Brand in practice

This section covers how the brand should appear across every surface where PostHog shows up.

Website (posthog.com)

The website is our primary brand expression. It gets the most scrutiny and sets the expectation for everything else.

Design principles for web

• Art accentuates content; it doesn't distract from it. Content always comes first.
• Smooth drop shadows on cards and contained elements. Pops of color where appropriate.
• Typography hierarchy is deliberate and readable at every viewport.

Copy principles for web

• Lead with the specific. Don't open pages with a mission statement.
• Short paragraphs. Developers scan.
• No walls of text. Break with subheads, illustrations, or white space. Ideally a paragraph doesn't contain more lines than the number of fingers on your hand.
• Every page should have one clear next action.

Product UI

Product UI has a different purpose than the website or other surfaces. The design should get out of the way and let them do it, but should still nod to being part of PostHog in tasteful ways.

Principles

• Clarity > cleverness. Clear empty states, error messages, and loading states.
• Typography: Open Runde for titles and buttons; system font for body in product.
• Icons: Central Icon System (outlined vector icons, 1.5px border).
• Don't use Squeak in product UI – it's a marketing/hedgehog-context font only.
• Use our icon and color systems consistently; don't introduce new visual elements without design review.

Product writing

Every label, button, tooltip, placeholder, and error message is brand. Write them like a human being, not a system log.

• Empty states: tell users what to do next, not just that there's no data.
• Error messages: explain what happened and what the user can do about it.
• Confirmation dialogs: be specific about what will be deleted/changed.

Documentation

Docs are often the first deep experience someone has with PostHog. They need to be accurate and clear above all else, but that doesn't mean they have to be cold.

Principles

• Use second person ("you").
• Write for someone trying to accomplish a task, not trying to understand a concept in the abstract. Making something tangible helps the reader understand how it applies to their use case.
• Code examples should be real, and should be context-aware. For example, if the visitor changed the language of a code snippet, we should infer that's the language they're interested in on other pages.
• When something is limited or has a gotcha, say so. Developers will find it anyway. Don't downplay flaws or product gaps. It creates trust when we're honest. This is why each product page has a section that covers reasons a user might not be a good fit to use a PostHog product.
• Small personality touches are welcome in introductions and notes – not in the middle of an instruction.

Blog, newsletters & social media

Every blog post should make an argument. Not "here are some thoughts about X." An actual point of view.

Social media channels can be more casual and reactive than the website, but they should never feel like a corporate account posting congratulatory content or generic "tips."

Marketing emails

Same voice as the website, but can be slightly more casual.

Presentations

PostHog uses Figma Slides for polished presentations. See the communication guidelines for more.

When designing a deck

• Fewer words per slide. One idea per slide.
• Don't use slide templates that look like every other B2B SaaS deck.
• Use the templates supplied by the Graphics Team. Use of the Squeak font is fine for punchy visual moments.
• PostHog color palette throughout.
• Hedgehogs can appear – use the art library.

Informal decks (internal, demos)

These have more flexibility. Speed > perfection. Use the existing templates and don't spend hours on formatting.

Our board meeting deck still uses a title slide with branding circa 2021, but it (sort of) intentionally shows we put our focus in the right places, not in making pretty decks for people who already believe in us.

Events & conference booths

Events are a high-density brand moment where first impressions form in seconds. Booth design, event-specific assets, and staffing guidance live in the Marketing events handbook.

Print materials

Print requires additional consideration because you can't iterate after it's shipped.

General rules for print

• Export at 300 DPI minimum for anything that will be physically produced.
• CMYK color profile for print. (Note: our brand colors are defined in RGB/hex. Confirm CMYK equivalents with the design team before going to print.)
• Bleed and safe zones: Use standard 3mm bleed. Keep critical content at least 5mm inside the trim line.
• SVG logos always preferred as source; export as PDF for print vendor.

Materials that commonly need to be produced

• Posters: Think billboard-first. One message. One big visual.
• Brochures: Rare. If needed, follow the website's editorial style and make it look handcrafted, not template-y.
• We've traditionally avoided sell sheets or business cards, but work with the Graphics Team if you need something specific.

Approval:

All print materials should be reviewed by in #design-review before going to print. Mistakes in print are expensive. Submit a request early.

Merch & swag

Merch is brand in the physical world. It's also one of PostHog's most effective developer marketing tools. That means merch has to be genuinely good. We put a lot of effort into our merch.

The bar for merch

Would someone who doesn't work at PostHog actually want this? If the honest answer is "probably not," it's not good enough.

Bad merch: cheap pen with a logo, generic t-shirt with a logo on the left chest, tri-blend, etc. If you can order it from a website where all you have to do is upload your logo and submit payment, it's not the right approach for us.

Good merch: great hoodie people actually wear, thoughtful sticker set, item that's interesting in its own right and happens to be branded.

We work with MicroMerch for both merch development and fulfillment. Orders submitted through our headless Shopify store are routed to them.

Design principles for merch

• The hedgehog earns his spot on merch – he's one of the most recognizable things we have.
• Hard drop shadow aesthetic on graphic elements.
• Limited palette. Don't print 8 colors when 3 work.
• Quality over quantity. One great item beats five mediocre ones.

Logo placement on merch

• Embroidered chest logo: use the logomark only (not full wordmark) for embroidery. The hedgehog logomark embroiders cleanly; the wordmark can get muddy at small sizes.
• Screen printing: full logo or logomark work. Use high-contrast colorways.
• Sublimation/all-over print: can use full illustrations. Requires design team involvement.

Giving away merch

PostHog has a deliberate strategy of giving merch to people who say nice things about us publicly. This creates genuine brand advocates. See our merch guidelines for how to do this well.

YouTube & video

Video is a growing PostHog channel. While the video handbook covers our overall approach, we also have specific guidance on thumbnails, which are easy to overlook and do an average job at:

• Bold, readable at small sizes
• PostHog color palette
• Illustrated elements preferred over headshot-only
• Squeak works well for punchy text overlays
• Hard drop shadow on graphic elements