This guide defines the core visual, verbal, and structural conventions used across Oatman Group communications, initiatives, and shared infrastructure.
Oatman Group is the formal organizational name. The Group is the collective reference for its members, initiatives, shared infrastructure, and operating framework.
The square OG mark is the primary symbol. The outline remains Primary Ink while the OG letterform uses Primary Accent green. Rotated 45 degrees, the same geometry becomes the diamond motif used as a framing, background, and structural device.
Use a classic serif for major headings and editorial emphasis. The purpose is to create gravity without luxury signaling.
Use a clean system sans-serif for navigation, body copy, metadata, status labels, and operational information.
Copy should read as credible institutional language without becoming ceremonial or self-important.
Use real terms such as systems, infrastructure, coordination, continuity, initiatives, interoperability, and applied research.
Avoid unnecessary claims of scale, clients, commercial services, or capabilities that have not been established.
The identity works because the presentation remains sincere. Humor should emerge from interpretation, not from punchlines.
Named projects or programs with a defined area of focus.
Recurring forums, gatherings, and structured activities centered on participation, discussion, and collective exchange.
Recurring domains of work, such as Systems & Infrastructure or Strategy & Operations.
Individuals participating in The Group.
Shared systems supporting identity, communication, continuity, and coordination.
The distributed framework through which responsibility, resources, and participation are organized.
Preferred format: Level - Function & Function.
Avoid inflated hierarchies unless a role genuinely benefits from a conventional executive title. “Head,” “Principal,” and “Director” generally fit The Group better than C-suite language.
Use generous whitespace, thin rules, subtle grids, cropped diamonds, and restrained green accents.
Use the OG square + OATMAN GROUP lockup, member name, title, email, website, and approved tagline.
Include status, practice domain, a concise mandate, and adaptable scope language.
Describe purpose, format, participation, and planning status with emphasis on discussion, collaboration, and shared engagement.
The primary outward-facing brand statement. Use in hero areas, formal communications, email signatures, and selected institutional materials.
The secondary tagline functions as an operating principle. It is best used in the Operating Model, institutional descriptions, initiative materials, and supporting brand applications where the primary tagline would be redundant.
These standards are intended to preserve continuity across Group materials while allowing individual initiatives and applications to evolve. New visual or verbal conventions should extend the existing system rather than replace it without cause.