Plathera Brand Manual - v0.3
Infrastructure for capital project truth.
A print-ready manual for the neutral industrial record system: dark and light grounds, full-page grids, signal amber, governed surfaces, and named project artifacts as proof.
How to use this book
A system for people making Plathera surfaces.
This book is the condensed operating manual for the Plathera Industrial System. It is written for web pages, product UI, decks, field notes, social posts, PDFs, and internal artifacts.
Condensed reference map
Use the full system when the artifact leaves this book.
| Need | Primary reference | Operational test |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic claim | 00 / 01 | Does it name capital-project truth instead of generic AI value? |
| Copy | 02 | Does it name a scene, tax, mechanism, and outcome? |
| Naming | 03 | Is the noun tied to work made inspectable? |
| Visual rules | 05 / tokens | Are peers equal, status named, and amber semantic? |
| Diagrams | 07 | Does the diagram show a relationship the buyer can audit? |
| Applications | applications | Does the example use records such as RFI-118, SCH-W32, PO-7742, and PKG-MEP-03? |
This condensed book is the portable reference. It does not replace the source files; it preserves the decision rules and points every surface back to project-record specificity.
Core promise
Project truth, structured for execution.
Plathera is the infrastructure for capital project truth: the operating layer that turns fragmented project systems into a live, defensible program model.
The missing layer
Not storage, not reporting, not generic AI. Plathera relates evidence, state, risk, and action into one program model.
The record can defend the decision
The brand must feel like a review packet a VP of Capital Projects would trust before a $480M gate decision.
Sage with Builder instincts
Rigor, then mechanism.
Names the truth
The product is an argument about how capital projects should be operated.
Makes it usable
Schemas, records, traces, packets, diagrams, and assistant workflows make the argument operational.
No surprise
No AI mysticism. Senior buyers pay for traceability, defensibility, judgment, and fewer unknowns.
| We are | We are not |
|---|---|
| Infrastructure for project truth. | A generic AI interface on top of project chaos. |
| A system for evidence, traces, packets, and decisions. | A dashboard that rearranges fragments. |
| Operator-authored and specific. | Vendor-cheerful or futuristic. |
Positioning
Infrastructure for capital project truth.
The buyer does not wake up wanting cognitive infrastructure. She wakes up needing to know what is true before she commits money, schedule, scope, or reputation.
| Adjacent category | Plathera position |
|---|---|
| Common data environments | They store artifacts. Plathera models the program across them. |
| Controls and scheduling | They track slices. Plathera reconciles cross-domain state. |
| ERP and finance | They hold money. Plathera relates money to scope, package, risk, and decisions. |
| AI wrappers | They answer on chaos. Plathera structures the record before the answer. |
Operator-authored
The sound of controlled project work.
Do: Write from inside the work. Name the work scene, the hidden tax, the mechanism, and the outcome. Use project nouns before abstractions: RFI-118, SCH-W32, PO-7742, PKG-MEP-03.
Don't: Lead with AI-powered language, productivity claims, transformation language, or vague benefit language.
| Avoid | Use instead |
|---|---|
| AI-powered platform | Infrastructure for project truth |
| Single source of truth | Live program model |
| Unlock insights | Inspect the evidence |
| Transform delivery | Reduce reconstruction work |
Page-building sequence
Scene, tax, mechanism, outcome.
Name the scene
Gate review, claim posture, handoff, variance review, executive update.
Name the tax
Rebuilding context, chasing evidence, reconciling schedule and cost.
Name the mechanism
Evidence intake, Project Graph, live program model, EPC Assistant, gate-packet assembly.
Name the outcome
Defensible decision, ready review, traceable handoff, surfaced constraint, owner action.
In image sections, write the heading first and let the body copy support it. The image proves materiality; the sentence carries the argument.
Product nouns
Name systems by the work they make inspectable.
Live Program Model
The connected representation of project entities, evidence, decisions, risks, packages, milestones, cost, documents, correspondence, and workflows.
Project Graph
The relationship model between project artifacts: document to package, RFI-118 to DWG-SK-42, risk to milestone, DEC-204 to evidence.
EPC Assistant
The assistant that acts against the structured program model. Use this name only for the assistant surface that queries, drafts, checks, and assembles.
Auditable status language
Color never names the state alone.
| Status | Use | Visual role |
|---|---|---|
| Implemented | ACC intake and P6 schedule sync already present in the stack. | Shared subdued surface. |
| Current | The active layer or present operating state, such as PKG-MEP-03 constraint review. | Amber label, current-state rule, or active node. |
| Forthcoming | Planned or next-stage capability, such as automated turnover packet assembly. | Inverse surface with sober copy. |
| Evidence Missing | DEC-204 cannot defend a claim until source artifacts are attached. | Label and rule first; color only reinforces. |
| Ready for Gate | A packet can support review with evidence, impact, owner, and next action. | Stamped label with evidence trace. |
Neutral, ruled, signal-led
Color has a job.
The palette is deliberately narrow. Dark and light grounds behave like record surfaces; amber marks evidence, current state, active structure, table headers, focus, and short emphasis.
