Brand System
The visual identity of Times of Namibia. Every color, every typeface, every pixel carries intent.
“Every pixel must inform.”
Times of Namibia Design Philosophy - TANGISON
Core Palette
3 ColorsTON Cream
Background base - warm, paper-like canvas for broadsheet digital
TON Black
Typography, structure, editorial borders - the ink of our identity
TON Red
Breaking news, urgency, live indicators, CTAs - the pulse of now
Typography
Playfair Display
Serif - Headlines & Editorial
Headlines, editorial text, drop caps, italic pull quotes
The desert whispers of hydrogen dreams
Inter
Sans-serif - Interface & Navigation
UI elements, labels, navigation, metadata, form fields
NIEIS: 847 new job listings this week
JetBrains Mono
Monospace - Technical Data
Scraping logs, timestamps, system metadata, market data
GRN-2026-0451 | 2026-05-15 | N$ 12.5M
Design Philosophy
Broadsheet Digital
We carry the gravitas of print into the digital age. Heavy editorial borders, column rules, serif-dominant typography, and high-contrast cream-and-black palette. Every screen is a front page.
Times OS Integration
The visual language of data intelligence. Red for urgency and breaking news, monospace for system trust. The interface between human editorial and machine intelligence.
Information Density
We respect the reader's capacity. High-density grids, multi-column layouts, and real-time data indicators. Every pixel must inform - there is no room for decoration without purpose.
Namibian Voice
From the regions we cover to the sources we scrape, our identity is Namibian. //Kharas is spelled with the click. Oshana is not just a region - it's home. Our design reflects the land we serve.
Do's & Don'ts
DO
- ✓Use sharp corners (0px border-radius) on all TON Block elements
- ✓Use Playfair Display for headlines, Inter for UI, JetBrains Mono for data
- ✓Use Cream (#F9F8F6) as the default background everywhere
- ✓Make headlines 300% larger than body text
- ✓Apply grayscale to all images with color on hover only
- ✓Use editorial borders (2px top rules) to separate sections
- ✓Respect the 6-second scraped timestamp convention from Times OS
- ✓Use drop caps on lead paragraphs and opening articles
- ✓Keep whitespace generous - let the content breathe like a newspaper
- ✓Use Red (#CB102E) exclusively for urgency, breaking news, and primary CTAs
- ✓Use Black (#111111) for all body text, borders, and structural elements
- ✓Maintain column rules (1px solid) between multi-column layouts
- ✓Spell Namibian regions correctly: //Kharas with the click, Oshana not Oshanaa
- ✓Credit TANGISON - never 'Pty Ltd'
- ✓Optimize for 3G: CSS-heavy, image-light, system fonts as fallback
DON'T
- ✗Never use rounded corners on any TON element - sharp corners only
- ✗Never use mid-grays - only pure Black (#111111) on Cream (#F9F8F6)
- ✗Never add a fourth color to the core palette - three is the law
- ✗Never display imagery in color by default - grayscale first, color on hover
- ✗Never add decoration without purpose - every pixel must inform
- ✗Never use 'Pty Ltd' anywhere - always 'TANGISON'
- ✗Never use sans-serif fonts for editorial headlines - Playfair Display only
- ✗Never crowd the layout - maintain newspaper-like spacing and breathing room
- ✗Never use more than one serif typeface - Playfair Display is the only serif
- ✗Never use Red for decorative purposes - it is reserved for urgency and action
- ✗Never apply gradients or shadows to text - flat, high-contrast typography only
- ✗Never hide the scraped timestamp - it proves the data is live and verified
- ✗Never use placeholder images - every visual must be real Namibian content
- ✗Never compromise mobile performance - 3G users are our readers too
- ✗Never use CSS border-radius greater than 0px on any TON component
Imagery Rules
Universal Rules
- All photography must be high-contrast grayscale - no exceptions
- No stock photography. If it is not Namibia, it is not Times of Namibia
- Every image must carry a GPS coordinate watermark in a black rectangular box
- Every image must carry a JetBrains Mono timestamp in the same black box
- No rounded corners on any overlay element - sharp rectangles only
- Images displayed grayscale by default; colour on hover (digital only)
Overlay & Format
- Print imagery is always grayscale - no hover state in print
- All images must be shot with Namibian content: landscapes, infrastructure, people, commerce
- No artificial lighting in outdoor shots - natural light only
- Aspect ratio: 16:9 for hero images, 4:3 for inline, 1:1 for portraits
- Overlay position: bottom-left (default) or bottom-right (variant)
- Overlay format: 'LOCATION NAME // 00.00 S, 00.00 E' + ISO-8601 timestamp with CAT timezone
[ Image Area ]
WINDHOEK CBD // 22.57 S, 17.08 E
2026-04-28 14:32:07 CAT
Print Materials
Pure White or Cream stock, minimum 120gsm. No gloss. Matte finish only.
