Answer
The five brand directions side by side, read from Buzz's chair: what each one is, what it gives up, how Param picks one, and what happens to the product if Buzz is the pick.
Today
The audition state
- Five characters audition for one product, which still has no name: Fetch the dog, Buzz the bee, Scoop the raccoon, Ocho the octopus, Seeti the cooker. memory brand-directions-2026-10-25
- No direction is picked.
liveDirectionsin the handbook config is empty. handbook/config.json - Two earlier characters, Hush the ghost and Margo the cat, were archived on 25 October because the ghost's voice and words felt creepy. Their folders stay as history only. memory brand-directions-2026-10-25; brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 after
- Every direction sells the same plain promise: paste your store link, get this week's marketing ideas already drafted, pick the good ones and hand them off. Only the character, skin, words, voice and the weekly game change. brand-directions/BRIEF.md section 3; brand-directions/docs2/data/dirs.json
- Buzz was built after the critic round of 25 October, so it has no bar score and no Octalysis score yet. brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 side-by-side
The cast at a glance
| Fetch | Buzz | Scoop | Ocho | Seeti | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Scruffy, happy dog | Round, busy bee | Nosy raccoon | Overcommitted octopus | Indian pressure cooker brand-directions/docs2/data/dirs.json identity |
| Owned colour | Tennis ball green #aee32f | Pollen yellow #ffd60a | Tangerine #ff7a1a | Hot pink #ff4fa3 | Chilli red #ff3d2e brand-directions/docs2/data/dirs.json tokens.hero |
| Tagline | This week's ideas, fetched | The whole hive, one bee | Everything everyone says about your store | Eight arms on your marketing | This week's marketing, ready in a few whistles brand-directions/docs2/data/dirs.json tagline |
| Five words | Scruffy dog fetches marketing ideas | Busy bee drafts my marketing | Nosy raccoon who brings gossip | Frantic pink octopus drafts everything | Bossy cooker that whistles ideas brand-directions/docs2/data/dirs.json identity |
| Edge | Over eager, brings back a bit too much | Overbusy and proud of it | Gossipy, delighted by drama, never mean | Frantic, says yes to everything | Bossy, dramatic, impatient head cook brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 meet |
| Running joke | Sneaks its ball into Monday's picks | The pollen count: clean Monday, covered Friday | The tally runs off the notepad onto its tail | The coffee count, then it climbs into the mug | Nobody lifts the lid until Friday brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 meet |
| Sonic logo | Two toy squeaks, a ruff, a ball bouncing twice | A buzz that zips up onto two marimba notes | A paper rustle, then a two note gasp | A suction cup letting go, a pop, bubbles | Three rising whistle toots brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 meet |
| Display type | Grandstander | Shrikhand | Gloock | DynaPuff | Bakbak One brand-directions/docs2/data/dirs.json display |
| Body type | Commissioner | Parkinsans | Schibsted Grotesk | Archivo | Anek Latin brand-directions/docs2/data/dirs.json body |
| World | The yard | A garden and a hive | A gossip column, a little noir | A desk at the bottom of the sea | A home kitchen at dinner time brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 side-by-side |
| Caught up | Nap time | The hive is humming | All dished out | Arms free | Kitchen's clean brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 side-by-side |
| Hand it off | Drop it | Pass the pollen | Pass the note | Free an arm | Order ticket brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 side-by-side |
What each one gives up
| Why it wins | What it gives up | |
|---|---|---|
| Fetch | Fetch is the product: throw, bring back, throw again. Warm, and the green is free | Novelty and sharpness. A generic friendly dog was turned down before brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 side-by-side |
| Buzz | The waggle dance is the ranked feed. The mark reads at 16 pixels anywhere. Yellow is free inside the product | Novelty. Some people flinch at bees. The hive could imply a team brand-directions/bee/brand.html b2 |
| Scoop | Makes the read, our real edge, the best moment | A raccoon can read as a bin thief. Gossip can tip into mean brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 side-by-side |
| Ocho | Names the feeling of eight jobs at once. The areas become arms | Calm and drawing cost. Busy arms could imply it posts brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 side-by-side |
| Seeti | The product already is a kitchen. The whistle is a native progress bar | Cuddliness. The whistle needs one sentence outside India brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 side-by-side |
Critic scores so far
