Brand Identity Guidelines · 2026

virke

Swedish for timber, raw material. This document defines the visual identity, design language, and usage guidelines for Virke.

Brand Essence

“Infrastructure should disappear. Your code ships to the edge in seconds, runs everywhere, scales to zero. We built Virke on Virke — that’s the proof.”

Virke is timber — the raw material of construction. In Sweden, timber houses stand for centuries. Not because they’re complex, but because the material is honest and the craft is sound. Virke is that for the edge: solid infrastructure you build on, and it stands.

The raw material for the edge.

Tone of Voice

Calm & direct

No hype, no "blazingly fast". State what it does.

Precise

Every word earns its place. Technical accuracy over marketing polish.

Understated confidence

We run on ourselves. That says enough.

Builder's language

Talk like a craftsperson. Ship, build, deploy — not "leverage" or "empower".

Writing Principles

  • Lead with what it does, not what it is.
  • Short sentences. Active voice.
  • Code examples over prose when possible.
  • Never apologize for simplicity. Simple is the point.

Color Palette

Primary

Timber#1A1714Primary background
Heartwood#D4A043Primary accent
Snow#F2F0EDPrimary text

Secondary

Slate#64748BSecondary text, borders
Birch#E8E4DFLight backgrounds
Charcoal#2D2A26Elevated surfaces

Functional

Growth#4ADE80Success, deploys
Ember#F87171Errors, destructive
Signal#60A5FALinks, interactive
  • Dark mode is the default. Timber (#1A1714) is the primary background.
  • Never use pure black (#000000) or pure white (#FFFFFF).
  • Heartwood is for emphasis, not decoration. Use sparingly.
  • Functional colors are reserved for their stated purpose.

Typography

Typefaces

Inter
font-family: 'Inter', -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', sans-serif;
JetBrains Mono
font-family: 'JetBrains Mono', 'Fira Code', 'Cascadia Code', monospace;

Scale

Displayvirke48 / 700
H1Brand Essence32 / 600
H2Writing Principles24 / 600
BodySolid infrastructure you build on, and it stands.16 / 400
SmallBrand Identity Guidelines · 202614 / 400
Monovirke deploy --production14 / 400

Casing Rules

  • Wordmark is always lowercase: virke
  • Product names capitalize the product: Virke Sites, Virke DB, Virke KV
  • Small labels may use all-caps with letter-spacing: BRAND IDENTITY GUIDELINES
  • Never all-caps the wordmark: VIRKE

Logo

Mark

Virke mark
Virke mark light
Virke favicon
Favicon

Wordmark Variations

Primaryvirke
Inversevirke
Mono Lightvirke
Mono Darkvirke

Don’ts

Never set in uppercase
Never stretch or distort
Never place on busy backgrounds
Never change the typeface
Never add effects or shadows
Never lock up without approval

Product Naming

ProductNameIn Code / CLI
PlatformVirke—
Static sitesVirke Sites—
Edge databaseVirke DB—
Key-value storeVirke KV—
Object storageVirke OS3—
Edge computeVirke Run—
CLI tool—virke
  • The platform is always “Virke” (capitalized) in prose.
  • Product names: “Virke” + capitalized product word. Never hyphenated.
  • The CLI is always virke (lowercase, monospace) in documentation.
  • Never abbreviate to “VK”, “V.”, or other shorthands.

Usage

Permitted

  • Referencing Virke in articles, talks, and integrations
  • Using the wordmark to link to virke.dev
  • Using brand colors in integrations
  • Screenshots for reviews and tutorials

Requires Approval

  • Co-branding or logo lock-ups
  • Merchandise or physical goods
  • Modified or partial logo usage
  • Any use implying partnership

Brand in Context

CLI Output

$ virke deploy
  Uploading 12 files...
  Deploy d4a043f live at myapp.virke.dev
  Done in 2.3s

Calm. No emoji. No celebration banners. The work is done.

Error Messages

$ virke deploy
  Error: No virke.toml found in current directory.
  Run `virke init` to create one.

State the problem. State the fix. Nothing else.

Marketing Copy

Deploy your site in seconds.
Run it on the edge.
Built to stand.

Built on Fastly. Built in Rust. Open source.

Three lines. Three facts. Done.