• C$110

• 18 designs

• 3 designers

Brief de Design Graphique

## Brand Foundation

Before reviewing individual briefs, designers should understand the PMShortcuts brand context.

### About PMShortcuts

PM Shortcuts provides online training courses that teach project managers how to master the tools they use every day — Claude AI, Smartsheet, Jira, Confluence, and more.

The name "PM Shortcuts" reflects our core promise: we help project professionals find the faster, smarter path to tool proficiency. Not cutting corners — finding the direct route to competence so they can focus on higher-value work.

**Target audience:** Junior to intermediate project managers who are self-starters. They're not looking for theory or certifications — they want practical skills they can apply Monday morning.

### Brand Personality

- Professional but approachable
- Modern and forward-thinking
- Efficient / streamlined
- Trustworthy and credible
- Confident without being arrogant

### Color Palette

| Role | Color | Hex | Usage |
|------|-------|-----|-------|
| **Primary** | Navy | #1a365d | Headers, primary text, key CTAs |
| **Accent** | Blue | #3182ce | Links, secondary buttons, accents |
| **Functional** | Green | #38a169 | Success states, positive indicators |
| **Functional** | Amber | #d69e2e | Warnings, attention, highlights |
| **Functional** | Red | #e53e3e | Errors, critical alerts |
| **Background** | Light Gray | #f7fafc | Section backgrounds |
| **Background** | White | #ffffff | Primary backgrounds, cards |

### Design Principles

- **Clean** — Minimal visual clutter, generous whitespace
- **Professional** — Business education aesthetic, not playful or casual
- **Trustworthy** — Modern SaaS look, established brand feel
- **Mobile-first** — All images must work at mobile sizes
- **Fast-loading** — Optimize for web performance

### Brands We Admire

**For atmosphere and restraint:**
- **Linear** (linear.app) — Subtle gradients and abstract motion that feel premium without trying too hard
- **Stripe** — Confident use of color, geometric depth, sophisticated without being cold
- **Anthropic** — Thoughtful, muted, intelligent. Never loud.

**For the "precision tool" feeling:**
- **Arc'teryx** — Technical product imagery that conveys capability through restraint
- **Porsche** — Engineering elegance. Nothing wasted.

**For forward momentum:**
- **McLaren** — Aerodynamic thinking applied to visual design
- **Rapha** — Movement and purpose, premium without flash

---


## Brief: Claude AI Course Card Image

**Asset:** Course Card — Claude AI for Project Managers
**Priority:** High — First course offered, featured prominently on homepage

---

### Context & Placement

Course cards appear in the "Upcoming Courses" section of the homepage, displayed in a horizontal carousel or grid. Each card represents a course focused on a specific tool.

**Card structure:**
- **Image** (this deliverable) — top portion of card
- **Course title:** "Claude AI for Project Managers" — below image
- **Button:** "Join the Waitlist" — bottom of card

The image needs to immediately communicate "this is about Claude/Anthropic" while feeling like part of the PMShortcuts brand system.

---

### Layout Behavior

Course cards use a **fixed aspect ratio** that remains consistent across all breakpoints. The cards themselves scale down on smaller screens, but the image proportions stay the same.

| Breakpoint | Card Width | Image Display Height | Behavior |
|------------|------------|---------------------|----------|
| Desktop | 320–400px | ~200–250px | Cards in row/carousel |
| Tablet | 280–320px | ~175–200px | 2-3 cards visible |
| Mobile | 260–300px | ~160–185px | 1-2 cards visible, swipeable |

**Aspect ratio:** 16:10 (1.6:1) — maintains consistency across the course card system

---

### Dimensions & Format

| Deliverable | Asset Dimensions | Display Context | Format |
|-------------|------------------|-----------------|--------|
| Primary | 800 × 500px | Scaled to card width | SVG (preferred) or WebP |
| Retina | 800 × 500px | 2x for crisp rendering | SVG scales naturally |
| Source file | Native resolution | — | Figma, AI, or PSD |

**Why SVG preferred:** Course cards benefit from crisp rendering at any scale, and SVG keeps file sizes minimal. If the design requires raster effects (gradients with noise, textures), WebP is acceptable.

**File size target:** Under 50KB

---

### Brand Integration Challenge

This card must serve two masters:

1. **Anthropic/Claude brand recognition** — Visitors should instantly recognize this is about Claude
2. **PMShortcuts brand cohesion** — It shouldn't look like we just copied Anthropic's marketing materials

**The goal:** Honor Claude's visual identity while making it clear this is *PMShortcuts' course about Claude*, not Anthropic's own content.

