# Karkade Guidelines

> Egyptian hibiscus skincare: one serum, steeped cold the way karkade is made in Cairo.

Source: https://plumage.studio/work/karkade
Last updated: 2026-11-10

Brand and website designed by Plumage. Part of [Our work](https://plumage.studio/work) by [Plumage](https://plumage.studio).

Tagline: "Hibiscus serum, steeped slow."

## Introduction

Karkade is a skincare brand built on one Egyptian ritual. In Cairo, karkade is dried hibiscus steeped until the water turns crimson, drunk cold in summer and hot in winter. Karkade keeps the steep and leaves out the sugar: a light hibiscus serum, one step, morning or night.

The name is the logo. It is lettered the way a Cairo sign painter letters a shopfront: tall capitals cut with a reed pen, stacked KAR, KA, DE so it stands like a sign by a door. The seal is the same K, reversed out of a crimson disc, for caps, stickers and the favicon.

Karkade crimson on cream carries everything, with wine for depth. The brand should feel like a shop on a sunny Cairo street: warm, unhurried and specific, never pharaonic, never gold.

## Marks

The stack is the logo: KAR, KA, DE, every line the same width. Use it alone wherever there is height, on the carton, the bottle, the sign. Add the seal above it for the shop wall and the front of the bag. Use the seal alone where the space is small or round: the cap, the sticker, the favicon, the profile picture. The stack needs 64 px of height; below that, the seal carries the brand. Never retype, restack or spread the letters into one line.

## Colour

- **Cream** #F6ECE4: The ground: cartons, labels, the shop’s plaster, pages.
- **Crimson** #7E0C22: Karkade crimson, the colour of the steep: the logo, headlines, the bag.
- **Wine** #3A0711: The deepest steep: body text, reversed grounds, dark packaging.
- **Sand** #E2D0BC: Terrazzo and uncoated board: panels, shelves, image mats.
- **Shutter** #3E5A48: The green of old Cairo shutters and the hibiscus leaf: one small accent per surface.
- **Calyx** #C2475A: Light through a glass of karkade: tints and the serum’s colour on screen. Never text.

## Type

- **Instrument Sans**: Headlines, text and labels, as on the website: medium 500 at 22 px for the headline, regular 400 for text, capitals at 13 px with open spacing for buttons. Plain and warm, it lets the lettered name be the only voice with character. By Rodrigo Fuenzalida and Jordan Egstad, SIL Open Font License 1.1, on Google Fonts; about 30 KB a weight as WOFF2 (Latin).
- **Newsreader**: The journal, the ritual on the back of the carton and pull quotes, often in italic. By Production Type, SIL Open Font License 1.1, on Google Fonts; about 45 KB a style as WOFF2 (Latin).

## Voice

Karkade speaks like the person behind the counter of a good Cairo shop: warm, unhurried and sure of what they make.

It describes the ritual and the ingredient plainly, and lets the colour do the persuading. It never promises miracles or results it hasn’t measured.

## On the page

Foundation, Marks, Colour, Type, Voice, Applications, Exports. The logo files, colours and fonts can be downloaded from the page's Exports section.

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