Answer
The five characters side by side, read from Ocho's corner: what each one is, owns and gives up, how the critics scored them, and why Ocho is the pick when the Monday feeling you want is that is me on a Monday, and it is handled.
Today
The audition
- Five characters audition for one product: Fetch the dog, Buzz the bee, Scoop the raccoon, Ocho the octopus, Seeti the cooker. Hush the ghost and Margo the cat were archived on 25 October. memory brand-directions-2026-10-25; brand-directions/book/content/f.js:291
- Nothing is picked yet: config.json holds an empty liveDirections list. handbook/config.json
- Every character 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. brand-directions/docs2/data/dirs.json identity line 3 in every entry
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/book/content/f.js:58 |
| Owned colour | Tennis ball green #aee32f | Pollen yellow #ffd60a | Tangerine #ff7a1a | Hot pink #ff4fa3 | Chilli red #ff3d2e | brand-directions/docs2/data/dirs.json tokens.dark.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/book/content/f.js:61 |
| Edge | Over eager, brings back a bit too much | Overbusy and proud of it | Gossipy, never mean | Frantic, says yes to everything | Bossy, dramatic, impatient head cook | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:62 |
| Running joke | Sneaks its ball into the picks | The pollen count | The tally runs onto its tail | The coffee count, then it climbs into the mug | Nobody lifts the lid until Friday | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:63 |
| Sonic logo | Two toy squeaks, a ruff, a ball bouncing | A buzz up onto two marimba notes | A paper rustle, a two note gasp | A suction cup letting go, a pop, bubbles | Three rising whistle toots | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:64 |
| 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:185 |
| Display and body type | Grandstander, Commissioner | Shrikhand, Parkinsans | Gloock, Schibsted Grotesk | DynaPuff, Archivo | Bakbak One, Anek Latin | brand-directions/docs2/data/dirs.json display, body |
| Caught up word | Nap time | The hive is humming | All dished out | Arms free | Kitchen's clean | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:189 |
| Hand it off word | Drop it | Pass the pollen | Pass the note | Free an arm | Order ticket | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:190 |
What each wins and gives up
| Why it wins | What it gives up | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fetch | Throw, bring back, throw again. Warm without lecturing | Novelty and sharpness. A generic friendly dog was turned down before | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:195,110 |
| Buzz | The waggle dance is the ranked feed, the mark reads at 16 pixels | Novelty. Some people flinch at bees | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:196 |
| Scoop | Makes the read, the real edge, the best moment | Can read as a bin thief, gossip can tip into mean | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:197 |
| Ocho | Names the real feeling of eight jobs at once. The five areas become arms you can see. Progress is drawn on the body | Calm, gravitas, drawing cost. Busy arms could imply it posts | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:198; brand-directions/octopus/brand.html b2 |
| 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:199 |
Critic scores so far
| Bar score | Octalysis fit | Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seeti | 11 of 11 | 8 of 10 | 25 October, round 3 | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:208; brand-directions/cooker/review.md |
| Ocho | 10.5 of 11 | 7 of 10 | 25 October, round 3 | brand-directions/octopus/review.md line 5 |
| Scoop | 9.5 of 11 | 6 of 10 | 25 October, round 3 | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:210; brand-directions/raccoon/review.md |
| Fetch | Not scored | Not scored | Built after round 3 | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:211 |
| Buzz | Not scored | Not scored | Built after round 3 | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:212 |
- Ocho's craft scores in that round: story 7, fun 7, art 6, human 6, product 8, with no blockers and three majors, all about the art. brand-directions/octopus/review.md line 5 and Majors
- The scores came before the art pass that redrew Ocho as vector from one rig, so the art scores are stale. brand-directions/book/content/f.js:214
- None of the five founder tests has been run yet. brand-directions/book/content/f.js:116
The one risk and open question each
