# Case-study recipe

**Read first:** `brand/magic_trick.md`, `brand/verbal/voice-and-tone.md` (case-study tone), `brand/visual/art-direction.md` (presenting client work).
**Model:** the MFO and Armor Bands case studies on meddle.studio (`~/Sites/meddle/_work/`).

## Structure

The site's case-study layout expects these sections in this order:

1. **Tagline** (one line, the before/after in a sentence): "MFO had the reputation. Now they have the brand to match." / "An ostomy isn't the end. It's a beginning."
2. **Overview:** who the client is, stated with specifics (who they serve, how they grew). End on the gap: "the gap between the quality of the work and the quality of the brand had become a liability."
3. **Challenge:** what was holding them back. Name the old brand's problems plainly and specifically, and without mocking the client.
4. **Strategy:** the positioning, and **the core insight** in a sentence or two. This is where the reframe goes ("The category sells management. Armor Bands sells reclamation."). Add a client pull-quote if you have a real one.
5. **Identity:** an intro line, then sub-sections (The Mark, Typography, Color, Photography, Voice, and any applications). For each: what we did, and **why it serves the strategy**.
6. **Website:** how the system comes together, and the practical win (e.g. "Built on Shopify so the family can run it themselves").
7. **Result:** a real, specific outcome. Never invent or round up.
8. **Quote:** a client testimonial, verbatim, with name and title.
9. **Thanks and credits:** name the client team, roles, and typefaces with foundry links.

## Voice rules for case studies

- Be **generous to the client.** They're the hero, and Meddle is the partner who sharpened what they built. "We didn't tear down what was already there. We sharpened it."
- **One reframe per section,** at most. Each section should hold one memorable line.
- **Humility about craft earns trust:** "Sometimes the best identity work is knowing what not to touch."
- **Explain each design choice in business terms:** "Black grounds the brand in seriousness. White creates the space the product photography needs. Orange does one job, and it does it loudly."
- Body copy is set large (21.6–32px), so keep paragraphs to 2–4 sentences.
- Use first-person plural ("we"). Refer to the client by name, and to the founder by first name after the first mention.

## Visual rules

- Hero: a full-screen muted video loop of the work, with landscape and portrait cuts and a poster frame.
- Images at 16:9 (landscape) and 5:6 (portrait), in portrait-landscape stacks for identity details.
- Show the work in real contexts: billboard, signage, business card, devices.
- Light theme for the body sections, dark for the closing quote.

## Front matter (meddle.studio)

Copy the shape of `~/Sites/meddle/_work/mfo.md`: `title`, `description` (≤160 chars, includes "by Meddle"), `client`, `tagline`, `industry`, `result_summary`, `services`, `card_video`, `hero_video`, `sections.{overview,challenge,strategy,identity,website}`, `quote`, `thanks`, `credits`.