Nous Branding

Nous Branding

Generate images and brand-consistent visual content inspired by Nous Research ("The AI accelerator company").

Reference Images

This skill ships reference images in assets/ that can be used as visual anchors for img2img, style transfer, image variation, or prompt construction:

Brand Identity Overview

Nous Research's visual identity is a three-way fusion:

Tagline: "The AI accelerator company" Key phrases: "Advance human rights and freedoms", "Open source language models", "Unrestricted availability and use" Vibe: Intellectual but gritty — a cutting-edge research lab operating in the shadows

Color Palette

Hero Palette (from reference image analysis)

Extended Palette

Palette Principles

• High contrast is the rule — deep near-black backgrounds against bright electric blue accents
• Electric blue (#3847FF) is the signature color — use it for the most important accent elements
• Grunge textures over solid colors — never use flat, clean color blocks; always overlay with grain, noise, or scan lines
• Color is reserved for hero/feature content — the brand booklet is >95% grayscale
• Gold/orange geometric lines (#D6825A, #E6C666) for HUD-style overlays and constellation motifs

Logo & Mascot

The Nous Girl (primary mascot)

The single most recognizable brand element. Based on the official brand booklet (pages 8-9).

Official Pose Variants

Usage Rules

• The mascot is not a substitute for the logo — use the Nous Research wordmark/symbol for official brand representation
• White over-ear headphones in all poses — the ear cups are partially obscured by the voluminous hair in the badge portrait, but the white cushioned arch across the crown confirms headphones in every variant
• Black headphones are incorrect
• No facial markings — clean skin, no tattoo, no scar, no tear
• Pure black-and-white high-contrast is the default; electric blue accents are for hero/feature content only

Typography

From the Hermes-Theia brand system sheet (visible in assets/palette-typography-reference.png):

Texture System

The brand defines five key textures that should be applied to all visuals. Reference examples available in assets/palette-typography-reference.png:

Key rule: These textures should feel raw, analog, and imperfect — the opposite of polished corporate design.

Art Style

Core Attributes

What the Style is NOT

• NOT flat vector illustration
• NOT corporate minimalist
• NOT purely photographic
• NOT bright, saturated, or cheerful
• NOT glossy/skeuomorphic

Style Lanes

Choose the lane that matches your output's purpose. Each lane encodes a distinct composition grammar, palette discipline, and print technology.

Lane 1 — Xerox Poster

For stark announcements and punchy social images. High-contrast xerox-style poster on colored paper stock.

Prompt cues: high-contrast xerox poster, pale cyan paper stock, black/dark teal ink, dense horizontal scanlines, harsh bitmap thresholding, bold block NOUS wordmark near top, centered anonymous subject, worn border/crop marks.

High-contrast xerox-style poster release announcement on pale cyan paper. [Subject description]. Black ink with dense horizontal scanlines, rough halftone breakup. Bold block `NOUS` wordmark near top. Centered poster composition with worn border and crop marks. --ar 16:9

Lane 2 — Manual / Letterpress Cover

For specs, manuals, and technical documentation covers. Distressed letterpress on aged stock.

Prompt cues: distressed letterpress technical manual cover, aged tan paper stock, thick dark teal-black border, compact all-caps condensed typography, red horizontal rule accent, scuffed ink, worn paper corners, NOUS as leading stamped brand word.

Distressed letterpress technical manual cover for [project]. Aged tan paper stock, thick dark teal-black border, compact all-caps condensed typography, red horizontal rule accent, scuffed ink and worn paper corners. `NOUS` as leading stamped brand word. --ar 4:5

Lane 3 — Industrial Duotone Grid

For product shots, system graphics, and infrastructure visuals. Edge-to-edge duotone with repeated artifacts.

Prompt cues: edge-to-edge industrial duotone print, repeated rounded branded artifacts, saturated cobalt blue and acid yellow, blown-out ink highlights, dense halftone dots, small embedded NOUS marks.

Edge-to-edge industrial duotone print for [product/release]. Repeated branded components in cobalt blue and acid yellow against black. Dense halftone dots, blown-out ink highlights, small embedded `NOUS` marks on artifacts. --ar 16:9

Lane 4 — Minimal Stipple Field

For quiet, refined, abstract graphics with generous negative space.

Prompt cues: abstract risograph/screenprint poster, cream paper base, navy stipple field fading downward, thin turquoise double border, small centered NOUS capsule mark, lots of negative space.

Abstract risograph poster on cream paper. Navy stipple field fading downward, thin turquoise double border, small centered `NOUS` capsule mark. Generous negative space. Restrained, editorial. --ar 4:5

Lane 5 — Blue Registration Character

For agent identity and symbolic character posters. Moody blue screenprint with technical registration marks.

Prompt cues: moody blue screenprint poster, anonymous illustrated character, electric-blue posterized lighting, dark cyan-black field, orange registration marks, thin frame lines, scratches, analog grain.

Moody blue screenprint poster for [project/agent]. Anonymous character subject with electric-blue posterized lighting against dark cyan-black field. Orange registration marks, thin frame lines, scratches, analog grain. --ar 4:5

Legacy Lane — PNW / Celestial

For classic Nous/Hermes luminous imagery. Used when the request explicitly asks for the misty, glowing, portal-driven aesthetic.

Prompt cues: dark navy background, misty atmospheric depth, portal/orb/beam light source, electric blue and purple accents, sacred geometry, lone figure.

Dark atmospheric scene with [subject description]. Misty PNW atmosphere, luminous portal/orb light source, electric blue accent, soft bloom, geometric framing. Match the classic luminous Hermes visual style. --ar 16:9

Reference Catalog

Each asset in assets/ maps to specific style lanes. Use this table to find the right reference image for your generation:

Rule of thumb: Load the reference image that matches your lane's visual grammar. For Xerox Poster lanes, the palette-typography card is more useful than the mascot badge. For character-focused outputs, the sketch sheet is the primary reference.

