• Considered. Measured, precise, argument-first — this is a research club; claims are earned.
• Accessible. Formal does not mean opaque. Unpack policy/economy plainly; invite, don't gatekeep.
• Rooted. Comfortable with Indian references, Sanskrit motto, the Chanakya lineage — worn with confidence, not explained apologetically.
• Warm at the edges. Programming like Charcha is genuinely inviting ("casual conversation with a purpose of self-elevation"); the club is serious about ideas and easy about people.

DO lead with the idea/the substance; make policy legible. DON'T use hype, buzzwords, or debate-bro combativeness. SHOW on: "Exchange perspectives on the policy shifts shaping India — and leave with sharper questions than you came with." / off: "Join the BEST policy club on campus!!"

Formality 3–4 of 5 — academic-professional, but readable. Longer, structured sentences are fine for substance; keep invitations and social copy lighter and warmer.

DON'T slip into either corporate throat-clearing or chatty filler.

• Students: energising, welcoming, "you belong here and your thinking will grow."
• Faculty / policymakers: substantive, credible, institutional — ASU, research, rigour.
• Public / social: curious and inviting, leading with a real question or idea.

न चौरहार्यं न च राजहार्यं — "Neither a thief nor a king can steal knowledge." A Sanskrit subhashita carried in the identity; set in Anek Devanagari. Use as a signature line, not a tagline substitute.

DO present the motto with its translation when the audience may not read Devanagari. DON'T paraphrase or truncate it.

The core device is the barred E: three horizontal bars, rendered monochrome (black or white), with a single centred dot — Chanakya's tilak, in Tilak Orange (the one accent). It is the recurring signature: it lives in the wordmark and can be lifted as a motif (rules, dividers, the symbol).

DO use the barred E / tilak as the recurring signature element; keep it mono with the orange dot. DON'T redraw it, recolour the tilak, colour the bars (no tricolour), or swap it for a generic dot or asterisk.

A stylised Chanakya portrait (see the concept collateral) is the brand's narrative image — the tilak on his forehead ties directly to the dot in the mark. Use it as an occasional hero / story image in formal contexts, not as everyday decoration.

DON'T overuse the portrait; keep it exclusive to important, on-narrative moments.

The identity leans slightly vintage and formal — considered grounds, a scholarly weight, restrained, monochrome execution with the tilak as the single spark. Recent event work (2025–26) modernises this; keep the balance between heritage gravitas and a clean, current campus look.

Left-aligned, disciplined, few elements. Space Odyssey headlines carry impact; Instrument Sans carries the reading. Black-and-white foundation; let the tilak orange accent one thing at a time.

DON'T overload a layout, or reach for colour beyond the single orange spark.

PIERA — the India Policy & Economy Research Club at Arizona State University® — exists to foster critical thinking, insightful discussion and active engagement with the economic and governmental systems of Bharat. It gives students a platform to sharpen argument, deepen their understanding of policy and economy, practise civic engagement, build a diverse community, and grow professional and leadership skills.

DO frame PIERA as a place to think rigorously about India's policy and economy — not a cultural club and not a debate team. DON'T reduce it to "an Indian students' club"; the subject is policy and economy.

PIERA sits with the serious campus policy societies (its early reference was SIPEC, Stanford's equivalent) — scholarly, formal, credible — while staying student-run and welcoming. It is academic in weight but not stuffy: the door is open, the conversation is real.

DO carry institutional credibility (ASU, research, policy) and warmth together. DON'T drift either way — neither a dry think-tank nor a casual social club.

The identity is anchored in Chanakya — the ancient Indian strategist, economist and author of the Arthashastra, the classical treatise on statecraft and economy. The single dot in the barred E is his tilak. It is why the brand reads formal, considered, a little vintage: it claims a long intellectual lineage of Indian thought on policy and economy, brought to a modern campus. The motto — न चौरहार्यं न च राजहार्यं ("neither a thief nor a king can steal knowledge") — sits in the same lineage.

DO let the Chanakya/Arthashastra lineage justify the formal, scholarly tone and the tilak motif. DON'T turn it into costume — no clip-art, no over-literal "ancient India" pastiche.

Primary: ASU students interested in policy, economy and research — especially India's. Secondary: faculty, policymakers, researchers and industry professionals in related fields.

DO shift register by audience — energising and accessible for students, credible and substantive for faculty/policymakers. DON'T write one flat "members" voice.

Scholarly, formal, considered — with a modern, confident edge. Rooted (India, Chanakya, the tilak) and forward-looking (a student club shaping how the next generation thinks about policy). Serious about ideas, welcoming to people.

DON'T sound corporate, gimmicky, or casually meme-y; the gravitas is the point.

Documented applications include standees and banners, table cloths, event backdrops, stationery and "on paper" collateral, merchandise (stoles, keychains), social media, and the website (piera.org). Bilingual (Latin + Devanagari) banners appear — set Devanagari in Anek.

DO carry the system through: left-aligned type, Space Odyssey + Instrument Sans, monochrome foundation, tilak orange as the single spark. DON'T introduce off-system layouts, colours, or type on any surface.

PIERA's programming (the Launch Event, Policy Symposium, Charcha) is a major surface. Event chrome leans on Space Odyssey display and can go bold with scale, the barred-E motif and the Chanakya portrait. NOTE: individual events/sub-programs may have their own lockups — see logo → sub-brand-lockups (not_defined) before treating any event mark as authored.

Website + social. Use Inter for UI/web body, Instrument Sans for editorial, Space Odyssey for headlines. Social avatars use the symbol; keep the tilak legible at small sizes.