For AI tools

Brand spec for AI tools

If you are an AI assistant and someone gave you this URL to make a flyer or other APA design, use only the colors, fonts, and tone written here. Do not invent colors or fonts. Use the logo files in the Logo section. Do not redraw the mark. Blocks labeled PLACEHOLDER are empty on purpose. Do not invent a photo style or an icon set.

Organization

American Poolplayers Association. Short name APA. Poolplayers is one word. Never write American Pool Players Association or A.P.A.

Header font

Raleway, from Google Fonts. Use it for headlines, titles, and key callouts.

Body font

Inter, from Google Fonts. Use it for body copy and longer text.

Secondary body font

Raleway, from Google Fonts. Use it for captions, supporting text, and short-form content.

Primary blue

Blue 700, Primary Blue, hex #0061AA. This is the primary brand color for digital work. Other blues are accents.

Primary red

Red 800, Primary Red, hex #DD131D. Use it for energy and emphasis. It is approved for digital and print. It does not replace Primary Blue.

White

White 100, hex #FFFFFF.

Printed flyers

Use the print palette: Blue 200 #77C5FF, Blue 300 #4EB3FF, Blue 400 #25A2FF, Blue 500 #0090FC, and Blue 600 #0078D3. The guidelines say some blues are optimized for digital and may not reproduce accurately in print, and they do not put Blue 25, Blue 50, Blue 100, Blue 700, Blue 800, or Blue 900 on the print list.

Text color

Working default, not a rule from the guidelines. The grayscale page does not name a text color. Gray 900 #131313 reads clearly on white and on Gray 25. White #FFFFFF reads on Blue 700 and on Red 800.

Tone

coming soon!

Tagline

The public line is exactly: one love. one passion. one big family. Write every word in lowercase. Put a period after each phrase, including the last, and one space after each period. Do not capitalize any word. Do not use commas, slashes, bullets, or the word and between the phrases. Do not add an exclamation point. Do not shorten, reorder, or rewrite the three phrases. On a flyer, set the tagline in Raleway.

Artwork

Use the logo files in this guide. Do not redraw the mark. See Logo. Photography, icons, and flyer images are still placeholders. Do not invent a photo style, an icon set, or a sample photo. If a flyer needs a picture, leave a labeled placeholder until a real poolroom photo is supplied. The numbers on the Flyers page are layout samples, not APA counts, so do not put them on a real flyer.

Overview

Overview

This page records the typography and color system in the current American Poolplayers Association brand guidelines. Use it when you set type, pick a blue or red, or check a hex value.

The guidelines file this page was built from covers header type, body type, a secondary body use of Raleway, and three palettes: blue, red, and grayscale. It does not include logo clearance, photography, or a writing manual.

Sections marked House style are recommendations for public language. They use the name printed on the guidelines and the public names of APA roles, formats, and The Equalizer®. They are not quoted rules from the typography and color pages.

Name

Name

The guidelines title the organization American Poolplayers Association. Poolplayers is one word. In the color pages, the short form is APA, with no periods.

Raleway and Inter

Together, Raleway and Inter keep flyers and pages clear.

Raleway is for headlines. Short text and captions may use Raleway too.

Inter is for body, UI, and long text. Flyer body copy uses Inter 400. Open Raleway and Inter on Google Fonts.

Inter WEB

Raleway is for headlines and display. Weight 700 is the flyer headline weight. Weight 600 is the subhead weight.

Raleway WEB

Usage

Headlines use sentence case. Poolplayers is one word.

1font-family: "Raleway", "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;
2font-family: "Inter", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;

Alternative fonts

These system fonts are the fallbacks.

Our logo

The name is American Poolplayers Association. Poolplayers is one word. The short name is APA. The league name is APA Pool League.

Use this official file. Primary Blue, #0061AA, is the digital primary. Primary Red, #DD131D, is for emphasis in a layout. It is not a second logo color.

apa-logo-primary.svg

Download assets

Color logos

These are the official full-color files. The red APA letters are part of that file. Do not build another logo out of Primary Red, and do not recolor the mark.

Primary mark

Full-color mark for white and light backgrounds.

apa-logo-primary.svg

Web lockup

Full-color mark with poolplayers.com.

apa-logo-web.svg

Governing body lockup

Full-color mark with the governing-body line.

apa-logo-governing-body.svg

One-color logos

One-color logos use Gray 900, #131313, white, #FFFFFF, or a single blue from the brand list. The list is Primary Blue #0061AA on screen, and Blue 200 through Blue 600 in print. Do not recolor the logo with a color outside the guide. Use the official file below.

