I’m looking for some clarification on how independent projects building on Tari should use the Tari name, logo, and related branding.
At the moment, I haven’t been able to find any public branding guidelines that explain what is permitted for community developed or independently maintained applications.
For example, can an independent project display the Tari logo alongside wording such as “Built on Tari” or “Powered by Tari”, provided it is made clear that the project is not an official Tari Labs product and is not endorsed by Tari Labs?
It would also be helpful to clarify a few related points:
Whether the Tari logo may be displayed inside independent applications or on project websites
Whether wording such as “Built on Tari,” “Powered by Tari,” or “Compatible with Tari” is acceptable
Whether a disclaimer or specific attribution is recommended
What types of usage could incorrectly imply official Tari Labs endorsement
Whether the logo may be resized, recolored, or otherwise adapted to fit an application’s interface
Whether the same guidance applies to open-source, non-commercial, and commercial projects
Whether there are separate considerations for projects building specifically on Ootle/Tari L2
Having a simple public guideline would be useful not only for my own development work, but for other developers building applications in the Tari ecosystem who may run into the same question later.
A short branding guide or an official answer here that developers can reference would help avoid everyone having to independently navigate the sacred corporate logo maze.
We’re seeing a lot of amazing creative energy from community, but without clear branding guidelines, there’s a risk of confusion regarding official endorsement vs. independent initiatives.
A simple public guideline (with clear Do’s/Don’ts, logo usage rules, and disclaimer requirements) would be hugely beneficial.
we can just look at the recent Ootle Green Palette discussions. When a single element like “green” branches out into 12 different shades, it shows how easily visual identity can fragment without an official standard.
Having an official Brand Kit—with defined primary color codes (HEX/RGB), standard logo vector files, and usage rules for independent builders—would go a long way.
Thanks for that, @kinkajou . That definitely helps with colors and assets. Though it looks like it doesn’t include brand guidance, so that’s a significant gap we’ll need to look into. I know someone (Louis) who might be good to consult on this, so I’ll poke him.
Thanks@kinkajou for providing this. As we approach the L2 mainnet launch, we can consider incorporating the design specifications and related supplements for Ootle.
Thanks for posting that @kinkajou this definitely clears up the visual side of things. The existing brand kit is actually pretty comprehensive for colors, typography, logos, and assets.
I think the main remaining question is the usage guidance @Fox mentioned: what independent builders are permitted to use, and how we should present that usage without implying Tari Labs endorsement.
A few things that would be especially helpful to clarify when Louis weighs in:
• Can independent projects use the Tari logo with wording such as “Built on Tari” or “Powered by Tari”?
• Is a disclaimer or attribution required?
• Are there restrictions on using the Tari logo inside an application versus on a website or promotional material?
• Will Ootle have its own branding guidance, or should Ootle applications follow the Tari guidelines?
The brand kit answers most of the design questions nicely. Having those usage rules documented alongside it would pretty much close the remaining gap.
As a bonus, my voting tool already uses Poppins completely by accident. Score!
One other licensing question came up while looking through the typography section of the brand kit.
I noticed that Druk is listed as Tari’s primary typeface, and I was considering using it selectively in my voting tool for headings. My coding agent flagged that as something I probably shouldn’t do until the licensing is clarified.
Does Tari’s license for Druk extend to independent community projects that are building on Tari, or would each developer need to obtain their own license before using or embedding Druk in an application?
It would also be useful to clarify whether the “Download Font” link in the brand kit is intended for general ecosystem use, or only for people creating official Tari materials.
Poppins is a little more straightforward since it has an open font license, so I’m sticking with that for now
This might be worth including in the eventual branding guidance as well, since developers could reasonably assume that fonts included or linked from an official brand kit are cleared for use.
The Tari branding is optimized for a previous age. I would not try to follow it when it doesn’t fit the parameters of the future. Better to invent new branding and have the community adopt it bottom-up.
I have here a document that is from earlier in the project which I’ve received. It primarily refers to Tari Labs as the trademark owner but matches the expectations I would have around trademark use. I’m not 100% clear on whether the trademark/wordmark have been transferred to the foundation and are in the hold of the council-- I’ll need to ask. But either way it should give you some good guidance on how to use the marks.
@Fox When I clicked that link this is what happened. I’m really glad this whole discussion is taking place now rather than later though. It will empower all the builders of the L2!
Thanks Fox, that PDF helps. After reading through it, that makes sense. I appreciate you checking who actually holds the marks now too.
I think the app I’m almost done with makes a pretty good example. It’s called “Tari Private Ballot.” It is built solely as a community tool for Tari CC and Council governance, and directly under the name it says “community project.” The About section also makes the independence and trademark situation clear.
I completely understand why using Tari in the name of an unrelated or general product could be an issue. This one feels a little different since its entire purpose, if it ends up being used, is Tari governance.
If you are asking about the current trademark situation anyway, could you also find out whether that kind of community governance use is considered acceptable?
Especially with the community takeover phase, it would be nice to have some current guidance for community built tools going forward.
I understand that if I named my atomic swap app “Tari Swap”, that would be a whole different ballpark.
I think the critical element of this is that if it were to use the Tari branding it would need to be an official Tari project, and would need to be moved to the Tari org on GitHub.
I would actually suggest that rather than just focus on making it a Tari community tool, that you make it generally useful in the long run to more teams. The more teams are using Tari for voting, the wider the adoption of Tari gets, so I’d suggest, for now, dropping Tari from the name, and if we end up adopting it fully, we can look at making it an official project.
You got it. I was working through finalizing everything and was just doing the licensing stuff today. Perfect timing for your response. I’ll go through and delete Tari and call it “Private Ballot”. After reading that document, it did point in that direction, but I figured it never hurt to ask since it was already coded for it
Score!
