Brand GuidePALM COAST · FLORIDA · EST. 2026
THE
BRAND
GUIDE
A field manual for keeping the Tropic Tide identity bright, beachy, and unmistakably ours — across every wash, sign, shirt and shore.
01 — Who we are
Mission, Voice & Tone
Our Mission
To turn the everyday errand of a car wash into a five-minute family vacation. Tropic Tide is Palm Coast's friendliest stop on the way home — a tropical pit-stop where every car leaves shining, every kid leaves smiling, and every team member feels like part of the crew.
Brand Promise
Clean cars. Sunny smiles. Salt-air good vibes. Always inclusive, always family-first.
Voice — How we sound
- ☀️ Sunny & upbeat — never stiff
- 🐢 Easy-going — never rushed
- 🌊 Inclusive — never exclusive
- 🥥 Local & warm — never corporate
Tone — How we flex
- Marketing → playful, beachy puns
- Signage → short, scannable, friendly
- Service → warm, helpful, on-a-first-name basis
- Apology → honest, human, no jargon
Say this
"Pull on in — your car's about to catch some waves."
Not this
"Please proceed to the wash bay."
Tagline
RIDE THE TIDE.
02 — Logo system
Logo Versions
Primary · Vertical · Full Color
Horizontal · Full Color · Web Default
Horizontal · Dark BG
Horizontal · 1-Color Peach
Horizontal · 1-Color Navy
Vertical · 1-Color Navy
Icon · Full Color
Icon · 1-Color Green
Icon · 1-Color Navy
Favicon · App Icon
Print · Single-Color
Do's & Don'ts
✓ DO
- • Use the vertical logo as the primary mark whenever space allows.
- • Keep clearspace equal to the height of the turtle on all sides.
- • Place full-color logo on white, sand, or navy backgrounds.
- • Use the white/dark-BG version when the surface is photographic or dark.
- • Use one-color (navy, black, green) versions for single-color print.
✗ DON'T
- • Don't recolor, stretch, rotate, or skew the logo.
- • Don't add drop shadows, gradients, or outlines to the mark.
- • Don't place the full-color logo on busy or low-contrast photography.
- • Don't recreate, retype, or substitute the wordmark font.
- • Don't crowd it — give the mark room to breathe.
Common Misuse — Avoid These
✗ Don't recolor✗ Don't stretch✗ Don't rotate✗ Don't add shadow03 — Typography
Fonts: Web & Print
PRIMARY · DISPLAY · PRINT & WEB
ALOHA
KON TIKI JF · BUNGEE (web fallback)
Use for headlines, signage, and bold call-outs. Sentence case. Optical kerning. Tracking 0.
ABCDEFGHIJK 0123456789 !@#$%
SECONDARY · BODY · WEB & PRINT
Poppins
Light · Regular · Medium · Semibold · Bold · Black
Use for body copy, UI, and any paragraph text. Never use ALL-CAPS or all-lowercase for paragraphs.
H1 · 48–72pt
Ride The Tide
H2 · 32–44pt
Sunny Section
Body · 14–16pt
Friendly paragraph copy.
Caption · 10–12pt
Small detail
04 — Color system
Brand Colors
Color ratio · 60 / 25 / 10 / 5
Navy anchors the brand. Teal is the beachy companion. Green energizes. Coral is the accent — used sparingly for emphasis and CTAs.
05 — Graphic language
Visual Elements & Iconography
Icon Style
Flat, friendly, slightly rounded shapes. Two-color max. Always pulled from the brand palette. Inspired by mid-century tiki signage and modern beach merch.
Motifs
Sea turtles, waves, palm fronds, water droplets, tide lines, and sun rays. Use as accents — never crowd a layout.
Patterns
Repeating wave dividers, dot grids, and tide-line ripples. Use at low opacity behind hero blocks.
06 — Meet the mascot
Chip the Turtle
Our ambassador
A friendly face for every wash.
Chip is a happy Palm Coast sea turtle who lives for a shiny ride and a sunny day. He shows up on signage, merch, social posts and the app to greet guests, guide them through the wash, and celebrate every drive-off. Always warm, never pushy — think mascot-as-neighbor, not mascot-as-billboard.
The pose library
Cheering
Celebrations, launches, rewards.
Thumbs Up
Confirmations, testimonials, 5-star reviews.
Pointing
Directing to CTAs, forms, or offers.
On the Job
Crew callouts, hiring, service pages.
With Towel
Detailing, drying, care tips.
Driving
Wash journey, membership drive-thru moments.
Sign Holder
Announcements, hours, wayfinding. Text on blank sign.
Freshener
Retail, gift-with-wash, coconut-lime scent.
✓ Do
- • Give Chip breathing room — clear space equals ½ his body height on every side.
- • Keep his silhouette intact on solid or lightly patterned backgrounds.
- • Pair him with warm, friendly copy — short, upbeat, first-person.
- • Scale him with meaning: hero-size for greetings, corner-size for accents.
- • Match the pose to the message (Pointing → CTA, Towel → detailing, etc.).
✕ Don't
- • Recolor, rotate heavily, stretch, or redraw Chip.
- • Place him on busy photography or over dense patterns.
- • Add sunglasses, hats, or props beyond the approved wardrobe.
- • Use him to deliver bad news, warnings, or legal disclaimers.
- • Crowd multiple Chip poses in one layout — one hero per composition.
CHIP'S VOICE
"Pull on in — I'll take it from here. Coconut-lime freshener on the house."
Sunny, breezy, hospitable. Never sarcastic. Never salesy.
07 — Apparel & merch
Uniforms, Towels & Air Fresheners
Crew · Male
Teal polo + navy cap. Embroidered icon on chest.
Crew · Female
Fitted teal polo + navy visor. Inclusive fit options.
Manager
Navy button-down with embroidered turtle, name tag in coral.
Turtle Air Freshener
Coconut-lime scent. Given free with every Tropic Wax wash. Lime green silhouette + navy detail.
Microfiber Towel
Teal terry with embroidered "Tropic Tide" wordmark. Drying station + retail.
08 — Environment
Car Wash Signage
Storefront Façade
Navy header band with reversed wordmark + turtle icon. Teal accent stripes echo the tide.
Pylon / Roadside
Stacked navy + teal panels. Visible from US-1 in any weather.
ENTRANCE
PULL ON IN →
WASH BAY
RIDE THE TIDE
EXIT
MAHALO! ☀
09 — In the wild
Photography & Lifestyle
Photo Style
- Bright & saturated — golden hour, blue skies, water in motion.
- People-first — real families, diverse crew, smiles > staged.
- Florida texture — palms, sun flares, wet asphalt, salt air.
- No stock-photo gloss — keep it warm, local, and human.