Best Year Yet — Brand Guidelines

Best Year Yet  ·  Brand Guidelines  ·  2026

We're never
finished.

"I don't think you only peak once."

Every year could be your best year yet. Here's what I'm learning along the way.

Brand Foundation  ·  Ideal Audience  ·  Voice & Tone  ·  Content Strategy  ·  Colour  ·  Typography  ·  Platform

01 Brand Foundation

Best Year Yet is a personal brand and community built around one unshakeable belief: your best years are not behind you. Every year is another opportunity to grow — healthier, wiser, more confident, more adventurous, more yourself. This isn't about perfection. It's about progress.

What Best Year Yet is not.

  • Not a highlight reel of an already-perfect life
  • Not teaching from a pedestal — building alongside the audience
  • Not polished to the point of unreachable
  • Not about peaking at one moment and coasting
  • Not age-limiting — but speaks most honestly to women in their 40s, 50s and beyond

"We're never finished. Every year is another opportunity to become healthier, wiser, happier, more confident, more adventurous — and more yourself."

Mission · To inspire people — especially women in their 40s, 50s and beyond — to believe their best years aren't behind them. You're not teaching from a pedestal. You're inviting people to build alongside you. That's a huge difference.

02 Ideal Audience

This brand speaks most directly to women navigating the second half of life — not with resignation, but with curiosity and intention. They've lived enough to know who they aren't, and they're finally giving themselves permission to become who they are.

She Is

  • A woman in her 40s, 50s, or 60s (or growing into that mindset)
  • Curious and still becoming
  • Juggling real life — career, family, menopause, creativity
  • Hungry for genuine connection, not performance
  • Someone who wants to build, not just watch
  • Interested in wellness, growth, and practical life improvement
  • The kind of woman who'd share a coffee and a real conversation

She Is Not

  • Looking for perfection or a curated fantasy
  • Passive — she wants to participate
  • Motivated by hustle culture or comparison
  • Someone who believes her best years are already over
  • Seeking a guru or expert on a pedestal

"I used to think I'd already had my moment. Then I started paying attention to what was actually still possible — and everything changed."

03 Voice & Tone

The voice of Best Year Yet is warm, honest, and inviting — like a trusted friend who happens to be on the same road. It reflects real life: the wins and the lessons, the beautiful and the hard. It never performs. It never preaches. It simply shares.

Sounds Like

  • Warm
  • Reflective
  • Honest
  • Curious
  • Inviting
  • Grounded

Never Sounds Like

  • Preachy or lecture-y
  • Overly polished / "influencer"
  • Corporate or stiff
  • Desperate or clickbait
  • Self-deprecating to the point of apology

Tone by Context

Reflective Content

Thoughtful, slow, personal. Feels like a journal entry shared with a friend.

Practical Tips

Clear and direct, but still warm. "Here's what actually worked for me."

Community Moments

Open and curious. Invitation-first. "What's one thing you're doing this year?"

Write This

"The garden taught me something I wasn't expecting this summer — about patience, and about what happens when you stop trying to force things."

Not This

"5 TIPS for TRANSFORMING YOUR LIFE this SUMMER (you won't believe #3!)"

04 Content Strategy

Every piece of content answers one central question: "What helped make this year better?" The five content pillars provide structure — but the philosophy that connects them all is the same.

🧠

Better Me

  • Mindset & manifestation
  • Morning routines
  • Habits & reflection
  • Books & lessons learned
🌿

Better Body

  • Curly hair care
  • Fitness & nutrition
  • Skincare & sleep
  • Menopause & hormones
🏡

Better Home

  • Gardening
  • Cooking & hosting
  • Organization & DIY
💼

Better Work

  • Business & entrepreneurship
  • Marketing & AI tools
  • Productivity
✈️

Better Adventures

  • Travel
  • Weekend trips
  • Restaurants & experiences
  • Trying new things

Content Formula

  • "I finally figured out how to stop my curls from frizzing..."
  • "This mindset completely changed how I approach birthdays."
  • "The garden taught me something I wasn't expecting."
  • "This AI tool saved me five hours this week."
  • "I manifested this opportunity — and here's what I actually did."

Signature Series

Each year becomes its own chapter — an annual playlist documenting real growth in real time.

Best Year Yet: 2026
Best Year Yet: 2027
Best Year Yet: 2028 ···

Five years from now you'll have a library documenting your evolution. New viewers can literally watch the "Best Year Yet" philosophy unfold over time.

05 Platform Strategy

▶ YouTube

  • Banner: BEST YEAR YET — "I don't think you only peak once."
  • Intro: 5-sec clips — coffee, garden, laptop, travel, hair, walking
  • Voiceover: "I don't think you only peak once. I think every year could be your best year yet."
  • Annual year-end reflection video each December
  • Outro: "Take care — and keep building your best year yet."
  • Playlists organised by annual signature series

📱 Instagram

  • Highlights as chapters, not categories
  • ✨ Best Year — monthly reflections, goals, wins
  • 🌿 Wellness — fitness, menopause, nutrition, habits
  • 💇 Curly Hair
  • ✈️ Adventures
  • 🌱 Garden
  • 💼 Business
  • ❤️ Favorites — books, products, recipes, apps

Community Philosophy

Transform "Best Year Yet" from a personal tagline into a shared mindset. Invite your audience into the journey — not just as followers, but as participants in their own best year yet.

