The NERO palette is built on darkness and restraint. Black dominates. Gold is the singular point of contrast, used sparingly to signal precision and value. Every other color is a tool with a specific job.
Gold carries the entire emotional weight. Use it for: wordmark, CTAs, critical data points, protocol indicators. Never decorative. Always functional.
Three fonts. Three functions. Space Grotesk for authority. Inter for clarity. JetBrains Mono for data. No decorative typefaces. No script fonts. Every letterform earns its place.
Geometric, technical, authoritative. Slightly squared letterforms with enough character to feel premium, not generic. Used for: wordmark, headlines, hero text, product names, prices.
Clean, highly legible at all sizes. The invisible workhorse. Used for: body copy, product descriptions, UI labels, navigation, paragraphs.
Monospace for clinical precision. Signals data, science, systems. Used for: ingredient labels, study references, data points, protocol codes, version numbers, small technical labels.
Reserved for editorial moments: pull quotes, testimonials, large display numerals. Never for UI or body copy. Used sparingly to create contrast with the dominant geometric system.
Packaging is the first physical touchpoint. It needs to feel like opening a precision instrument, not a wellness product. Matte black everything. Minimal text. Gold only on the wordmark. Unboxing should feel like Whoop meets Aesop.
Photography follows one rule: this is a tool, not a decoration. Dark backgrounds. Hard light with controlled falloff. Tight compositions. Think product photography for a Leica lens or a mechanical watch. Warm side-light to catch the gold. No lifestyle clutter. No flowers. No candles.
Lighting: Hard directional light from left or above. Warm color temperature (3200-3800K). Single key light. Deep shadows. Controlled highlight on gold surfaces. No flat, diffused lighting.
Backgrounds: Black slate, dark concrete, matte black acrylic, dark walnut. Always dark. Texture is good; color is not. Never white backgrounds.
Mood: Clinical precision. Think: a surgeon's tools on a tray. Not cozy. Not warm. Intentional. Controlled.
Props: Minimal. Approved: dark notebooks, black pens, Whoop band, weight plates, concrete, dark wood. Never: crystals, incense, plants, yoga mats, tea.
Model Direction: Male, 28-40. Athletic or professional. Stubble acceptable. No smiling. Focused, intent expression. Shot from the side or back. Never full-face. The product is the hero, not the person.
Post-Processing: Desaturated. Crushed blacks. Slight grain. Film-like. Refer to: Aesop, Bang & Olufsen, Leica product photography.
Kit contents laid out on dark slate surface. Overhead or slight angle. Each component separated with breathing room. Tweezers at a diagonal. Pellets in precise grid. Box anchors composition at left.
Man at standing desk or in gym. Side profile. Applying pellets with tweezers. Available light supplemented with warm fill. Shallow depth of field. Background is out of focus. Pellets and ear are sharp.
Macro shot of gold pellets on ear. f/1.8 or shallower. Only one pellet tack-sharp, others in bokeh. Warm light catching the gold. Skin texture visible. Clinical intimacy. This is the money shot for ads.
Overhead. Components arranged in geometric grid on solid black. Even spacing. Precisely aligned. Think Bellroy pocket dump or Everyday Carry layout. Ruler-straight lines. No casualness.
Static ads for Meta (1080x1080). Three core templates that can be iterated infinitely: comparison, product hero, and social proof. Every ad follows the same visual grammar: dark background, gold accents, Space Grotesk headlines, Inter body, minimal elements.
The Shopify store is dark-first. Every page is a continuation of the packaging experience. Gold is used exclusively for CTAs and active states. The site should feel like a premium instrument company's site, not a supplement store.
NERO speaks like a knowledgeable coach, not a salesperson. Direct. Clinical when needed. Confident without arrogance. Short sentences. No hedging. No exclamation marks. No emojis. The voice should feel like it came from someone who has done the research and is giving you the protocol.