SN Today Brand & Publishing Guidelines

01

Why SN Today

Founder review

SN Today is an independent digital magazine for the ServiceNow community. It exists to publish useful insight about people, practice, architecture, AI, delivery and the reality of working with the platform.

It is not a corporate publication, partner brochure, product catalogue or press-release wrapper. Every substantive article should teach something, challenge something or show something that helps practitioners make better decisions.

Editorial promise

Real people. Real practice. Real impact.

House test: would a smart practitioner actually say this to another smart practitioner?

02

Brand foundations

Locked for development

Position

Independent insight for the ServiceNow community.

Audience

Practitioners, architects, delivery leaders, builders, community contributors and curious executives.

Personality

Informed, direct, practical, independent, occasionally witty and appropriately sceptical.

Independence

SN Today is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by ServiceNow, Inc.

03

Masthead

In Review

Do

Use the full two-word name, strong condensed uppercase or title-case display, Paper plus Signal Green on dark backgrounds, and clear space around the mark.

Do not

Use ServiceNow wordmark styling, the stylised Now mark, gradients, glows, stretched lettering, or a treatment that implies official ownership.

04

Colour

Locked for development

Midnight

#081013

Primary dark background

Carbon

#151B1D

Secondary dark surface

Paper

#F5F6F2

Light field and text

Signal Green

#77E34F

Primary accent

Deep Green

#2C813C

Supporting green

Slate

#8D999B

Quiet metadata

Mist

#D9DEDB

Rules and panels

65% dark / neutral 25% Paper / light 10% accent

05

Typography

Locked for development

Barlow Condensed display

Barlow speaks.

Masthead, covers, feature titles, pull quotes, statistics.

Inter editorial

Inter explains.

Body copy, standfirsts, captions, tables, contributor information and website content.

IBM Plex Mono technical

Plex builds.

sys_id / GET /api/now/table/incident / BUILD_THIS_01

06

Graphic language

In Review

Build this

The AI operating model needs better questions.

HumanAgentWorkflow

Recognition should come from repeatable lines, labels, panels, badges, diagrams and type rhythm rather than decoration for its own sake.

07

Photography

Founder review

Original SN Today cover mock-up supplied as visual reference — Reference mock-up: preserve the strong portrait-led editorial energy, not the ServiceNow-like wordmark treatment.

Portrait specification

Chest or waist-up framing with room around the head.
Original high-resolution file, not a profile screenshot.
Natural expression, credible lighting and uncluttered background.
Clear space for cover lines on at least one side.
Rights confirmed before publication.

08

Layout & grid

Locked for development

Feature headline zone Body measure: 7-8 columns for long reading

Page size: digital-first A4 proportions, print aware.

Grid: 12 columns for feature pages, 6-column simplification for compact layouts.

Rhythm: generous negative space, purposeful rules, no nested card-heavy dashboard styling.

09

Cover system

In Review

Zones

Masthead, issue metadata, four supporting cover lines, hero portrait, main coverline, footer strip.

Character limits

Main headline 4-8 words. Supporting headings 2-5 words. Descriptions 12-22 words.

Variants

Portrait-led, image-light graphic-led, and multi-story editions without a single dominant person.

10

Components

Locked for development

Automation is easy. Redesigning the work is the hard part.

Key takeaway

Use this box when the reader needs the point quickly. Keep it under 60 words and make it genuinely useful.

36 pages in the pilot issue flatplan Source: Issue 01 planning

Code block

GET /api/now/table/incident
state=active
sysparm_limit=10

Build this

Create an AI-assisted incident briefing in 15 minutes.

Define the input fields.
Summarise current impact.
List next useful questions.

AT

Contributor card

Name, role, organisation, 40-60 word bio, links and disclosure.

11

Article templates

In Review

Feature interview

Hero image, standfirst, Q&A rhythm, pull quotes, contributor context.

Long-form feature

Editorial opener, body measure, sidebars, references and a clear takeaway.

Technical deep dive

Diagrams, screenshots, code, version notes, prerequisites and limitations.

Customer story

Context, challenge, what changed, what did not work and what would be done differently.

Opinion

Clearly labelled, strong thesis, evidence-aware and not disguised marketing.

Innovation Lab

Build-it-yourself article with objective, steps, expected result and go-further options.

12

Editorial standards

Locked for development

Preferred

AI is being added to almost every enterprise workflow. The harder question is whether the workflow should still exist in its current form.

Avoid

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, organisations are leveraging transformational value through next-generation synergies.

Use British English: organisation, prioritise, programme, centre.
Use sentence case except deliberate display treatments.
Label opinion, analysis and sponsored content clearly.
Check names, roles, dates, product names, statistics, quotes and URLs.
AI-assisted content remains accountable to a human editor.

13

Contributor guide

In Review

Submission package

Every contributor should supply article copy, sources, pull-quote suggestion, images, rights confirmation, biography, headshot and disclosure information.

Download contributor template

14

Accessibility

Locked for development

Contrast

Critical text must pass contrast checks. Slate is metadata, not body text on dark fields.

Meaning

Colour must never be the only signal. Use labels, icons, text and structure.

PDF

Use selectable text, logical reading order, headings, alt text, live links and metadata where practical.

15

Production workflow

Locked for development

IdeaCommissionedDraftEditorial reviewAuthor reviewFact checkDesignProofApprovedPublished

The founder-review gate is: founder review, consolidated comments, one revision cycle, then v1.0. Avoid endless live design-by-committee.

16

Distribution

In Review

Primary

Full digital magazine PDF with live links, bookmarks, metadata and selectable text.

Article derivatives

Individual PDF extracts, web article versions, newsletter teasers and social cards.

LinkedIn

Launch post, contributor quote card and optional carousel reformatted for the medium.

17

Pilot Issue 01

Founder review

Theme: Changing the way we work

Cover feature: The magazine we wanted to read

Working model: 36-page pilot that proves the design system against interviews, news, technical features, diagrams, community content, opinion and practical build pages.

1Cover

2Inside

3Contents

4Editor's note

5-6AI Control Tower

7-8Otto + updates

9-14Why we started SN Today

15-18C-Spire analysis

19-22AI operating model

23-26World Forum

27-28Community profile

29-32Innovation Lab

33-34Opinion

35Contributors

36Back cover

18

Downloads

Ready for review

Masthead SVGPrimary dark-background mark Palette tokensBrand colours as JSON Issue manifest36-page pilot structure Contributor templateSubmission structure Founder checklistReview questions Brand asset packAll downloads bundled PDF snapshotStatic founder-review export