# Sigma → Visual Archetype Map

## What Sigma is

Sigma is Mode's **internal working vocabulary** for talking about client types. Nicole and Claude synthesised it from things Nicole finds useful. MBTI, DISC, attachment theory, personal branding patterns, communication archetypes. Stitched into a shorthand that maps onto the kind of clients Mode actually works with.

## What Sigma is NOT

- Psychometrically validated
- Externally peer-reviewed
- A recognised industry framework
- Reliable enough to be a hard filter on decisions without human review
- A substitute for Nicole's taste or real client outcome data

**Treat it as creative shorthand, not scientific taxonomy.** When archetype guidance contradicts a real client signal (their stated preference, actual shipped-work outcomes, direct feedback), the real signal wins.

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**Purpose.** This document translates each Sigma archetype into advisory visual priors. Palette bias, typography, layout rhythm, imagery, motion, density, copy style. So the Web Design agent has a consistent starting point per client, not so it has an unchallenged classification.

**Input.** A Sigma archetype handle (e.g. `QUIET_AUTHORITY`) loaded from `sigma/archetypes/{handle}.json` or from the CRM record linked to a client.

**Output.** An advisory visual decision set. Treat as a starting lens, not a verdict.

**When this doc and evidence disagree, evidence wins.** If a client ratified a build that contradicts their archetype's visual map. The map is wrong for that client, not the build.

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## How to use this

1. Read the client's Sigma handle from their CRM record
2. Look up the handle in the table below
3. Apply those visual priors to every build decision
4. Where a client preference contradicts the archetype (captured in CRM design-preference field), client preference wins. Log the deviation

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## 1. ALPHA_MENTOR

**Communication essence.** Direct challenge, no-excuses, results-led.

| Dimension | Visual direction |
|---|---|
| **Palette bias** | High-contrast dark. Black/charcoal base, single saturated accent (often red, orange, or electric). Avoid pastel, avoid earth tones. |
| **Typography** | Heavy display (Inter Black, Archivo Black, or compressed grotesque). Body in tight grotesque. Avoid serifs entirely. |
| **Layout rhythm** | Full-bleed hero. Dense above fold. Scroll-depth earns reveal. |
| **Imagery** | Person as embodiment. Portraiture, lifestyle, gym/training footage. Desaturated with high-contrast grading. |
| **Motion** | Hard cuts, aggressive entrance, minimal easing. No floating elements. |
| **Density** | High. Walls of text are acceptable if it reads like a challenge. |
| **Copy style** | Command-form headlines. Second-person ("You stopped showing up."). Numbers front-loaded. |
| **Banned** | Serif display, pastel accents, "journey" language, whitespace as luxury. |

## 2. ASCENDED_OPERATOR

**Communication essence.** Quiet authority, systems-over-hype, wealth-through-discipline.

| Dimension | Visual direction |
|---|---|
| **Palette bias** | Restrained. Off-white, deep navy, warm grey. One muted accent (bronze, olive, slate blue). No neons. |
| **Typography** | High-quality grotesque for display (GT America, Söhne, Inter). Serif body text acceptable (Tiempos, Source Serif). |
| **Layout rhythm** | Editorial. Generous whitespace. 12-column grid respected. |
| **Imagery** | Documentary photography of business contexts. Product shots. Frameworks as diagrams, not decoration. |
| **Motion** | Subtle. Fade + small translate. Nothing that reads as trying. |
| **Density** | Medium-low. Let sections breathe. |
| **Copy style** | Third-person or first-person-plural. Specific numbers. No superlatives. |
| **Banned** | Hype colours, stock business imagery, "crush it" energy, emoji in headlines. |

## 3. CREATIVE_PROFESSIONAL

**Communication essence.** Vision-first, taste-driven, authenticity-led.

| Dimension | Visual direction |
|---|---|
| **Palette bias** | Follow the client's portfolio. Monochrome + single signature colour is common. Unusual pairings encouraged (mustard + dusty pink, forest + cream). |
| **Typography** | Custom or distinctive pairings. Display can be serif, mono, or experimental. Never default sans-serif. |
| **Layout rhythm** | Imagery-led. Copy subordinate to visual. Asymmetric grids acceptable. |
| **Imagery** | The work is the hero. Full-bleed portfolio thumbnails. Minimal chrome around imagery. |
| **Motion** | Crafted, intentional. Hover reveals on portfolio items. Scroll-triggered scale or mask reveals. |
| **Density** | Low. Space is the design. |
| **Copy style** | Minimal. Poetic is acceptable. No jargon. |
| **Banned** | ROI language, "solutions," stock corporate imagery, metric badges on hero. |

