration) :
  * `simorgh-labs-logo-full.svg` (early Twitter-like attempt)
  * `simorgh-labs-icon.svg` (early)
  * `simorgh-labs-logo-monochrome.svg` (early)
* **This brand reference** : `SIMORGH_LABS_BRAND_REFERENCE.md`

---

## Variants needed (to-do for the maintainer)

For the brand to be production-ready across all the contexts the project will land in, the following variants must be derived from the original logo file :

| Variant | Use case | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Full logo color | Web hero, marketing, blog headers, GitHub Pages | SVG (vector) + PNG @1x @2x @3x for raster fallback |
| Full logo monochrome (dark on light) | Print, embossing, stamps, fax | SVG with `currentColor` or single fill |
| Full logo monochrome (light on dark) | Dark mode contexts, dark backgrounds | SVG with light fill |
| Icon only (square 1:1, color) | Favicon, social avatars (GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X), app icon | SVG + PNG 16/32/48/64/192/256/512 |
| Icon only (monochrome) | Single-color contexts | SVG + PNG variants |
| Wordmark only (no bird) | Compact contexts, inline brand mention | SVG |
| Tagline-free variants | Contexts where tagline is redundant or doesn't fit | SVG for each above |

The first vectorization pass (from the raster source to clean SVG) is typically 2-4 hours of work for a graphic designer familiar with Illustrator or Inkscape, or 1 hour using auto-tracing + cleanup.

---

## Usage rules

* The Simorgh bird is **never** to be re-stylized as a generic eagle, phoenix, or "fantasy bird". Its identity is anchored in the specific iconography described above (5+ crown feathers, hooked beak, peacock tail, slim elongated body).
* The lapis blue palette is **never** to be substituted with another color (no green / red / gold variants, no rainbow / pride flag overlays, no holiday recolorings).
* The wordmark "SIMORGH LABS" is **never** to be written in mixed case ("Simorgh Labs") in display contexts. The all-caps form with the triangle-in-A is the canonical brand mark.
* The tagline is **never** to be paraphrased or shortened in display contexts. "Open Source Cryptography and Digital Trust" is the canonical full version.
* The Persian script سیمرغ is **never** to be removed from the logo in cultural / sovereign-tech / Iranian / MENA contexts. It may be omitted only when the logo is rendered at icon-only sizes (favicon, social avatar 256px or smaller) where the script would be illegible.
* The bird and the wordmark **may** be separated for layout reasons (e.g. wordmark in the page header, bird as a favicon), but **the integrated full logo is the primary brand mark**.

---

## Provenance and intellectual property

The final logo was provided by the maintainer (Afchine Madjlessi, Simorgh Labs) on 2026-06-29 as a finalized design. The earlier SVG-code iterations produced during the brainstorming session were superseded by this final design and are not for production use.

The intellectual property of the logo belongs to **Simorgh Labs**. License terms (whether the logo is released under the same Apache-2.0 as the code, or kept as a trademark for the org) were to be decided before v2.0.0 stable, in one of two files. **Decided:**
`TRADEMARK.md`, which ships. The logo and wordmark are held as marks and are
not covered by the code's Apache-2.0 grant (Apache-2.0 §6). The alternative,
a `LICENSE-BRAND.md` releasing the logo under Apache-2.0 alongside the code,
was not taken and that file was never written.

---

*End of brand reference. This document supersedes all earlier visual identity notes in this session.*
