How Personal Paparazzi looks, sounds, and shows up

This guide is the gut check for anything that leaves the building with the Personal Paparazzi name on it: app store listings, landing pages, ads, partner co-marketing, photographer recruitment, press replies, support macros, and decks.

The two-audience rule

Personal Paparazzi is a marketplace, so almost every piece of communication is aimed at one of two people. Before you write a word, decide which:

What it is

Personal Paparazzi is an on-demand photo and video service. You open the app somewhere worth remembering, send a request, and a verified local nearby comes and shoots you.

The line we lead with

Like a rideshare, but for memories.

Primary tagline. Use it verbatim. Do not extend it, rhyme with it, or swap the noun.

The full explanation, when you have a sentence to spare

Think of it like a rideshare, but for capturing memories. Great photos and videos, in the places and moments that matter.

Approved boilerplate. Use as written.

The product unit

A scene is what a client buys. At launch a scene is nine photos and one short video. The photos upload automatically and download straight to the client's own photo library, which is the part people care about: they do not wait, and they do not go and fetch them from anywhere.

The argument, in the brand's own words

Most of those 93 million selfies are cropped-in headshots that miss the whole reason the photo is being taken: the honeymoon sunset, the Bellagio fountains behind the bachelorette party, the family lined up at the Eiffel Tower. Handing your phone to a stranger usually produces something poorly framed, out of focus, or mistimed.

The moments are irreplaceable. The photos you take sometimes aren't.

Who the photographers are, and how we say it

Our Personal Paparazzi are not necessarily professional photographers, in the same way Uber drivers were not professional drivers before joining the platform. They are enthusiastic locals with a knack for phone photography, they pass a registration and verification process before they can accept shoots, and they already know where people want to capture a memory, so they are already nearby.

That honesty is a brand asset. Never inflate it into “professional photographers,” and never undercut it into “amateurs.”

Scene, shoot, session

Three words describe three different things, and they are not interchangeable. Getting them straight is the difference between copy that reads like the product and copy that reads like a guess.

In order: you request a shoot, a Personal Paparazzi accepts it, they shoot your scene, and afterwards you rate the session.

• Never call it a session before it has happened. Nothing is a session until someone has been there.
• Never call the deliverable a shoot. The client downloads a scene, not a shoot.
• All three stay lowercase. They are common nouns on our platform, unlike Personal Paparazzi.

Say this, not that

Anatomy

The lockup has three parts, and none of them are interchangeable:

• The elephant mark: grey body, navy linework, tan fedora with a green band, phone held up in the trunk, spark marks at the lens.
• “Personal”: custom green brush lettering, set on a rising angle.
• “Paparazzi”: custom bold rounded lettering, sitting under and overlapping the script.

The five variants

The Figma component covers both orientations on both grounds, plus the symbol on its own. Pick by two questions, in this order: how light is the background, and how much horizontal room do you have.

Primary. Typography · Light · Horizontal. “Paparazzi” in Neutral 900.

Inverted. Typography · Dark · Horizontal. “Paparazzi” in white.

Stacked. Typography · Light · Vertical.

Stacked, inverted. Typography · Dark · Vertical.

Symbol. Symbol · Light · Horizontal.

Never. An inverted variant on a light ground. “Paparazzi” is white, and on Neutral 100 it disappears. This is the single most common misuse, and the fix is to switch variants, not to add a shadow.

Clear space

Minimum clear space on all four sides equals the cap height of the “P” in “Paparazzi.” Nothing enters that zone: no type, no rules, no partner logos, no photo edges, no crop marks. The same rule applies to the stacked variant. When in doubt, give it more.

Minimum size

One constraint sets all of these: the “Paparazzi” lettering has to stay legible. Because the wordmark fills more of the width in the stacked variant, that variant can go narrower than the horizontal one.

Misuse

The palette

One brand colour and a five-step neutral ramp. That is the whole system, and its restraint is the point.

Illustration colours

Two further colours live inside the logo artwork. They are part of the mark, not part of the UI palette, so do not build interfaces or layouts out of them.