## 4. CURATOR

**Communication essence.** Trusted filter, generous, list-driven.

| Dimension | Visual direction |
|---|---|
| **Palette bias** | Newsletter/editorial feel. Paper-white or cream base. Single ink accent. Think Substack or The Browser. |
| **Typography** | Serif body. Grotesque display OR classical serif display. Strong hierarchy between display and body. |
| **Layout rhythm** | List-heavy. Clear cards or rows. Scannable at a glance. |
| **Imagery** | Optional. If used, editorial illustration or screenshots. Rarely photography. |
| **Motion** | Minimal. Focus on readability. |
| **Density** | High text density, low visual clutter. |
| **Copy style** | Utilitarian. "The 10 best X." "Everything you need to know about Y." |
| **Banned** | Hero video, chat widgets, aggressive CTAs, gradient backgrounds. |

## 5. GROWTH_ENTREPRENEUR

**Communication essence.** Tactical, transparent, execution-first.

| Dimension | Visual direction |
|---|---|
| **Palette bias** | Product-aesthetic. Clean white or off-white. Accent in saturated tech colour (electric blue, volt, hot pink). Dark mode optional second theme. |
| **Typography** | Inter, GT America, or similar. Mono for code/metrics. Tight letter-spacing on display. |
| **Layout rhythm** | Product-page structure: hero → metrics → features → pricing → testimonials. Pricing visible on-page. |
| **Imagery** | Product screenshots, metric dashboards, real client data. Avoid stock. |
| **Motion** | Micro-interactions on interactive elements. Metric counters animate on scroll. |
| **Density** | Medium-high. Density signals substance to this audience. |
| **Copy style** | Specific numbers. "How we did X." No-BS phrasing. Second-person operator voice. |
| **Banned** | "Journey" language, soft CTAs, hidden pricing, mindset fluff. |

## 6. LOCAL_OPERATOR

**Communication essence.** Practical, local, proof-led.

| Dimension | Visual direction |
|---|---|
| **Palette bias** | Warm, grounded. Earth tones, muted primaries. Brand colour from van livery / signage if it exists. Avoid national-brand polish. |
| **Typography** | Friendly sans-serif. Rounded acceptable (Nunito, Source Sans). Nothing too corporate or too trendy. |
| **Layout rhythm** | Above-fold: service, coverage area, phone number. Everything the audience needs to decide is on the homepage. |
| **Imagery** | Real photos of the business. Van, premises, team, completed jobs. Phone-shot acceptable if authentic. |
| **Motion** | Almost none. This audience is sceptical of "slick." |
| **Density** | Medium. Enough info to convince, not so much it overwhelms. |
| **Copy style** | Specific and local. "Serving [town] since [year]." Direct. |
| **Banned** | Stock images of other trades, national-brand aesthetics, jargon ("ecosystem," "solutions"), hidden phone numbers. |

## 7. MASS_ENTERTAINER

**Communication essence.** High-energy, personality-led, broad appeal.

| Dimension | Visual direction |
|---|---|
| **Palette bias** | Bright, saturated. Match their social-media brand colours. Gradients acceptable. Neon accents. |
| **Typography** | Display that matches their personality. Can be extreme. Body needs to stay readable. |
| **Layout rhythm** | Feed-like. Vertical cards, short scannable sections. Mobile-first aesthetic even on desktop. |
| **Imagery** | Person forward. Big faces. Stills from content. Press clippings or platform logos as proof. |
| **Motion** | Energetic. Parallax, scroll-triggered reveals, auto-playing reels. |
| **Density** | Low per section, but many sections. Page length is fine. |
| **Copy style** | Casual, mirror their on-camera voice. First person. Emoji acceptable. |
| **Banned** | Corporate muted palettes, serif body, enterprise language. |

## 8. PIVOT_OPERATOR

**Communication essence.** Transition narrative, before/after, honest evolution.

| Dimension | Visual direction |
|---|---|
| **Palette bias** | Bridge palette: a nod to their old identity's colour + their new direction. Two-tone narrative across the page. |
| **Typography** | Chosen to signal the new identity, not the old. Should feel like a deliberate departure. |
| **Layout rhythm** | Narrative structure. Past, present, future as three horizontal bands OR three scroll sections. |
| **Imagery** | Before/after pairings. Old work + new work. Honest about the transition. |
| **Motion** | Transition-led. Timeline animations. Scroll-triggered identity reveals. |
| **Density** | Medium. Story needs room. |
| **Copy style** | "From X to Y." Honest about the why. Forward-looking. |
| **Banned** | Dismissing the past, "starting over" framing, desperate language. |