---

### Anthropic/Claude Brand Elements

**Required assets:**

| Element | Description | Usage |
|---------|-------------|-------|
| Claude logo (sunburst) | Orange/coral radial sunburst icon | Primary Claude identifier — must include |
| Anthropic wordmark | "anthropic" in lowercase | Include for brand clarity |

**Anthropic's color palette:**

| Color | Hex | Usage |
|-------|-----|-------|
| Claude Orange/Coral | #E07A5F or similar | Primary brand color, the sunburst |
| Cream/Warm White | #FAF5EB | Background they commonly use |
| Warm Tan | #D4A574 | Accent, earthy warmth |
| Soft Black | #1a1a1a | Text |

**Brand personality:** Anthropic's visual identity emphasizes warmth, thoughtfulness, and approachability. It deliberately avoids cold "tech" aesthetics. Their palette feels organic and human compared to typical AI companies.

---

### Visual Direction

**Primary concept: Claude's identity, PMShortcuts' purpose**

The card should feel like a natural bridge — Anthropic's warmth meeting PMShortcuts' precision. A PM seeing this card should think: "Oh, this is how I learn Claude for my actual work."

**Logo requirements:**
- Use the **Claude sunburst logo + Anthropic wordmark**
- This establishes the pattern for all course cards (logo + wordmark)

**Approaches to explore:**

1. **Logo-centric with environmental context**
- Claude sunburst logo + Anthropic wordmark as the anchor elements
- Surrounded by subtle abstract elements suggesting workflow, productivity, or project management context
- Anthropic cream background with PMShortcuts navy or blue accents at edges/borders

2. **Split or gradient blend**
- Anthropic's warm palette transitioning into PMShortcuts' navy/blue
- Logo + wordmark positioned where the palettes meet
- Suggests "Claude in the PMShortcuts ecosystem"

3. **Contained badge approach**
- Claude logo + wordmark presented in a "badge" or "stamp" style
- PMShortcuts frame/border containing Anthropic's visual identity
- Clear parent-child relationship: PMShortcuts course *about* Claude

**Hierarchy guidance:**
- Claude sunburst logo should be the dominant visual element (instant recognition)
- Anthropic wordmark supports the logo
- PMShortcuts brand presence should be subtle — through framing, accents, or composition rather than competing logos
- Course title appears *below* the image in the card UI, so don't include text in the image itself

---

### What to Avoid

- ❌ Simply reproducing Anthropic's marketing imagery — this needs to be original
- ❌ Adding "Powered by Anthropic" or similar text — that's not accurate (we're not affiliated)
- ❌ Cluttering with multiple logos competing for attention
- ❌ Making the Claude logo too small — it needs to be instantly recognizable
- ❌ Cold, clinical AI aesthetics that contradict Anthropic's warm brand
- ❌ Literal PM imagery (Gantt charts, kanban boards, people in meetings)
- ❌ Text within the image (title is handled by the card component)

---

### Relationship to Other Course Cards

This is the first of several course cards. The full set will include:
- **Claude AI** (this brief) — Anthropic orange/cream palette
- **Smartsheet** — Smartsheet blue palette
- **Jira** — Atlassian blue palette
- **Confluence** — Atlassian blue palette
- **Placeholder** — PMShortcuts brand colors for "Coming Soon"

**Consistency requirements across all cards:**
- Same dimensions and aspect ratio (16:10)
- Logo + wordmark placement in a consistent zone (recommend centered or upper-center)
- Similar level of visual complexity — none should feel more "premium" than others
- Cohesive when displayed together in a carousel, despite different color palettes

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### Success Criteria

The course card image succeeds if:
1. A visitor instantly recognizes "this is about Claude" within 1 second
2. It feels like a PMShortcuts product, not borrowed Anthropic collateral
3. It maintains visual harmony when displayed alongside Smartsheet, Jira, and Confluence cards
4. It works at small sizes (mobile cards ~260px wide)
5. It respects Anthropic's brand without infringing or implying partnership
6. Must have cohesion with the PM Shortcuts logo in the website header (see https://pmshortcuts.com)

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### Deliverables Checklist

| File | Dimensions | Format | Notes |
|------|------------|--------|-------|
| `course-card-claude.svg` | 800 × 500px | SVG | Primary, scalable |
| `course-card-claude.webp` | 800 × 500px | WebP | Fallback if SVG not suitable |
| `course-card-claude.png` | 800 × 500px | PNG | Secondary fallback |
| Source file | Native | Figma/AI | Editable, layered |

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### Reference Materials Needed

| Asset | Source | Notes |
|-------|--------|-------|
| Claude sunburst logo | Extract from claude.ai or anthropic.com | Anthropic does not publish a press kit. Designer should extract the logo assets directly from the website (inspect element, SVG download, or high-quality screen capture and vector trace). |
| Anthropic wordmark | Extract from anthropic.com | Lowercase "anthropic" — extract from website source. |
| Claude wordmark | Extract from claude.ai | If needed for the design. |
| PMShortcuts logo (SVG) | Will be provided | For brand cohesion reference |

**Goal:** Use the actual Anthropic/Claude logos, not approximations. These are being used to identify the subject matter of our course (nominative fair use), not to imply endorsement or partnership.

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