The Northstave brand
Everything we make is meant to steady you and point you the right way. Here's what that looks like — and why.
The name
North
The north star is the fixed point sailors and travelers have steered by for millennia. It stands for direction, constancy, and trust — a reliable thing to aim at when everything else is moving.
Stave
A stave is one of the strips of oak a cooper fits together to build a barrel. It's a word about craft — shaped by hand, fitted with care, built to last, and made better with age.
Put them together and you get the whole idea: carefully built tools that help you find your way — a lighter pack, a planned week of meals, a clearer relationship with your phone.
A footnote for the pedantic: drop one letter and “stave” is basically “Steve” — which the Stephen who runs the place swears is a complete coincidence.
The mark
An “N” that points north
- Two uprights — the staves, fitted like a barrel. Steady and built to last.
- A rising diagonal — a beam of light climbing toward the north-east.
- A north star at the apex — the point everything is aimed at.
The palette
Midnight sky, north-star gold
Deep ink tones set a calm night sky; a warm gold marks the star you steer by, with a cool blue for guidance.
Ink
Midnight background
Ink 900
Surfaces & app tile
Ink 800
Cards
Star
Primary accent
Guide
Secondary accent
Mist
Text & light marks
How we sound
Calm, honest, useful
Privacy first
On-device where possible, Apple frameworks over trackers, and never selling your data.
No dark patterns
Clear pricing and honest design. We earn attention instead of hijacking it.
Plain-spoken
We say what an app does, then get out of the way. No hype, no guilt.
“Small, honest apps that point you in the right direction.”