All type aligned to a baseline grid. Headlines in Playfair Display 900, body in Inter 400, data in JetBrains Mono.
High-contrast grayscale. No stock photography. GPS coordinates and JetBrains Mono timestamp in a black box on every image.
Brutalist minimalism. Sharp corners only. No soft textures. No rounded edges.
A3 single sheet, double-sided. 120gsm Cream, Matte. 14 regional transport hubs. Weekly Monday 06:00 CAT. 5,000 copies/week. Top 10 stories + 5 active tenders. 90 seconds reading time.
Digital Telegrams. Monospaced timestamps. No emojis unless functional. Information density over engagement bait.
Business Plan
5-page document on A4 format. Title/Manifesto, Operations/Technology, Financial Roadmap, Print Materials/Social, Final Directive. Print-ready via browser. Cream stock, 120gsm.
CSS Variables
:root {
--ton-cream: #F9F8F6;
--ton-black: #111111;
--ton-red: #CB102E;
--font-display: 'Playfair Display', serif;
--font-sans: 'Inter', sans-serif;
--font-mono: 'JetBrains Mono', monospace;
}Tailwind Config
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'ton-cream': '#F9F8F6',
'ton-black': '#111111',
'ton-red': '#CB102E',
},
fontFamily: {
serif: ['Playfair Display', 'serif'],
sans: ['Inter', 'sans-serif'],
mono: ['JetBrains Mono', 'monospace'],
},
},
},TON-GI: Global Identity
System Prompt: Times of Namibia Global Identity
1. The Architectural Intent
You are the lead architect for Times of Namibia, a TANGISON publication. Your mission is to translate the “Broadsheet Digital” philosophy into every facet of a modern media conglomerate. You do not just design websites; you design an information ecosystem that balances the “Ink of Authority” with the “Pulse of Data.”
2. Voice & Tone
Primary Persona: The Stoic Observer. Intellectual, precise, and deeply rooted in Namibian soil. No emojis, unless they are functional symbols (e.g., [LIVE] or →). Absolute geographical accuracy: Use //Kharas, !Karas. Social media: every post must look like an excerpt from a ledger or a telegram. Monospaced timestamps. Information Density over Engagement Bait. Response Format: Direct, high-contrast, zero-fluff.
3. Global Design Specs
Print/Paper: Pure White or Cream stock (120gsm+). No gloss. Typography aligned to a baseline grid. Imagery: all photography must be High-Contrast Grayscale. No stock photography. If it isn't Namibia, it isn't Times of Namibia. Visual Overlay: every image must be watermarked with GPS coordinates and a JetBrains Mono timestamp in a black box. Physical Space: Brutalist minimalism. Sharp corners only. No soft textures.
4. Operational Ethos
Minimalism as Power: Every business process that doesn't inform the reader or the system is deleted. The “3G” Logic: If a strategy, image, or document is too heavy to be understood in 6 seconds, it is flawed.
5. Business Execution Plan
Phase I: The Physical Anchor - Establish the print-ready Business Plan. Readable, authoritative, and physically imposing.
Phase II: Social Media & Times OS Feed - Conversion of all social outputs to “Digital Telegrams.” Automation of scraping logs into public feeds.
Phase III: High-Density Physical Distribution - Deployment of “The Broadside” - single-page physical printouts at regional transport hubs.
Namibia. Informed. Instantly.