Convictional

Imagery

Visual principles

These five principles define our visual language across all media. They describe what our imagery feels like, the DNA that makes something look like Convictional.

Formal composition, human warmth. Centered framing. Symmetry. Visual precision. Every element in frame is intentional, but in service of something deeply felt, never sterile. Think: the care someone puts into arranging their desk, not the perfection of a showroom. The rigor is there because we care, not because we're performing control.

Deadpan sincerity. We treat everyday subjects with documentary seriousness. A spreadsheet cell is photographed with the same compositional care as a portrait. The humor comes from recognition ("oh, that's exactly what happens") never from winking or performing. We don't stage absurdity. We observe it with a straight face.

Observational stillness. Space to breathe. Not frenetic. Not urgent. Confident enough to let a moment land. Our imagery doesn't rush the viewer. It trusts that if the composition is right and the moment is true, the viewer will stay. A single held frame is more powerful than a dozen fast cuts.

Tactile and handcrafted. Painterly textures. Imperfect lines. Real materials. Not slick motion graphics or polished CGI. When we illustrate, it looks like a person made it. When we photograph, you can feel the light. The warmth is physical, not filtered. Our imagery looks like people made it because people did. The slightly imperfect, the hand-touched, the visibly intentional carries a weight that perfection cannot. This isn't nostalgia. It's proof of life.

Warm palette. Warm creams, soft naturals, nothing cold or clinical. Our imagery aligns with the product's stone-neutral color system. Blue appears as accent (action, emphasis) not as atmosphere. The world we photograph looks lived-in, not rendered.

Photography

What it feels like: Present. Unstaged. Warm. People doing real work in real light. Not stock photography; not people pointing at whiteboards with implausible enthusiasm.

Composition: Centered, balanced, considered. Every element in frame is intentional. We favor symmetry and wide shots that establish a sense of place. Close-ups are reserved for details that reveal character: a hand on a keyboard, a coffee cup at a specific angle.

Light: Natural or naturalistic. Warm tones. Window light. Nothing lit like a car commercial.

What to avoid:

  • Corporate stock photography (forced smiles, staged diversity, glass conference rooms)
  • Overly polished lifestyle shots (the "we're a cool startup" aesthetic)
  • Gradient-blob SaaS imagery (abstract colored shapes pretending to mean something)
  • Cold, clinical environments (all-white rooms, sterile lighting)
  • Dutch angles, dramatic filters, heavy post-processing
  • Synthetic imagery that pretends to be photography: perfect faces that never existed, images with no human signature
  • If we use generative tools in our visual process, the output must still bear visible marks of human curation and intention

Illustration

When we illustrate (sparingly), it should feel handcrafted:

  • Painterly textures, not vector-clean shapes
  • Warm materials: pencil, ink, watercolor, not digital airbrush
  • Imperfect lines that show a human hand
  • Warm palette consistent with the brand
  • Purposeful, not decorative; every illustration should clarify or evoke, not just fill space

Video and motion

Editorial typography. Serif titles (Loretta), clean sans-serif supporting text (Inter). Title cards serve as structural devices; they break the video into chapters, not transitions.

Deliberate pacing. Composed, not frenetic. Shots hold long enough to land. Cuts are purposeful. We don't use jump cuts for energy or fast editing to manufacture excitement.

Sound design. Intentional. Slightly unexpected music choices, not the ukulele-and-hand-claps stock track. The sound should make someone pause and listen, not fill dead air.

The test: Would a thoughtful senior leader watch this and think "these people understand something true" rather than "this is clever marketing"?

Iconography

Material Symbols Outlined: the same icon system used in the product. Variable weight and fill settings match the surrounding context. Icons support text; they don't replace it. No custom icon sets, no illustrated icons, no emoji substitutions.

What to avoid across all media

  • Cute or cartoonish anything
  • Winking at the audience (breaking the fourth wall, "aren't we fun" energy)
  • "Viral marketing" aesthetics (trendy meme formats, attention-hacking design)
  • Overly polished motion graphics (the "tech company sizzle reel" look)
  • Generic B2B SaaS aesthetics (gradient blobs, isometric illustrations, floating UI mockups)
  • Forced quirkiness or manufactured personality