Proportion

Roughly 60% neutral ground, 30% Ink Navy, 10% Paparazzi Green. Green is a highlighter, not a wall. The moment a layout is mostly green, the logo stops standing out in it.

Paparazzi Green is a dark-ground colour. On white it is decoration.

Measured contrast

Ratios calculated to WCAG 2.1. AA needs 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; AAA needs 7:1.

Display & headings: desktop

Headings: mobile

Body & buttons

Rules

Fallback stack

For environments where the webfont cannot load, such as email and some partner CMSs:

• "Figtree", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", sans-serif

The brand's entire argument is that most photos of a moment fail the moment. Any image we publish that fails the same way argues against us.

The Personal Paparazzi frame

1. The place is in the shot.If the photo could have been taken in a hallway, it is the wrong photo. The landmark, the fountains, the sunset, the stadium. The reason for the picture has to be visible.
2. Full bodies, with room around them.Cropped-in headshots are the exact failure we exist to fix. Frame wide enough that the subjects have space and the background survives.
3. The whole group, and everyone ready.All six of the bachelorette party. All three restless kids, looking. If someone is half out of frame or blinking, it is not a portfolio shot.
4. Real light, real time of day.Honeymoon sunset, fountains at night, midday tailgate. Nothing that reads as a studio or a lighting rig, because that is not what a Personal Paparazzi arrives with.
5. Movement over stiffness.Walking, laughing, turning around. Posed-and-frozen belongs to the school photo, not to a memory.

Selection and treatment

Voice summary

Personal Paparazzi talks like the friend who is good at this and happy to help. It explains itself with a comparison you already understand, then gets concrete fast: real numbers, real places, real occasions. It cares about the moment without getting misty about it. The emotional line lands hardest when it is said plainly and then left alone. It is honest about what the service is and who the photographers are, because the honesty is more persuasive than a boast would be. A client should finish reading and think “that solves my actual problem.” A photographer should finish reading and think “I could make money doing that this weekend.”

The grid

Every piece of copy should clearly hit at least two of these rows, and contradict none.

How the voice works

• Second person, present tense. “You open the app, confirm the details, and send a request.” The reader is in the scene, not reading about it.
• Start with the comparison. “Like a rideshare, but for memories” does more in seven words than a paragraph of explanation. Reach for the familiar thing first, then explain the difference.
• Name the actual number. Nine photos. One short video. $14.99. 93 million selfies a day. Never “several photos,” never “affordable,” never “a lot of people.”
• Name the actual occasion. Not “special events” but the honeymoon sunset, the Bellagio fountains behind the bachelorette party, the family lined up at the Eiffel Tower, the family at Waikiki Beach, the tailgate before the big game. Specific scenes are what make a reader recognise themselves.
• Say the emotional line flatly, then stop. “The moments are irreplaceable. The photos you take sometimes aren't.” No exclamation mark, no follow-up. Let it sit.
• Answer the question they were about to ask. Write headings as the reader's own questions: “Why do I need a Personal Paparazzi?”, “When do I need a Personal Paparazzi?”, “Who are the Personal Paparazzi?”
• Be straight about the limits. “Our Personal Paparazzi aren't necessarily professional photographers.” Saying the true thing first removes the objection instead of inviting it.
• One light moment is enough. “Nope…on demand!” works because everything around it is straight. Two jokes in a row and the brand stops sounding reliable about photographs.
• We, us, our. The collective first person, and never the third person about ourselves.

Tone by context

Do this, not that

Words we don't use

“Photos,” not “pics,” not “snaps,” not “shots” as a noun for the output. We sell photographs and we call them that.

A Personal Paparazzi is not signing up for a brand they love. They are deciding whether an hour of their Saturday is worth more with us than without us. Answer that question first, in numbers, and every other message gets easier.

Lead with the money

The first line of any recruitment message should contain a number. Not a promise, not a feeling. A number.

