{ "id": "4.8", "title": "Ocho character bible", "department": "Brand", "department_slug": "brand", "direction": null, "branded": false, "status": "draft", "owner": "Param", "last_verified": "2026-10-26", "holds": "Who it is, how it is drawn, poses, its world, its lines", "urls": { "html": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/brand/ocho-character-bible", "markdown": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/brand/ocho-character-bible.md", "json": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/brand/ocho-character-bible.json" }, "other_directions": [], "tldr": { "headline": "Ocho: one pink octopus, eight arms, and its stress always its own", "points": [ { "icon": "spark", "text": "An overcommitted hot pink octopus doing eight things at once." }, { "icon": "check", "text": "Eight arms in every frame. Only the 16 pixel head shows none." }, { "icon": "lock", "text": "Never claims it posted. Never guilts you. Panics near you, never at you." }, { "icon": "heart", "text": "Frantic goes up on Monday and down for errors and money." }, { "icon": "flag", "text": "The redrawn art is a job for one illustrator." } ], "stat": { "value": "8", "label": "arms in every frame" }, "decide": "Is Ocho the final name, with Inka as the fallback?", "mood": "building" }, "sources": [ "brand-directions/octopus/system.md s0 to s7", "brand-directions/octopus/character.html c0 to c11", "brand-directions/octopus/brand.html b1, b3, b6", "brand-directions/octopus/motion.html v1", "brand-directions/octopus/kit-skin.js", "brand-directions/octopus/review.md, round 3, 25 October", "brand-directions/octopus/img/v and _src/rig listings", "brand-directions/docs2/data/dirs.json, entry octopus", "brand-directions/book/content/f2.js:562-628 f-9 naming", "brand-directions/BRIEF.md sections 3.7 and 3.8", "memory brand-directions-2026-10-25" ], "open_questions": [ "Is Ocho the final character name? Proposal: keep Ocho, since it says the job in two syllables and works in every accent, and keep Inka as the fallback if a trademark clash appears.", "Who redraws the art, and when? Proposal: if Ocho is picked, brief one illustrator to redraw only the master, the small mark and the ten poses from the rig before any marketing goes out.", "Does the frantic expression stay out of the product entirely? Proposal: yes, frantic lives in marketing and on the stage only, as the books already say." ], "parts": { "Answer": "Who Ocho is, how it is drawn, how it poses, talks and moves, so anyone can add a frame or a line without asking, and the one rule that settles every doubt: one hot pink octopus, eight arms, its stress always its own.", "Today": "### Who it is\n| Part | Ocho | |\n|---|---|---|\n| What it is | An overcommitted hot pink octopus doing eight things at once for your store | [src: brand-directions/octopus/system.md s0 line 1] |\n| Placeholder name | Ocho, alternates Inka and Yessa | [src: brand-directions/octopus/brand.html b6] |\n| Tagline | Eight arms on your marketing | [src: brand-directions/octopus/system.md s0 line 2] |\n| Edge | Frantic. Says yes to everything, then delivers the drafts anyway | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c0] |\n| Want | Every arm free by Friday | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c1] |\n| Flaw | Cannot say no. Ties itself in knots. The flaw is always about Ocho, never about you | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c1] |\n| Tell | One cheek puffed, lips pursed, blowing out steam | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c0] |\n| Catchphrase | Arms full | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c0] |\n| Five words a founder uses | Frantic pink octopus drafts everything | [src: brand-directions/octopus/system.md s0 line 5] |\n| Sound | A quick wet blip and a pop of ink | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c0] |\n| Running joke | The coffee count. It always insists it is one coffee | [src: brand-directions/octopus/brand.html b1; brand-directions/octopus/review.md round 2 table] |\n\n### Never does\n- Never claims it posted, sent or scheduled anything. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c1]\n- Never guilts you about a missed week, never panics at you, only near you. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c1]\n- Never invents a customer, a review or a result, and never acts on your prices. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c1]\n- Never stays in the coffee mug when you need it. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c1]\n\n### Trait dial\n| Trait | Dial up | Dial down | |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Frantic | Monday, the read, social posts about busy weeks | Errors, anything about money, Need your yes | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c1] |\n| Proud | A draft lands, a new version beats the last | Claims about results, which it never makes | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c1] |\n| Warm | Caught up, a hand off, first win | Never sugary | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c1] |\n| Honest | Always at full | Never | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c1] |\n\n### Construction\n- The head is a circle about one and a half times the width of the body, and it is the unit for everything. The whole figure is about 2.2 heads tall with arms. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c2]\n- Eight arms leave eight fixed sockets under the body, each about a quarter of the head wide at the base, each ending in the same single curl that wraps a prop. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c2]\n- Anatomy in every face: the heavy left brow down over a narrowed eye, the right eye round, the right cheek puffed past the outline, lips pursed. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c2, c11]\n- One ink outline weight, #1a1218, matte flat colour like a screen print, no gloss, no shadows. Belly pink sucker dots inside each curl. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c2]\n- Six inks only: hot pink #ff4fa3, belly pink #ffd1e6, ink #1a1218, draft paper #fff8ef, deep pink #c81d6f for the mouth, coffee brown. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c11; brand-directions/octopus/system.md s1]\n- Eight arms in every frame. Only the 16 pixel cut, the head alone, shows none. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c2]\n- Every frame is drawn as vector from one rig, _src/rig/ocho.py, posed by _src/rig/poses.py, which refuses to write a frame without exactly eight arms. [src: brand-directions/octopus/system.md s4; brand-directions/octopus/character.html c11]\n\n### Silhouette test\n| Test | Full figure | Small mark | |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Readable at 48 pixels | Yes, busy | Yes | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c2] |\n| Readable at 24 pixels | No, props turn to crumbs | Yes: eight curled arms, the brow, the mug | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c2] |\n| Filled solid at 24 | A pink blot | A head, a ring of curls, a mug up | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c2] |\n| Mistaken for the octopus emoji | No | No, the arms fan wide and one holds a coffee | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c2] |\n| Drawable from memory | No | Yes: a circle, eight curls, a brow, a cup | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c2] |\n\nBelow 120 pixels the only Ocho is the small mark, char-mark.svg. [src: brand-directions/octopus/system.md s4]\n\n### Eight expressions\n| # | Expression | Face | Used when | File | |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| 1 | Determined, the signature | Left brow down, right cheek puffed, blowing steam | Default. The read, Monday, drafting | img/v/expr-signature.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c3] |\n| 2 | Delighted | Sparkling eyes, open smile | A heart, a first win | img/v/expr-delighted.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c3] |\n| 3 | Frantic | Huge eyes, tiny pupils, one sweat drop | Marketing and social only, never at the user | img/v/expr-frantic.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c3] |\n| 4 | Smug | Half closed eyes, small smirk | A new version lands, the shareable finding | img/v/expr-smug.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c3] |\n| 5 | Oops | One eye shut, tongue out, small ink puff | Errors, the read cap, anything Ocho dropped | img/v/expr-oops.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c3] |\n| 6 | Focused | Narrow eyes, tip of the tongue out | Make it, generating, waiting on a draft | img/v/expr-focused.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c3] |\n| 7 | Relieved | Eyes closed, soft smile | Hand off, caught up | img/v/expr-relieved.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c3] |\n| 8 | Curious | One eye squinting, one brow up | Paste, Your store, the ninth arm | img/v/expr-curious.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c3] |\n\nOne expression per moment, held, never cycling. Oops always comes with the ink puff to one side. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c3]\n\n### Ten poses, ten moments\n| # | Moment | Pose | Status of the moment | File | |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| 1 | Paste | One arm squashed flat against the glass, curious | Today | img/v/pose-01.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c4] |\n| 2 | The read | Eight arms, eight pages, the candles under study | Today | img/v/pose-02.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c4] |\n| 3 | The Monday drop | Five picks fanned like a winning hand | Next | img/v/pose-03.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c4] |\n| 4 | Heart | Hugs the card, more like it slide in | Today | img/v/pose-04.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c4] |\n| 5 | Make it | Painting the Chai spice candle from life | Today | img/v/pose-05.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c4] |\n| 6 | New version | Juggling three takes of Jasmine night | Today | img/v/pose-06.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c4] |\n| 7 | Hand it off | A real person takes the clipboard, one arm free | Today as copy brief, Next as one button | img/v/pose-07.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c4] |\n| 8 | Need your yes | One arm up, holding the card, waiting | Today | img/v/pose-08.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c4] |\n| 9 | Caught up | Arms free, floating in the coffee mug | Next | img/v/pose-09.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c4] |\n| 10 | Knot | Error or read cap, sheepish, props safe, small ink puff | Today | img/v/pose-10.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c4] |\n| Extra | Celebrate | Arms up, coffee raised | Today for first win, the reveal, hand off | img/v/pose-celebrate.svg | [src: brand-directions/octopus/motion.html v1; brand-directions/octopus/kit-skin.js art] |\n\nEvery pose keeps at least five props visible except caught up and the knot. The candles stay upright and unharmed. A real person appears only as a hand and a sleeve entering from the right. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c4]\n\n### Props: five areas and three of Ocho's own\n| Arm | Prop | Pose cue | Line | |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Social posts | Paintbrush | Brush raised, small canvas, a wink | Painting your week. | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c9] |\n| Ads | Megaphone | Megaphone down, a sticky note over its mouth | Drafted. The sticky note stays on, and you run it. | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c9] |\n| Website | Shopping bag | Bag swinging | Walked your checkout. Found a dark photo. | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c9] |\n| AI search | Phone | Phone to the side of the head, curious frown | Calling round the AI answers. | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c9] |\n| Email and WhatsApp | Scroll | Scroll unrolling to the floor | A note to bring them back. | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c9] |\n| Ocho's own | Coffee | Never put down for long. The caught up mug is this mug, enlarged | | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c9] |\n| Ocho's own | Calendar | The marketing week, torn off every Monday | | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c9] |\n| Ocho's own | Clipboard | The brief, the one thing it never spills on | | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c9] |\n\n### The relationship, week one to month six\n| When | What changes | |\n|---|---|---|\n| Week 1 | The grab: one finding it is proud of, three quick questions, a first win in ten minutes. Explains its arms once, then stops | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c5] |\n| Weeks 2 to 4 | The ritual: the Monday drop becomes a habit, grip grows with every stick, drop and hand off | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c5] |\n| Month 2 | The colleague: never suggests the one thing you never post. Jokes drop by half, specifics double | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c5] |\n| Month 3 | Inside jokes: remembers take four, knows Monsoon candle season, brings back a dropped idea once with a reason | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c5] |\n| Month 6 | The old hand: talks less, holds more. The caught up line shrinks to Mug. | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c5] |\n\n### Lines by mood, two each of the ten per mood\n| Mood | Lines | |\n|---|---|---|\n| Busy | Arms full. Five picks, drafted, still warm. Monday is my cardio. | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c6] |\n| Proud | Take four of the Chai spice photo. Take four is the one. Clipboard's neat. I never spill on the clipboard. | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c6] |\n| Delighted | You stuck it. More like it, coming up. Noted. It's stuck to me now. Suckers. | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c6] |\n| Oops | Ah. I tied myself in a knot. Try again in a second. Something slipped. Nothing you made is lost. | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c6] |\n| Calm, arms free | Arms free. Every pick seen. Clean desk. Weird feeling. | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c6] |\n| Waiting, one arm up | One arm up. This one needs your yes. I can draft. I can't decide. That's you. | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c6] |\n\n### Never says\n| Line | Rule it breaks | |\n|---|---|---|\n| I posted it for you. Sent. Scheduled for 9am. | It does not post, send or schedule today | [src: brand-directions/octopus/system.md s5; brand-directions/octopus/character.html c6] |\n| Your sales went up after my picks. This will get you 3x. | No result claims | [src: brand-directions/octopus/system.md s5; brand-directions/octopus/character.html c6] |\n| You missed a week. Don't lose your streak. | No guilt, no shame | [src: brand-directions/octopus/system.md s5] |\n| Only two hours left to claim your read. Hurry, ending soon. | No fake countdowns | [src: brand-directions/octopus/system.md s5; brand-directions/octopus/character.html c6] |\n| Works for any store. | Banned claim | [src: brand-directions/octopus/system.md s5] |\n| Your rival is crushing you. | No fear about rivals | [src: brand-directions/octopus/system.md s5] |\n| Trust me. | It shows the source instead | [src: brand-directions/octopus/system.md s5] |\n| I'm stressed because of you. | Its stress is its own | [src: brand-directions/octopus/system.md s5] |\n\n### Animation timings\n| State | Trigger | Motion | Loops | |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Idle | Corner visible, nothing happening | Bob 5 pixels, lean 1.2 degrees, 3.2 s | Yes, pauses when the tab is hidden | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c7; brand-directions/octopus/kit-skin.js motion] |\n| React | Heart, Not for me, tap on Ocho | Squash to 107 by 91, spring back in 280 ms, overshoot 1.06 | No | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c7] |\n| Celebrate | First win, the reveal, hand off | Celebration pose, hop 12 pixels, 950 ms | No, once in the product | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c7] |\n| Wait | Read running, Make it generating | Reading pose, sway 2.5 degrees, 1.2 s | Until done | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c7] |\n| Knot | Error or cap | A short wobble, 2.4 s | No | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c7] |\n| Frantic | Marketing and the stage only | 0.32 s jitter, 3 degrees | Up to 3 s | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c7] |\n| Reduced motion | System setting | Pose swap only | Never | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c7] |\n\nThe face never animates on its own. A new expression is a new pose, swapped on the beat. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c7]\n\n### Do and do not\n| Do | Do not | |\n|---|---|---|\n| Small mark in the Today corner, 40 to 56 pixels, beside the greeting | Ocho on top of a card, a button or a product photo | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c8] |\n| Frantic arms with a calm, reading face | Frantic eyes pointed at the founder | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c8] |\n| The clipboard goes to a real person's hand | A team of octopuses or a sidekick | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c8] |\n| The founder's photo in its true colours | A pink tint over the founder's photos | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c8] |\n| A small ink puff, to one side | A big ink cloud over the screen | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c8] |\n| Five picks drafted. You pick. | A megaphone arm shouting Live now | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c8] |\n| Hot pink, ink outline, matte, the sucker print | A purple Ocho, gradients, or an agent colour on Ocho | [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c8] |\n\n### Art pipeline today\n- Four generated concepts picked the face. Concept D won for the puffed cheek, clean props and no letters, and it is the reference for every new image. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c11; brand-directions/octopus/system.md s4]\n- The generated look was then dropped. Every frame is now vector from one rig: one head, one face rig, one arm curl, one prop set. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c11]\n- The turnaround and the eight scenes were retired to _src/retired. [src: brand-directions/octopus/character.html c11; brand-directions/octopus/_src/retired listing]\n- The 25 October critic, before this redraw, scored art 6 of 10 and flagged an off model celebrate pose, gloss on the knot pose and a six armed small mark. [src: brand-directions/octopus/review.md majors and minors]", "Tomorrow": "- v1 Stays: one character, Ocho, in fixed slots only; remove the layer and every control still works. The Monday drop, caught up and one button hand off moments carry their Next tag until they ship.\n- v1 Changes: a real illustrator redraws the master, the small mark and every pose from the rig before launch, because the critic capped the art at about 6 to 7.\n- v1 New: the expressions and poses above are the only frames the product may use. A missing moment gets a new pose added here first, then drawn.\n- v2 New: the doer props, a clock and an approve stamp, appear when the product can post and schedule after a yes. Same face, same eight arms.\n- v3 New: the reporter props, a scorecard and a magnifier, appear with How it went.\n- v4 New: an arm may hold the clock within the brand's rules, with undo always shown. The coffee stays.\n- v1 to v4 Stays: Ocho never claims a result, never guilts, and the frantic face never points at the founder.", "How we do it": "1. Before adding a frame, write the moment, the pose and the line in this bible and in brand-directions/octopus/system.md s4.\n2. Add the arm angles to brand-directions/octopus/_src/rig/poses.py and run it from the octopus folder:\n ```\n cd /Users/param/Documents/ChatGPT/brand-directions/octopus && python3 _src/rig/poses.py\n ```\n3. Check the frame has eight arms, the left brow and the puffed cheek, no letters, no gloss, no confetti, and the candles upright.\n4. Below 120 pixels use char-mark.svg, at 16 pixels char-mark-16.svg.\n5. New lines follow the voice: fact first, joke second, at most two sentences in the product, draft, pick, brief and copy only.\n6. Run the writing checker on the octopus folder until clean:\n ```\n cd /Users/param/Documents/ChatGPT/brand-directions && node _tools/check.mjs octopus\n ```", "Numbers": "| Metric | Definition | Where measured | Status |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Bar score | Points of the eleven point bar in BRIEF.md section 3.8 a fresh critic awards | brand-directions/octopus/review.md | Last 10.5 of 11 on 25 October, before the rig redraw |\n| Small mark recall | Share of founders who can draw or describe the mark a day after seeing it at 24 pixels | The icon test in book f-1 | Proposed, not run |\n| Five word match | Share of founders who say back frantic, octopus and drafts after ten seconds | The ten second test in book f-1 | Proposed, not run |\n| Off model frames | Frames in img/v that break a construction rule | A contact sheet review per art change | Proposed |", "Open": "1. Is Ocho the final character name? Proposal: keep Ocho, since it says the job in two syllables and works in every accent, and keep Inka as the fallback if a trademark clash appears.\n2. Who redraws the art, and when? Proposal: if Ocho is picked, brief one illustrator to redraw only the master, the small mark and the ten poses from the rig before any marketing goes out.\n3. Does the frantic expression stay out of the product entirely? Proposal: yes, frantic lives in marketing and on the stage only, as the books already say." } }