Image Prompt Templates

Method 1: Full Brand Portrait

A cyber-classical brand identity illustration in the style of Nous Research / Project Theia.
[SUBJECT DESCRIPTION]. High-contrast dramatic lighting with deep near-black background (#00000E).
Electric blue (#3847FF) primary accent. Soft lavender (#BDA6FF) and burnt orange (#D6825A)
secondary accents. Deep teal (#2E706B) shadow tones. Overlaid with risograph grain texture,
photocopy noise, and subtle CRT scan lines. Retro anime cel-shading combined with neo-classical
sculptural forms. Geometric HUD overlay lines in burnt orange. Bold, distressed display typography.
Raw, analog, imperfect finish. No corporate polish.
Palette: #00000E bg, #3847FF accent, #BDA6FF secondary, #D6825A warm, #E6E6E6 text.

Method 2: Nous Girl Mascot

High-contrast retro manga anime portrait, 1970s-80s cel-shaded style.
A young woman with large anime eyes, shoulder-length dark hair with blunt
straight-across bangs. White over-ear headphones. Three-quarter profile facing left.
Melancholic introspective expression. Bold heavy outlines. Pure black and white with
no grayscale. [Optional: Electric blue #3847FF hair highlights for color version].

Method 3: Brand System Sheet / Collage

Multi-panel brand identity system sheet in Nous Research / Project Theia style.
Grid layout. [Describe panels]. Color palette: #3847FF electric blue, #BDA6FF lavender,
#D6825A burnt orange, #2E706B deep teal, #E6E6E6 off-white, #00000E near-black.
Texture swatches: risograph grain, photocopy noise, CRT scan lines, paper fiber, ink smudge.
Typography: heavy distressed display for titles, Inter/IBM Plex Sans for labels,
JetBrains Mono for technical data. Grunge textures throughout. Dark near-black background.

Method 4: Reference-Image-Driven Generation (Recommended)

This is the preferred method for generating brand-consistent images. Use the scripts/generate-with-ref.py script which reads your Hermes config, determines the active image provider, and hits the API directly with the reference image as contextual input — bypassing the built-in image_generate tool which only supports text prompts.

python3 scripts/generate-with-ref.py \
  --prompt "Your prompt describing the desired image" \
  --reference assets/nous-girl-official-badge.png \
  --aspect landscape \
  --quality medium

Features:

• --prompt (required) — image description
• --reference (required) — path to a reference image (use assets/ images from this skill)
• --aspect — landscape (1536×1024), portrait (1024×1536), or square (1024×1024)
• --quality — low, medium (default), or high
• --output — custom output path
• --dry-run — preview without executing

How it works:

1. Reads ~/.hermes/config.yaml to find your active image generation provider
2. For OpenAI: uses /v1/images/edits with multipart upload — the only endpoint that accepts image input with gpt-image-2
3. Automatically crops the reference to square (1024×1024) as required by the edits endpoint
4. Saves output to ~/.hermes/cache/images/
5. Returns JSON with image, model, aspect_ratio, and provider

Why this matters: Text-only generation loses the precise manga style, character proportions, and contrast balance of the Nous Girl. Uploading the official badge preserves the specific 1970s–80s cel-shaded ink style.

Prompting for reference workflows: State what to preserve from the reference, then what to add:

• "Keep the character's white over-ear headphones, white collared shirt, solid black hair with blunt bangs, neutral expression"
• "Maintain the same high-contrast black ink on white manga style"
• Then add the scene details, text, lighting, etc.

Prompt Formula

[STYLE: cyber-classical / Nous Research]
+ [SUBJECT DESCRIPTION]
+ [PALETTE: #00000E bg, #3847FF accent, #BDA6FF, #D6825A]
+ [TEXTURES: risograph grain, photocopy noise, CRT scan lines, paper fiber, ink smudge]
+ [LIGHTING: high-contrast chiaroscuro, dramatic spot, neon edge highlights]
+ [MOOD: intellectual, gritty, underground, calm/attentive]
+ [TYPOGRAPHY: heavy distressed display, Inter/IBM Plex Sans labels, JetBrains Mono code]

Post-Processing

Raw AI-generated images are too clean for the Nous aesthetic. Post-processing is mandatory after every generation. The scripts/postprocess.py script applies analog-print degradation effects locally using Pillow + numpy — no API calls needed.

Quick Start

python3 scripts/postprocess.py input.png output.png --mode imprint --intensity 0.7

Modes

Intensity Calibration

Integration

Run post-processing as the final step after any generation method (text-only, img2img, multi-pass, or any provider):

# After any generation method:
python3 scripts/postprocess.py output-raw.png output-final.png --mode imprint --intensity 0.7

# For legacy luminous targets:
python3 scripts/postprocess.py output-raw.png output-final.png --mode nous --intensity 0.5

The raw generated image is never the final deliverable.

API Workflow Notes

What Is NOT On-Brand

Avoid these common anti-patterns:

For a complete list of known failure modes and mitigations, see references/pitfalls.md.

Brand Compliance Checklist

• Background is near-black (#00000E) or very dark
• Electric blue (#3847FF) is used as primary accent
• At least one grunge texture visibly applied (grain, noise, scan lines, paper, ink)
• High contrast — dramatic light/dark difference
• Palette is restricted to the specified colors
• If mascot appears: white headphones, manga style, neutral attentive expression, three-quarter profile
• If text appears: heavy distressed display for titles, clean sans for labels, monospace for code
• No flat/clean/corporate polish — finish is raw and tactile
• Overall impression: intellectual, gritty, underground research lab