The value exchange, in their terms

How we compare to the gig work they already know

This is the strongest argument available, and it is entirely factual. Use it.

The cost of starting is nothing, and the thing you walk away with isn't just the money.

Rules for talking about money

1. Every figure needs a source.Before a number goes in copy, name where it comes from: published payout terms, or actual platform data with the date and sample size. If neither exists, the number does not go out.
2. Per scene beats per year.“$X per scene” is checkable. “Up to $30,000 a year” depends on assumptions the reader cannot see and will not believe.
3. Show the arithmetic instead of the conclusion.Give the per-scene rate and the typical time, and let the reader compute their own hourly. Do not compute an hourly rate for them unless we can substantiate the number of scenes per hour.
4. State the variable, in the same breath.Earnings depend on how many requests you accept and how busy your area is. Saying so costs nothing and is the difference between credible and salesy.
5. Never “unlimited,” never “up to” on its own.If we quote a range, quote the typical figure alongside it. A top-earner number presented as normal is the fastest way to lose trust, and in several markets it attracts a regulator's attention.
6. Be exact about when they get paid.Payout timing is the second question every candidate asks. Answer it in the same message as the rate, not on a separate FAQ page.
7. Never imply it replaces a job.We do not know that, and it is not what the product is. Extra money for short work is a strong offer on its own.

Say this, not that

Sample messages

All figures shown as blanks. Fill from approved payout data before use.

The read-out-loud test

Read every line aloud, in a normal conversational voice, as if the reader were across the table. If you would not say it that way to a person, rewrite it. This single check catches most of what follows.

Cadence tells to rewrite

• Clipped two-to-four-word sentences strung together. “Two parts to this.” “Here's the thing.” “Real quick.” Nobody talks like that. If your first three sentences are all under six words, rewrite.
• “This isn't X. It's Y.” as a standalone pair. Inside a longer sentence it can work. As its own two sentences it is an instant machine fingerprint.
• “X. Y.” parallel headlines. “Great photos. Real moments.” Retire it.
• Stacked tricolons. One list of three in a piece is fine. One in every paragraph reads like autopilot.
• Casual shortenings. “The dev,” “the eng team,” “ping me.” Spell things out.

Pre-publish checklist

1. Read every sentence out loud. Would you say it that way to a real person?
2. Which audience is this for, client or Personal Paparazzi? Is that the tone you actually used?
3. Which two rows of the voice grid does this hit? Name them. Does anything contradict a row?
4. Is anything vague where a number would do? “Several photos” becomes “nine photos.”
5. Is there a real, named occasion in here, or only “special moments”?
6. Supplier copy: is there a number in the first two sentences, and can it be sourced?
7. Supplier copy: does it state what it costs to start and when they get paid?
8. Does it claim anything about the photographers beyond “verified” and “enthusiastic locals”?
9. Does it promise a delivery time we have not committed to publicly?
10. Any banned words? Scan for world-class, seamless, effortless, unlock, curated, hustle, unlimited.
11. Any em dashes? Replace each one with a colon, a spaced hyphen, parentheses, or a full stop.
12. Exclamation count: is it one or fewer?
13. Is the name spelled and capitalised correctly everywhere, including the plural?
14. Every photograph: does it pass all five frame rules in section 08?
15. Every recognisable face: is there a signed release on file?
16. Logo: correct variant for the background and the space, clear space respected, above minimum size?

There is one construction, and it is used everywhere. The partner's mark leads, a hairline rule separates the two, and the Personal Paparazzi lockup follows.

How it is built

clear space = cap height of “P”

HYATT

1px rule at 60% of the taller mark

The construction. Partner mark, hairline rule, Personal Paparazzi lockup. The dashed boundary is the clear-space zone and is never drawn in production.

Specification

Approved

HYATT

Horizontal, on light. Primary lockup, Neutral 100 rule, partner mark in Neutral 900. The default for partner websites, email, and print.

HYATT

Horizontal, on dark. Inverted lockup, white rule at 40%, partner mark reversed to white.

