Creative Gadgets Store · Multi-Market Brand System

Design Guidelines

A unified visual language for groov.store, groov.nz, and groov.hk — anchored in Futura geometry, bold restraint, and the energy of creative technology.

Version 1.0 March 2026 TH · NZ · HK
01

Brand Foundation

GROOV is the curator of creative technology across South-East Asia and the Pacific. The brand sits at the intersection of music culture, design craft, and intelligent gadgetry — always informed, never loud.

Curator, Not Retailer

GROOV hand-picks instruments, tools, and devices that share a design philosophy. Every product earns its place. The brand voice inherits this selectivity — confident, purposeful, never promotional.

Creative Energy

The audience makes things — music, art, code, spaces. GROOV speaks peer-to-peer, not store-to-customer. Product copy is technical and specific. Hero copy is evocative and minimal.

Geometric Precision

Inspired by Teenage Engineering's industrial clarity and Futura's geometric authority. Design is structural — grids are honest, white space is generous, and every element has a reason to exist.

Regional Markets

Consistent brand identity, locally calibrated tone. Each storefront adapts currency, language cadence, and relevant product focus without diverging from the core visual system.

Flagship Market

Thailand groov.store

Broadest catalogue — Music, Smart Home, Crypto, Creative Tools
Bilingual content: English primary, Thai product descriptions
Warm tone; community & loyalty programmes prominent
Currency: THB (฿) — display without decimal
Local promo banners & delivery messaging in Thai

Pacific Market

New Zealand groov.nz

Music-forward catalogue; deep Teenage Engineering focus
Extended services: EV rentals, Starlink, Podcast production
Candid, direct tone — less formal, more specialist-shop
Currency: NZD ($) — display with two decimals
"In Stock Now" urgency a key navigation element

Asia Market

Hong Kong groov.hk

Tighter SKU focus: TE, Spectrasonics, Bjooks, Pimax, Astropad
USD pricing for regional accessibility
Clean, minimal layout — fewer collections, faster navigation
Estimated delivery dates prominent on product cards
Cultural notes: CN New Year closures communicated proactively
03

Typography

Two typefaces. One geometric, one humanist. Futura for all display and heading contexts. DM Sans for body copy. DM Mono for labels, specs, prices, and UI metadata.

Display / Heading — Futura

A B C D
E F G H

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
0123456789 !? .,:;

Preferred: Futura PT / Futura Now

Fallback: Century Gothic → DM Mono

Body / Interface — DM Sans + DM Mono

The creative gadgets store for makers, musicians, and forward-thinking technologists.

SKU: TE-OP1F · In Stock · Processing: 3–10 Days · Free TH Shipping ฿15,000+

Hero / H1 EP-40 Riddim Futura Bold · 48–96px · Uppercase · LS -0.02em
Section / H2 Music & Audio Futura Bold · 28–40px · Uppercase · LS -0.01em
Card Title / H3 Teenage Engineering OP-XY Futura Bold · 14–20px · Uppercase · LS +0.05em
Body A powerful sequencer, synthesizer, and sampler. DM Sans Regular · 14–16px · Sentence case
Caption / Meta Available · Processing: 3–10 Business Days DM Mono Regular · 11–12px · Sentence case
Label / Tag New In · Teenage Engineering DM Mono Regular · 9–11px · Uppercase · LS +0.25em
04

Colour System

A dark-first palette rooted in off-blacks and warm whites, elevated by three accent colours drawn from the products GROOV sells. Yellow is primary action. Orange signals energy and scarcity. Teal signals availability and calm.

Pitch #0A0A0A Page Background
Dark #111111 Card Background
Mid Grey #4A4A4A Disabled / Muted
Light Grey #C8C6BF Body Text
Off White #F5F4F0 Primary Text
White #FFFFFF High-contrast Use
Groov Yellow #E8D44D Primary CTA / Active
Groov Orange #E85D2F Energy / Scarcity / Sale
Groov Teal #2FBFAD Available / Confirm
Campaign Yellow → Orange Hero Banner Gradient
Depth Pitch → Dark Teal Hero Background
Rule / Border #2A2A2A Dividers / Borders

Yellow — Use For

  • → Primary CTA buttons
  • → Active navigation states
  • → "New In" badges
  • → Accent highlights
  • → Logo on dark backgrounds

Orange — Use For

  • → Sale / discount flags
  • → Limited stock alerts
  • → Urgency CTAs
  • → Campaign hero sections
  • → Error states

Teal — Use For

  • → "In Stock" availability
  • → Confirmation messages
  • → NZ regional accent
  • → Progress indicators
  • → Success states
05

Components

All UI components follow a flat, structural aesthetic with sharp corners (no border-radius unless explicitly stated), 1px borders, and generous padding. Interactive states use colour and position shifts, not shadows.

Button System

Shop Now Add to Cart View All Limited — Order Now In Stock

Primary

Yellow on Black. Main purchase CTAs only.

Secondary

White outline. Add to cart, secondary actions.

Ghost

Dark rule border. Navigation, pagination.

Urgent

Orange fill. Scarcity, limited editions, sales.

Available

Teal fill. Confirm availability, in-stock state.