One-color mark

Official one-color file for light backgrounds.

apa-logo-one-color.svg

One-color web

One-color mark with poolplayers.com.

apa-logo-one-color-web.svg

One-color governing body

One-color mark with the governing-body line.

apa-logo-one-color-governing-body.svg

One-color white

White file for Primary Blue and other dark grounds.

apa-logo-reversed.svg

Logo positioning

Give the logo a clear place of its own. Keep it off the edge of the piece and away from other marks. The brand guide does not set a measured position yet, so this diagram is a stand-in.

PLACEHOLDER

Do's and don'ts

The official file is the logo. The name stays American Poolplayers Association, then APA. The league is APA Pool League.

Logo clear space

Keep a margin of clear space around the logo so other type and artwork do not crowd it. The brand guide does not give a measured clearance yet, so this diagram is a stand-in.

PLACEHOLDER

Other APA logos

These official lockups add the web line, the governing-body line, or both, including versions with white type for dark backgrounds. They are the same mark, not a new drawing.

Full lockup

Color mark with the governing-body line and poolplayers.com.

apa-logo-full.svg

Web lockup on dark

Color mark with white poolplayers.com, for dark backgrounds.

apa-logo-reversed-web.svg

Governing body on dark

Color mark with the white governing-body line, for dark backgrounds.

apa-logo-reversed-governing-body.svg

Brand guide: apa-brand-guide.html. Typography and color follow that page. Clear space and positioning diagrams are labeled PLACEHOLDER until official measurements are added.

Principles

These principles keep APA photography looking like the league, not a stock shoot.

Do's and don'ts

Headshots

Player or League Operator headshots should be plain, well lit, and current.

Icons

Icons

The brand PDF does not include an icon system. This section is empty on purpose. Do not invent an icon set.

Swatch downloads

RGB and hex for every swatch in the brand guide. Each swatch shows the chip, the name, the hex, and the RGB. Download saves an SVG of that swatch.

Brand colors

Primary Blue is Blue 700, #0061AA. It is the primary brand color for digital work. Every other blue is an accent.

Primary Red is Red 800, #DD131D. Use it for energy and emphasis. It is approved for digital and print. It does not replace Primary Blue.

No gray is primary. The grayscale palette supports the brand for backgrounds, text, and supporting design elements, in digital and print. No single grayscale tone is a primary color.

Blue scale

On screen, Blue 700 stays the primary brand color. For print, use Blue 200 through Blue 600. Some blues are optimized for digital and may not reproduce accurately in print.

• Blue 25

  Accent

  #E0F2FF

• Blue 50

  Accent

  #B4DFFF

• Blue 100

  Accent

  #A0D6FF

• Blue 200

  Print

  #77C5FF

• Blue 300

  Print

  #4EB3FF

• Blue 400

  Print

  #25A2FF

• Blue 500

  Print

  #0090FC

• Blue 600

  Print

  #0078D3

• Blue 700

  Primary Blue

  #0061AA

• Blue 800

  Accent

  #004172

• Blue 900

  Accent

  #00213A

Red scale

White 100, #FFFFFF, is listed with the red palette. Red 800 is the primary red. These red shades are suitable for both digital and print.

• White 100

  White

  #FFFFFF

• Red 200

  Accent

  #FEF6F6

• Red 300

  Accent

  #FBD0D2

• Red 400

  Accent

  #F8ABAF

• Red 500

  Accent

  #F4858B

• Red 600

  Accent

  #F16067

• Red 700

  Accent

  #EE3A43

• Red 800

  Primary Red

  #DD131D

• Red 900

  Accent

  #A81F23

Grayscale

Use these neutrals for structure and contrast. Do not assign any one of them the status of a primary brand color.

• Gray 25

  Supporting

  #FAFBFD

• Gray 50

  Supporting

  #E3E3E5

• Gray 100

  Supporting

  #CDD0D5

• Gray 200

  Supporting

  #C2C5CC

• Gray 300

  Supporting

  #ACB0BA

• Gray 400

  Supporting

  #969BA7

• Gray 500

  Supporting

  #6B7280

• Gray 600

  Supporting

  #515761

• Gray 700

  Supporting

  #383C43

• Gray 800

  Supporting

  #1E2024

• Gray 900

  Supporting

  #131313

Do's and don'ts

Printed flyers use the print blues only. Red stays available for digital and print. Do not invent a color that is not in this guide.

Accessibility

Gray 900 #131313 on white #FFFFFF or on Gray 25 #FAFBFD. White #FFFFFF on Primary Blue #0061AA, on Blue 600 #0078D3, or on Primary Red #DD131D.

The brand guide gives this as the working text pairing: Gray 900 reads on white and on Gray 25, and white reads on Blue 700 and on Red 800. Blue 600 swatches in the guide use white type.

Blue

Blue

The blue palette reflects the core character of the APA brand. Blue 700 is the Primary Blue and should be used as the primary brand color. Every other blue is an accent. Accents add depth and visual interest on supporting elements.

Copy any hex value. The button places the code on your clipboard.

