Zhang Lu.
C-SUITE · BRAND
C-suite mark

Three arcs, one dot, one seal

The mark for the C-suite decision agents. A cinnabar seal frames three arcs that compose a C, encircling a single ink dot at the center. It compresses the product's three tenets into one figure: decisions must be sealed and archived, deliberation must be independent yet form one body, and the final call is made by a human.

Design rationale

① One seal — the ultimate act of deciding

The site's accent color #b14b3a is cinnabar to begin with — the color of traditional seal ink. And "stamping a seal" is precisely the ultimate act of deciding in the Chinese idiom: to make the call, apply the seal, take effect. One of this product's core claims is versioned freezing — each verdict generates an immutable snapshot for later verification. A seal naturally carries this meaning: once stamped, it is an unalterable version. The outer frame takes the rounded square of a seal; relief cut (outlined) as the primary form, intaglio (fully filled, reversed) as the reversed form — corresponding exactly to the two carving methods of seal engraving.

② Three arcs composing a C — three seats, independent yet deliberating

The C of C-suite is formed by three broken arc segments: the three arcs correspond to three seats — Boss (CEO), MBA Brand (CMO), OAF (CFO); the arcs are broken because the judges score independently and never see one another (no comparing notes before deliberation is a hard rule of this methodology); together they read as one C — deliberating into one body, one skeleton. The C opens to the right at an 80° gap — an open judgment, not a closed loop of self-justification.

③ One ink dot at the center — the anchor, the human in the loop

At the center sits a single ink-colored dot — the only element in the whole figure that is not cinnabar. It is the anchor: the person who ultimately presses the button. The machine (the cinnabar pipeline) revolves around the human (the ink dot), not replacing the human's final call. Visually it also gives the C a "point of view," making the whole mark faintly resemble an eye — scrutinizing, reviewing.

Structure

  • Seal frame: 120 × 120, corner radius 24, stroke 7
  • Arc circle: center (60, 60), radius 30, stroke 9, round caps
  • Three arcs: 85.3° each, 12° gap between segments
  • C opening: to the right, 80° gap
  • Center dot: radius 6.5, ink color (the only one in the figure)

Variants

Primary relief cut
Primary · relief cut
Light backgrounds
Intaglio reversed
Intaglio · reversed
Heavy color blocks
Intaglio on a dark background
Dark background
Always use intaglio
Monochrome ink version
Monochrome · ink
Black-and-white / grayscale
Horizontal lockup
Horizontal lockup · mark + wordmark + "Designed for AI-native organizations"

Color

Shares one palette with the whole of zhanglu.net; the logo introduces no new colors.

Cinnabar
#b14b3a
Seal ink / pipeline / machine
Ink
#1a1a1a
Anchor / human / body text
Paper
#fafaf7
Background
Paper II
#f3f1ea
Light blocks
Rule
#d9d6cd
Dividers

Usage guidelines

  • Minimum size: mark short edge ≥ 20px (the center dot still legible); lockup width ≥ 180px
  • Clear space: at least 1/6 of the mark's width on all sides (about one center-dot diameter)
  • ❌ Do not change the colors — only cinnabar / ink / reversed are allowed
  • ❌ Do not split the three arc segments and use them separately
  • ❌ Do not remove the central ink dot
  • ❌ Do not add shadows, gradients, or outline effects
  • ❌ Do not tilt or distort it
  • ❌ Always use the intaglio version on dark backgrounds

Downloads

All hand-written SVG, no raster dependencies. Design doc in the repo at docs/brand/c-suite-logo.md.

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