| Bar score | Octalysis fit | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seeti | 11 of 11 | 8 of 10 | 25 October, round 3 brand-directions/cooker/review.md; brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 side-by-side |
| Ocho | 10.5 of 11 | 7 of 10 | 25 October, round 3 brand-directions/octopus/review.md |
| Scoop | 9.5 of 11 | 6 of 10 | 25 October, round 3 brand-directions/raccoon/review.md |
| Fetch | Not scored | Not scored | Built after round 3 brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 side-by-side |
| Buzz | Not scored | Not scored | Built after round 3 brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 side-by-side |
- All three scores came before the latest art pass, so their art scores are stale. brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 side-by-side
- None of the five founder tests has been run yet. brand-directions/book/content/f.js f-1 instant
The case for Buzz
- Everyone already knows what a bee does: it goes out, visits many things and comes back with something useful. Busy bee is a phrase founders use about themselves. brand-directions/bee/brand.html b2
- The waggle dance is the ranking: real bees point the hive at the best flowers, Buzz points you at the best pick. brand-directions/bee/brand.html b2
- A yellow ball with two stripes reads as a bee at 16 pixels in any country, so it survives an app icon, a favicon and a WhatsApp avatar. brand-directions/bee/brand.html b2; brand-directions/bee/character.html c2
- None of the five agent colours is yellow, and bee ink on pollen yellow holds about 13 to 1, so the main button is the clearest thing on the screen. brand-directions/bee/brand.html b2, b4
- It grows by props, never a costume change: today drafts, later an approve stamp and a scorecard. brand-directions/bee/character.html c10
- Risk named by the book: bees are familiar and some people flinch at them, so there is no sting, no swarm, no chasing, and no other bee is ever drawn. brand-directions/bee/brand.html b2; brand-directions/bee/system.md s4
Tomorrow
If Buzz is picked:
- v1, Changes:
liveDirectionsbecomes bee and the other four folders are archived as history. Nothing from them appears in the product, the site or marketing. - v1, New: the redo runs in nine steps: settle the product name, lock the Buzz rig and the 24 pixel mark, fill every wordmark slot, skin the 45 screens with the bee kit skin, rewrite copy from bee/system.md, record sound with Buzz voice, build the first week and weekly ritual, ship restyle then recompose then add on, start the first nine posts.
- v1, Stays: the product underneath. Buzz is an add on layer in fixed slots, and every control works with it removed.
- v1, New: Buzz gets its first critic score against the eleven point bar before the pick is final.
- v2, Changes: Buzz picks up the approve stamp and clock when the product posts and schedules after a person says yes.
- v3, Changes: Buzz carries the scorecard for How it went, with a source on every number.
- v4, Stays: same bee, same kinked feeler, when the product runs ads within rules. Only the props change.
- v1, Goes: every other direction's words, colours and sounds.
How we do it
- Each decider answers one question alone: what should a founder feel on Monday morning. For Buzz the answer is: it points me straight at the best one.
- Compare answers. Three or more matching is the front runner.
- Read the seven moments for the front runner and one other, aloud.
- Run the five free tests with at least five founders: ten second test, blind sound test, icon test at 24 pixels, bad day test, team test.
- Settle the front runner's open question, then pick.
- Log the pick in the decisions log and set
liveDirectionsinhandbook/config.json.
# hear Buzz next to the others
open /Users/param/Documents/ChatGPT/brand-directions/bee/snd/logo.mp3
open /Users/param/Documents/ChatGPT/brand-directions/index.html
Numbers
| Metric | Definition | Where measured | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ten second read | Share of founders who name the animal and the job after ten seconds on the home page | Founder tests, notes in the decisions log | Proposed |
| Blind sound pick | Share of founders who pick Buzz's sonic logo as ready, with no pictures | Founder tests | Proposed |
| Icon recall | Share who can draw or describe the 24 pixel mark a day later | Founder tests | Proposed |
| Bar score | Critic score against the eleven point bar in BRIEF.md 3.8 | A critic review in bee/review.md | Proposed, Buzz has none yet |
Open
- Should Buzz be scored by a fresh critic before the pick, like Seeti, Ocho and Scoop were? Proposal: yes, one round against the eleven point bar and Octalysis, written to bee/review.md, before any founder test.
- Is Buzz the final character name, given Bumble is a well known app and Buzz is a common word? Proposal: keep Buzz as the character name, since it is never the product name and does not need a trademark alone.
- Do we run the five founder tests before the pick or skip them? Proposal: run them with five design partner founders, about 15 minutes each, using the existing pages and sounds.