• Blue 25
  #E0F2FFCopy
• Blue 50
  #B4DFFFCopy
• Blue 100
  #A0D6FFCopy
• Blue 200
  #77C5FFCopy
• Blue 300
  #4EB3FFCopy
• Blue 400
  #25A2FFCopy
• Blue 500
  #0090FCCopy
• Blue 600
  #0078D3Copy
• Blue 700

  Primary Blue
  #0061AACopy
• Blue 800
  #004172Copy
• Blue 900
  #00213ACopy

Print palette

Some blue shades are optimized for digital use and may not reproduce accurately in print. The guidelines provide this print set. Use the palette that matches the medium.

• Blue 200

  Print
  #77C5FFCopy
• Blue 300

  Print
  #4EB3FFCopy
• Blue 400

  Print
  #25A2FFCopy
• Blue 500

  Print
  #0090FCCopy
• Blue 600

  Print
  #0078D3Copy

Red

Red

Red 800 is the Primary Red and should be used as the primary red brand color. The other reds are accents. They add contrast and visual impact on supporting elements. These red shades are suitable for both digital and print.

White 100 is listed with this palette.

• White 100
  #FFFFFFCopy
• Red 200
  #FEF6F6Copy
• Red 300
  #FBD0D2Copy
• Red 400
  #F8ABAFCopy
• Red 500
  #F4858BCopy
• Red 600
  #F16067Copy
• Red 700
  #EE3A43Copy
• Red 800

  Primary Red
  #DD131DCopy
• Red 900
  #A81F23Copy

Grayscale

Grayscale

The grayscale palette provides neutral tones that support the APA brand. These shades may be used in digital and print for backgrounds, text, and supporting design elements. No single grayscale tone is a primary color.

Grayscale should create contrast and structure, and it should stay out of the way of the key brand elements. Apply it consistently so the piece stays clear and cohesive.

• Gray 25
  #FAFBFDCopy
• Gray 50
  #E3E3E5Copy
• Gray 100
  #CDD0D5Copy
• Gray 200
  #C2C5CCCopy
• Gray 300
  #ACB0BACopy
• Gray 400
  #969BA7Copy
• Gray 500
  #6B7280Copy
• Gray 600
  #515761Copy
• Gray 700
  #383C43Copy
• Gray 800
  #1E2024Copy
• Gray 900
  #131313Copy

How we sound

When to adjust your tone

The voice stays the same. The tone shifts a little by context and audience.

By context

A league-night flyer can be direct and energetic. Name the night, the room, and that every skill level can play.

A note to Team Captains can be steadier. They already know the league. Tell them what to do and when, without a sales pitch.

A post for new players should slow down. Explain the first night in plain words. Invite them in. Do not assume they own a cue.

By audience

PLACEHOLDER. This table is a stand-in until the real APA voice is approved.

Ready-to-use examples

On screen this panel uses Primary Blue, #0061AA. A printed flyer stays within Blue 200 through Blue 600. Blue 600, #0078D3, is the darkest blue that prints.

Flyer overview

A flyer has one job: help a player show up. These charts only test the layout. They are not research, and they are not APA counts.

2. Keep most of the flyer bright

Most of a flyer stays bright. A useful target for this draft is a 70/30 bright-to-dark balance. The bright part is white. On a screen preview you may test that field in Blue 25, #E0F2FF, or Blue 50, #B4DFFF. Print flyers cannot use Blue 25 or Blue 50. Print uses Blue 200 through Blue 600: #77C5FF, #4EB3FF, #25A2FF, #0090FC, and #0078D3. Blue 600 is the darkest print blue.

Dark type and one blue field do the work. Body type is Gray 900, #131313. Headlines use Raleway. Details use Inter. Primary Red, #DD131D, is the rare dark accent, and a flyer uses it once. Never set red type on Primary Blue.

When to use a photo or a graphic?

APA flyers can use a photograph and a simple graphic. They do different jobs. Choose the one the message needs, or use both and let each one stay in its lane.

The frames below are empty on purpose. Drop in a real poolroom photo or a finished graphic later. Nothing here is an approved photo style.

Names in writing

Names in writing

On first mention in a piece, write American Poolplayers Association. After that, APA is enough. Keep Poolplayers as one word, and keep APA free of periods, matching the forms in the guidelines.

Capitalize the public titles below whenever they name the role. The league formats are written 8-Ball and 9-Ball, with a hyphen and both parts capitalized. On first mention of the handicapping system, write The Equalizer®.

Terminology

Terminology

Spell and capitalize these the same way every time. The short definitions describe the public meaning of each name. They are here so the wording stays stable, and they are not rules from the typography and color guidelines.

Typography and color on this page follow the APA brand guidelines for Raleway, Inter, blue, red, and grayscale. House style sections are labeled and are not quoted from that file.