Synapse: Brand notes

Source of truth for the Synapse identity. If you are editing the README, docs, or any external surface, pull from here.

Mascot: Lil Syn

A round indigo character with cream eyes, designed by Claude Design. Lil Syn is the personality of the brand; the wordmark is the identity. They show up together in headers, never overlap.

Mascot resolution (SYN-215)

The brand has two marks; this is the settled relationship between them (decision 2026-06-21):

• Lil Syn is the primary, warm mascot: the character that fronts the README, docs headers, install/celebration moments, and anything human-facing. It carries the personality.
• The graph constellation is the secondary, technical mark: used where an abstract, system-level glyph fits better than a character: the favicon, social/OG card, CI badges, and diagram motifs. It is not a rival mascot; it is the technical face of the same identity.

They never compete in the same slot: human-facing → Lil Syn; technical/glyph slot → constellation. When in doubt, use Lil Syn.

The full cast

Files

assets/branding/
├── BRAND.md
├── lil-syn-classic.svg     /  .png (@2x)
├── lil-syn-stack.svg       /  .png (@2x)
├── lil-syn-firing.svg      /  .png (@2x)
├── lil-syn-thinking.svg    /  .png (@2x)
├── lil-syn-hearts.svg      /  .png (@2x)
├── lil-syn-sleepy.svg      /  .png (@2x)
└── lil-syn-confused.svg    /  .png (@2x)

All SVGs are flat (no filters), single-fill-per-shape, optimised to roughly 4–5 KB. PNGs are 2048×2048 for clients that don’t render SVG inline (GitHub markdown does: prefer SVG).

Colour palette

The primary three carry the whole brand. The extended set appears only in the variants that need it: never invented elsewhere.

Primary

Extended (variant-specific)

Greys derive from cream: #1A1A1A near-black for body text, #E7E2D6 for hairlines, #888880 for muted captions.

Typography

• Display / wordmark: Sora: geometric sans, for Synapse, h1/h2 in marketing surfaces.
• Body: system stack (-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", sans-serif) for docs/READMEs that render on GitHub.
• Code / terminals: JetBrains Mono for CLI screenshots and marketing inline code.

Voice

The product is the connection between your projects. The mascot is the smaller, curious side: it cheers when things work, looks puzzled when something is missing, dozes when nothing’s happening.

Voice should match the variant on screen:

• Indigo, factual, unfancy as the default.
• A flash of cheer next to firing for a shipped milestone. Name a version or count only when verified for that release.
• A hint of warmth next to hearts (“built with care”).
• Direct apology next to confused (“error: entity ‘foo’ not found: try syn project list”).
• Never corporate. Never marketing-speak.
• Lead with governed operational memory in the README hero, installation and MCP onboarding. Explain proposals, review, supported reversal and explicit verification scope. The neuron metaphor explains continuity; concrete evidence explains value. Write policies can permit safe application, so do not claim that an agent never writes or that every change always receives human review (ADR-022).

Canonical product statement

Operational memory for agents, with governed changes, preserved history, and explicit integrity checks.

Use this statement in README, public docs and integration material. Short captions can name a specific task, such as “Carry reviewed knowledge into the next task”, but must not enlarge the assurance claim. Keep supporting copy in English and do not use em dashes.

Claims and product status

• Lead with continuity of work, reviewable changes and the evidence available to inspect.
• Name the selected verification scope. A pass over stored bytes does not prove that all claims are true or that all natural-language contradictions have been detected.
• Keep source-tree capabilities distinct from the last packaged release. A current source MCP count or new process contract is not automatically available in an older binary.
• Identify planned integrations near their diagram. A host boundary does not make every client, shared workflow or authoring-tool connector available.
• A signed receipt is evidence over exact bytes. Identity, current organizational permission and independently retained witnessing require their own selected inputs.
• Do not use absolute slogans such as “the memory your agents cannot silently corrupt” or an unqualified promise that every fact is provable. Keep historical wording in its original dated evidence when needed, rather than promoting it as current positioning.

Visual documentation

Use the product’s indigo, paper and amber palette with a restrained grid, generous spacing and readable labels. Lil Syn remains the human-facing identity; diagrams explain concrete responsibilities, data movement and trust boundaries rather than adding decorative networks.

The overview kit holds editable static SVGs for the governed lifecycle, core topology, tool integrations and recorded retrieval evidence. Pair every figure with searchable English text and meaningful alt text. Preserve raw benchmark data and its limits. Do not invent comparison baselines or imply a model assessment grants authority.

Where each variant currently lives

When in doubt, classic.