HYATT

Stacked, on light. Partner above, horizontal rule, our Vertical lockup below. For square placements.

HYATT

Stacked, on dark. The same pair using our Dark Vertical variant.

Never

HYATT

HYATT

HYATT

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Where things live

Links go straight to the node in Figma. You need access to the Personal Paparazzi file for those to resolve; ask the brand owner if a link bounces you.

Draft 0.2 · July 31, 2026. Color and type tokens read from the Personal Paparazzi Figma file (Foundation › Logo and Foundation › Typography); all five logo variants exported as SVG from the same file. Contrast ratios calculated to WCAG 2.1. All earnings figures are deliberate blanks. Structure follows the co-marketing guideline pattern; the voice-and-tone framework is adapted from the Designli voice guidelines and internal style guide.

We are not competing with photographers. We are competing with free, and free currently wins on price and loses on every other measure. Knowing that tells you what each piece of marketing has to beat, and it is almost never another company.

The competition is a selfie, and it is already on the reader's phone.

1. 01SelfiesDirect · free

   What it is

   The default, and the primary free alternative. About 93 million a day, which is roughly 34 billion a year.

   Where we win

   Framing and inclusion. A selfie is a cropped-in headshot that misses the reason the photo was taken, and someone is always holding the phone, so the group is never complete.

   Why it matters

   This is the competitor nearly every piece of client copy should be arguing against, because it is the one the reader used the last time they were somewhere worth remembering.

2. 02Handing your phone to a strangerDirect · free

   What it is

   The other free option, and the one people fall back on when the selfie will not work. Quality is entirely luck.

   Where we win

   A reliable result. Focused, well framed, correctly timed, and taken by someone whose job is the photo rather than someone doing you a favour on their way past.

   Why it matters

   The lever here is risk, not quality in the abstract. You get one attempt at the shot and no way to check it until the moment has passed.

3. 03Professional photographersNot a competitor

   What they are

   A different product for a different job. They cover high-stakes, high-stress events such as weddings, typically from $60 for around 45 minutes.

   Why not a competitor

   We are for quick, casual moments at $14.99 a scene. Nobody books a wedding photographer for the Bellagio fountains, and nobody requests a scene for their wedding.

   Opportunity

   Referral traffic in both directions. When someone declines a photographer's rate for a small moment, that person is our customer. When one of our clients turns out to need a real event shoot, that is a photographer's customer, and handing it over is worth more than trying to serve it badly.

   Rule

   Never position against photographers in outward copy. We are not cheaper photographers, we are a different thing.

4. 04Resort and on-property photo servicesLong-term

   What it is

   On-site photographers who shoot for free and make their money on the upsell afterwards.

   Where we win

   Transparency. One published price, agreed before anyone lifts a phone, and no negotiation at the end while you are holding the photos you already want.

   Opportunity

   Partner rather than displace. A resort gets a guest service it does not have to staff, and we get demand exactly where people already want photographs. See section 12.

   Careful

   This is the one competitor who is also a prospective partner. Nothing in outward copy, a deck, or a pitch should frame resorts as the thing we are beating.

What this means for the copy

The landscape only earns its place here if it changes how we write. It does, in five ways:

1. Argue against the selfie, never against a company.The comparison that persuades is the reader's own last photo. Naming a competitor is off limits outward-facing, and it also trades a strong argument for a weak one.
2. Lead with framing and inclusion for clients.Those are the two things both free options fail at, and they are concrete enough to picture. Not “better photos.”
3. Justify the price against zero, not against a photographer.Our competition is free, so $14.99 has to be earned by the photo, not excused by being cheaper than something else. Never write “cheaper than a photographer.”
4. Sell reliability, not skill.We already say our Personal Paparazzi are not necessarily professionals, so the promise is a result you can count on, not an artist. Those are different claims and only one of them is true.
5. Keep photographers and resorts on side.Both are referral and partnership routes worth more than a comparison. Press guidance in section 09 already rules out naming competitors; this is the reason.