Signal amber
Amber is a control cue, not a brand wash.
Use amber for: eyebrows, active/current states, table header labels, focus rings, active diagram nodes, and selected inline emphasis.
Avoid amber for: broad page fills, arbitrary card backgrounds, decorative icons, gradients, or cheerful SaaS accents.
| Surface | Amber role |
|---|---|
| Hero | Selected emphasis only. |
| Tables | Header labels. |
| Diagrams | Active node stroke/fill. |
| Roadmap | Current-state rule or chip. |
Three type roles
Arial reads. Chivo Mono records. Gear Wide signals.
Gear Wide
Wordmark, eyebrow, stamp, status chip, short strong emphasis. Never long technical strings.
Arial
Body copy, long headlines, explanatory sections, public-page reading.
Chivo Mono
Labels, fields, records, registers, tables, diagram metadata, technical chrome.
Gear Wide can make a short word feel stamped. If the phrase becomes long, data-heavy, or explanatory, move it back to Arial or Chivo Mono.
Page canvas
The grid is infrastructure beneath the content.
Full viewport
The grid applies to the entire page, not just the content container. It should feel like the operating layer under the record.
1280px centered
Public pages can center content at 1280px while the grid continues edge to edge.
| Token | Value | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Minor grid | 32px / 1px | Default structural grid. |
| Major grid | 160px / 3px | Large underlying module. |
| Cursor glow | Subtle | Ambient inspection, not visual effect. |
Surface logic
Do not vary cards unless the meaning varies.
Layer 01
Implemented or peer surfaces share a subdued surface.
Layer 03
Current state receives amber rule, chip, or active label.
Layer 04
Forthcoming can use an inverse surface if the label is clear.
Peer cards use the same color. Create hierarchy inside the card through number, eyebrow, title, body, and rule. Status cards can change color because the status is part of the meaning.
Registers
Tables should feel governed.
| Upstream | Downstream | Until |
|---|---|---|
| Design basis DB-07 | Procurement package PKG-MEP-03 - stale spec | PCR-071 review |
| Permit condition PERMIT-AQ-14 | Field work FW-228 - old assumption | Constraint register |
| Vendor delay PO-7742 | Schedule SCH-W32 - unchanged float | Gate packet |
One treatment
Use one consistent header-cell treatment with amber labels. Do not alternate header colors column by column.
Muted and structural
Body cells use muted text and rules. The table should look like a register, not a dashboard widget.
Mechanism earns belief
Use prose for stakes. Use diagrams for mechanism.
Every diagram must explain a relationship: artifact to package, decision to evidence, risk to milestone, assistant to project graph, or gate packet to executive action.
Artifact language
Proof before polish.
Decision to record
A decision panel needs evidence, impact, source, owner, and status: DEC-204 to RFI-118 to SCH-W32.
Review-ready set
A packet shows open constraints, schedule impacts, decisions required, evidence links, and the owner for each action.
Structured list
Registers compare governed entities: permits, risks, packages, RFIs, POs, milestones, and decisions.
Documentary image
Images are proof material. Pair them with a heading and support copy.
Homepage
Teach the missing layer quickly.
Hero
Project truth, structured for execution.
One declarative memory phrase, one program stack, one clear lede grounded in project records.
Proof
Program stack
Source systems to RFI-118 / SCH-W32 evidence intake to live model to assistant to gate packet.
Shift
Three bottlenecks
Same-surface cards with concrete failure modes: scattered state, hidden relationships, review prep.
Image statement
Heading first
Industrial image supports a claim; the record panel carries evidence, owner, and status.
Applications
Same system, different pressure.
One claim per slide
Use neutral light/dark pages, signal eyebrows, same-surface card groups, and named gate-review records.
Field note direct
One hard observation per post. Use artifact panels, record-grid backgrounds, and concrete project objects.
Register, trace, packet
Use data nouns and technical chrome. Keep labels useful, status auditable, and source links visible.
Manual, not moodboard
Documentation pages should demonstrate the same rules they describe.
Don't
The system survives by refusing drift.
Don't use amber as a decorative wash.
Don't add bright SaaS accent colors.
Don't use beige light-mode paper.
Don't trap the grid inside the content shell.
Don't vary peer-card colors just for variety.
Don't use status color without a status word.
Don't set long technical records in Gear Wide.
Don't make every panel equally loud.
Don't use rounded SaaS cards, glow, glass, or soft shadows.
Don't show robot heads, neural brains, or AI particles.
Don't lead with AI-powered language.
Don't write copy that could sit on any SaaS homepage.
Don't use generic hard-hat handshake photography.
Don't use diagrams as decorative mesh backgrounds.
Don't create fake UI with no project meaning.
Don't add product sub-brands before the system earns them.
Don't say single source of truth.
Don't use unlock, empower, revolutionize, or seamless.
Final test
Could this sit in a gate-review packet?
If the answer is no, the artifact is not Plathera yet. Make the mechanism visible, make the evidence inspectable, name the project record, and make every signal carry meaning.