| Risk | Open question | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fetch | A happy dog can read as uncritical | Is it sharp enough after a generic dog was turned down | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:234 |
| Buzz | Bees are familiar, some flinch | Is Buzz the final name, given Bumble is taken | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:235 |
| Scoop | A cute raccoon is a familiar picture | Is gossip the right frame | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:236 |
| Ocho | Busy arms can suggest the product posts | Is Ocho the final name | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:237 |
| Seeti | Steel and one red can look like a utility brand | A few whistles or three whistles | brand-directions/book/content/f.js:238 |
The case for Ocho
- A founder who is also the marketing team does eight jobs at once. An octopus with its arms full is that week, drawn. brand-directions/octopus/brand.html b2
- The areas are literal: paintbrush for social posts, megaphone for ads, shopping bag for website, phone for AI search, scroll for email and WhatsApp. brand-directions/octopus/system.md s2
- The weekly loop is drawn on the body: arms full Monday, one arm freed per hand off, arms free Friday, with no number about sales. brand-directions/octopus/brand.html b2
- Pink is free: none of the five agent colours is pink. brand-directions/octopus/brand.html b2; brand-directions/BRIEF.md section 2
- It grows by what the arms hold, never by a costume change. brand-directions/octopus/character.html c10
- The founder test is one line: show the cover for three seconds, and it worked if they say that's me on a Monday. brand-directions/octopus/brand.html b2
Tomorrow
If Ocho is picked:
- v1 New: the product name is chosen first and fills every wordmark slot beside Ocho's small mark. See Naming.
- v1 Changes: liveDirections in config.json becomes octopus, and the other four versions of every branded document are archived.
- v1 Changes: one illustrator redraws the rig, the small mark and every pose, checked at 24 pixels, before the 45 screens are skinned.
- v1 New: every screen takes the octopus kit skin, all copy around the buttons is rewritten from Ocho's system file, and the voice, sonic logo and five cues are recorded and levelled.
- v1 Stays: the shipping order is Restyle, then Recompose, then Add on, and nothing changes the core.
- v1 Goes: Fetch, Buzz, Scoop and Seeti stop changing and stay only as history. Nothing from them appears in the product, the site or marketing.
- v2 New: the arms may hold the clock and the approve stamp once posting and scheduling ship after a yes.
- v3 New: the scorecard and magnifier arrive with How it went.
- v4 New: an arm acts within the brand's rules with undo, and the frantic edge still never implies more than the product does.
How we do it
- Each decider answers alone: what should a founder feel on Monday morning. If that is me on a Monday, and it is handled, lean Ocho.
- Compare answers. Three or more matching is the front runner.
- Read Ocho's seven moment lines and one other character's aloud, and ask whether a busy founder smiles at them every Monday.
- Run the five free tests with at least five founders: ten second, blind sound, icon at 24 pixels, bad day, team.
- Settle Ocho's open question, the final name, then pick and log it in the decisions log.
- After the pick, run the nine step redo in book f-1: settle questions, lock the character, fill the name, skin the screens, rewrite copy, record sound, build play, ship in order, start marketing.
Numbers
| Metric | Definition | Where measured | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar score | Points of 11 from a fresh critic | Each direction's review.md | Ocho 10.5 on 25 October, stale after the redraw |
| Octalysis fit | Score of 10 for the game layer fit | Each direction's review.md | Ocho 7 on 25 October |
| Ten second match | Founders out of five who name the octopus and the job after ten seconds | The ten second test | Proposed, not run |
| Blind sound match | Founders who pick Ocho's sonic logo as your week is ready, with no picture | The blind sound test | Proposed, not run |
Open
- Should Fetch and Buzz be scored by a fresh critic before the pick, so all five compare on the same bar? Proposal: yes, one critic round for all five on the redrawn art, then pick.
- Is Ocho the final name if it is picked? Proposal: keep Ocho, Spanish for eight, and run the trademark check with the product name.
- Will you run the five founder tests before choosing? Proposal: yes, with five design partner founders in one week, results logged in the decisions log.