## 9. PROVOCATEUR

**Communication essence.** Tribal, anti-establishment, insider-coded.

| Dimension | Visual direction |
|---|---|
| **Palette bias** | Aggressive or deliberately unrefined. Red, black, high-contrast. OR deliberately anti-design (raw HTML aesthetic). Depends on sub-type. |
| **Typography** | Heavy display. Condensed acceptable. Mono acceptable. Nothing polished. |
| **Layout rhythm** | Deliberately breaks conventions. Oversized type. Unusual asymmetry. |
| **Imagery** | Unfiltered. Screenshots, memes (client-appropriate), press coverage of controversy. |
| **Motion** | Abrupt. Loud. Or none at all. Raw aesthetic. |
| **Density** | Variable. Whatever breaks the corporate expectation. |
| **Copy style** | Insider language. Us-vs-them framing. No hedging. |
| **Banned** | "Trusted by," "industry-leading," corporate testimonials, soft CTAs, professional polish. |

> **High brand risk.** For `maximum` sub-type, escalate to Nicole before any build. Visual decisions at this tier have reputational consequences for Mode.

## 10. QUIET_AUTHORITY

**Communication essence.** Craft-led, understated, results-as-proof.

| Dimension | Visual direction |
|---|---|
| **Palette bias** | Restrained and confident. Off-white or deep ink base. One accent, used sparingly. |
| **Typography** | Serif acceptable for display and body. Or high-quality grotesque. Classical proportions. |
| **Layout rhythm** | Portfolio-first. The work IS the pitch. Minimal chrome around case studies. |
| **Imagery** | Case study hero images. Client outcomes as imagery. Zero stock. |
| **Motion** | Minimal, purposeful. Nothing that competes with the work. |
| **Density** | Low. Let the portfolio breathe. |
| **Copy style** | Understated. "15 years. 200 projects." Testimonials over claims. |
| **Banned** | Aggressive CTAs, hype language, gradient heroes, "journey" copy. |

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## Cross-cutting rules

These apply regardless of archetype:

1. **Brand isolation.** Mode tokens (void, carbon, volt, chalk, Exo) never appear in a client build unless the client independently chose them. Reference `brand/assets/css/brand.css` for Mode-only; client builds use the client's own tokens.

2. **Sigma is internal.** The archetype name, profile, and playbook are never exposed in client-facing copy, comments, or UI. It's our shorthand. Not something we label clients with publicly. If it leaks, that's both a confidentiality issue and an embarrassment, because we're presenting a brainstormed taxonomy as if it were science.

3. **Sub-types refine, they don't override.** An `ALPHA_MENTOR:philosophy_led` and an `ALPHA_MENTOR:embodiment_led` share the same visual baseline but differ in imagery strategy (transformation narrative vs. lifestyle display). Read the sub-type notes in the archetype JSON before building.

4. **Archetype + industry = stronger signal than archetype alone.** A `QUIET_AUTHORITY` physio and a `QUIET_AUTHORITY` B2B consultancy share visual priors but differ in imagery (clinical vs. editorial) and proof (outcomes vs. case studies). Archetype is never the only variable.

5. **Archetype tags are hypotheses, not facts.** Each one should be reviewed against actual shipped work. If a `CREATIVE_PROFESSIONAL` client's site converts best with a `GROWTH_ENTREPRENEUR`-style metric hero, the archetype tag for that client was wrong. Or the archetype's visual priors are wrong. Either way, the real outcome overrides the prior.

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## How to extend this

When a new Sigma archetype is added to `sigma/archetypes/`, add a matching entry here within 24 hours. The Web Design agent will reject builds for clients with an archetype that has no visual map entry, routing to Nicole instead.

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## History

- **2026-04-17 (b)**. Reframed honestly: Sigma repositioned as Mode's internal working vocabulary, not a validated framework. Archetype guidance is advisory, not determinative. Added "what this is / what this is not" header + cross-cutting rule #5 on treating tags as hypotheses overridable by real outcomes.
- **2026-04-17**. Initial version. Mapped all 10 current Sigma archetypes from `sigma/archetypes/*.json` to concrete visual directions.