Product Card

TE
New In

Teenage Engineering

EP-40 Riddim n' Ting

฿12,990 ฿13,490
RB

Ray-Ban × Meta

Wayfarer Gen 2

฿20,900
PM
42% Off

Pimax

Crystal Super VR Headset

$1,787 $3,080

Spacing Scale

4px
xs — Icon gap, tight inline spacing
8px
sm — Badge padding, label gap
16px
md — Card internal padding baseline
24px
lg — Button padding, nav item gap
40px
xl — Section side padding, card padding
64px
2xl — Section header margin
100px
3xl — Section vertical padding

Design Do & Don't

✓ Do

Use Futura all-caps for all headings

Headings at every level (H1–H3) should use Futura Bold, uppercase, with tight or negative letter spacing. This preserves the industrial, geometric character of the brand.

✗ Don't

Mix rounded and sharp aesthetics

Do not combine border-radius cards with square-corner buttons in the same component cluster. The GROOV system is consistently square and structural. Rounded corners are reserved for avatar images and pills only.

✓ Do

Let product imagery lead on dark backgrounds

Product shots on #111111 or #0A0A0A let the objects pop naturally. Avoid white or light card backgrounds except where a product is primarily black/dark.

✗ Don't

Use yellow on white or light backgrounds

Groov Yellow (#E8D44D) fails WCAG contrast ratios against white backgrounds. It is designed exclusively for use on dark (#111 or darker) backgrounds. On light backgrounds, use black or dark grey instead.

✓ Do

Use 2px gaps between grid cells as visual structure

The 2px gap between product cards and section blocks serves as a visual rule line — a structural element of the design system inspired by industrial catalogues and hardware UI.

✗ Don't

Inflate product copy with marketing language

GROOV's audience is technically literate. Avoid hyperbolic phrases like "revolutionary" or "game-changing." Instead, lead with specifications and genuine functionality.

06

Voice & Tone

GROOV writes like a knowledgeable friend who happens to run the best gear shop in town. Confident without being boastful. Technical without being alienating. All product descriptions use sentence case (not title case). All UI labels use uppercase.

✓ Approved Tone

"EP-40 riddim n' ting — a powerful sampler built for dub, dancehall, and live performance."

Specific. Technical. Lowercase where Teenage Engineering uses it. Mirrors how the creator community talks.

✗ Avoid

"Introducing The Revolutionary EP-40! Experience The Future Of Music Today!"

Title case inflation, exclamation abuse, vague superlatives — all undermine GROOV's credibility as a specialist store.

✓ Approved Tone

"Only 3 left. Processing time: 3–10 business days."

Honest, direct scarcity. No artificial urgency language. Customers trust factual stock information.

✗ Avoid

"HURRY! Selling Fast! Order Before It's Gone!"

Manufactured urgency damages trust with a technically sophisticated audience. Let real scarcity speak.

✓ CTA Language

"Shop Now" · "Order Now" · "In Stock Now" · "See More" · "Buy Now"

Short, declarative. Verb + adverb. No question marks, no ellipsis. Reflects confidence in the product.

✗ CTA to Avoid

"Click Here To Find Out More!" · "Don't Miss Out..." · "Learn More About This Amazing Product"

Indirect, passive CTAs reduce click-through and conflict with the GROOV directness principle.

Sentence Case — Always

Product names follow the brand's own casing. Teenage Engineering uses all-lowercase — follow it. Other brand names use their official casing. GROOV's own UI labels are always uppercase.

Numbers & Specs

Always use numerals (not words) for measurements, prices, and quantities. Use en-dashes for ranges: "3–10 business days." Write THB prices without decimals. NZD/USD with two decimals.

Emoji Policy

Use sparingly and only in announcement banners (📢) and shipping notices (🚚). Never in product titles, headings, or CTA buttons. Maximum one emoji per banner message.

07

Photography & Imagery

GROOV imagery respects the products being sold. Product shots are clean, dark-background preferred. Lifestyle imagery shows real-world creative use. No stock-photo aesthetics — all visuals should feel considered and editorial.

Product Photography

  • → Dark or neutral grey background preferred
  • → Clean, well-lit, no visible shadows
  • → Square crop (1:1) for all grid thumbnails
  • → Multiple angles on product detail pages
  • → Context shots (in-use) as secondary images
  • → Minimum 800×800px for thumbnails
  • → 2000px+ for hero / full-width use

Hero / Banner Imagery

  • → 3:1 ratio (desktop) or full-bleed vertical
  • → High contrast — text must be legible
  • → Brand imagery takes priority over lifestyle
  • → Overlay gradient where text sits (left-side)
  • → Product on right, copy on left
  • → Paired hero images: large + small thumbnail
  • → Animation: subtle fade or Ken Burns only

What To Avoid

  • ✗ Bright white or pure white backgrounds
  • ✗ Heavy drop shadows on product images
  • ✗ Over-saturated lifestyle photography
  • ✗ Stock photography with generic models
  • ✗ Text-heavy graphics or promotional flyers
  • ✗ Low-resolution images in any placement
  • ✗ Inconsistent crop ratios within a collection