New Year's Day

"What's one thing you're going to do to make this your best year yet?"

Your Birthday

"What's something you've learned this year that's making it your best one yet?"

Monthly Check-In

"What's one habit you're working on this month?"

06 Colour Palette

The palette is editorial and warm — rooted in natural materials and honest light. Think Sunday morning coffee, old journals, linen, natural light. Not influencer. Not corporate. Almost magazine.

Primary

Warm Charcoal

#2C2A27

Body text, section bands, primary presence

Espresso

#1A1916

Cover backgrounds, deep contrast moments

Linen Tint

#F5F0E8

Section backgrounds, card fills, light spaces

Accent — Warm Gold

Warm Gold

#C9A84C

Pull quotes, highlights, key accent moments

Antique Gold

#9A7A2E

Text on light backgrounds, eyebrow labels

Champagne

#F0E0B0

Subtle highlights, badge backgrounds

Supporting Colours

Dusty Blue

#7A9EAD

Eyebrow labels on dark, platform accents

Sky Tint

#D4E5ED

Card backgrounds, context highlights

Soft Sage

#8A9E82

Nature content, garden pillar, calm accents

Sage Mist

#E4EDE2

Tinted backgrounds, gentle card fills

Neutrals

Soft White

#FDFAF5

Page background — never pure #FDFAF5

Warm Cream

#F2EDE4

Callout boxes, neutral section fills

Warm Grey

#9E9890

Captions, metadata, secondary text

Colour Rules

  • Never use a pure white (#FDFAF5) background — always use Soft White (#FDFAF5)
  • Gold is an accent, not a primary — use it sparingly for impact
  • Pair Espresso backgrounds with Gold or Soft White text only
  • Dusty Blue and Sage should not appear in the same zone — choose one per section
  • Photography should always lean warm — no cool-filtered or blue-toned images
  • Avoid heavy black (rgba(0,0,0,0.06)) — Warm Charcoal (#2C2A27) always instead

Visual Mood

Sunday Morning Natural Light Old Journals Linen Warm Coffee Editorial Not Influencer Magazine Warmth
07 Typography

Heading Font · Playfair Display

Every year could be
your best year yet.

Body Font · Montserrat

This isn't about perfection — it's about progress. We're sharing what's working, what we're learning, and what's making each year better than the last. Come build alongside us.

Type Scale

ElementFontSize / Weight / Notes
Cover / Hero HeadlinePlayfair Display52–96px · 400 regular · often italic
Section TitlePlayfair Display28–36px · 400–600
Pull QuotePlayfair Display Italic18–22px · 400 italic · gold accent
Card HeadingPlayfair Display18–20px · 600
Body / LeadMontserrat16–18px · 300–400 · 1.75 line-height
Caption / MetadataMontserrat13–14px · 300 · warm grey
Eyebrow / LabelMontserrat10–11px · 700 · 4px letter-spacing · uppercase
Button / CTAMontserrat13px · 600 · 2px letter-spacing · uppercase

Typography Rules

  • Playfair Display italic is the brand's most distinctive typographic voice — use it for emotional moments
  • Never use Playfair Display bold in body text — it loses the editorial quality
  • Montserrat 300 (light) is the workhorse for long-form reading
  • Eyebrow labels always uppercase, always widely spaced, always in gold or support colour
  • Avoid mixing more than two fonts in any single composition
08 Visual Identity & Photography

Photography is the heart of this brand's warmth. Every image should feel like a moment — not a shoot. Natural, unposed, honest. The goal is always: "She's someone I'd actually have coffee with."

Profile Photo — Do

  • Natural window light or outdoor daylight
  • Looking directly at the camera
  • Big, genuine smile — not forced
  • Neutral or warm-toned clothing
  • Soft, blurred natural background
  • Minimal to no heavy editing or filters
  • Feeling: approachable, real, warm

Profile Photo — Avoid

  • Heavy retouching or smoothing
  • Cool-toned or blue-filtered images
  • Studio lighting that feels commercial
  • Busy, distracting backgrounds
  • Overly posed or "influencer" energy
  • Looking away from camera for profile use

Content Photography Subjects

☕ Coffee 🌱 Garden 💻 Laptop / Workspace ✈️ Travel Moments 💇 Hair 🚶 Walking / Movement 📚 Books 🍳 Kitchen / Cooking

All content imagery should feel lived-in and genuine. Flat lays lean warm-toned on linen or wood surfaces.

Logo & Wordmark Guidance

The brand wordmark is Lana In Progress — set in Playfair Display, with the optional italic treatment for "Progress" as a distinctive accent. This is also the Instagram handle (@lanainprogress) and YouTube channel name. Pair with the tagline in Montserrat 300 uppercase.

Lana In Progress

We're never finished.

Lana In Progress

We're never finished.

  • ✓
    Dark version — Use on all dark (Espresso / Warm Charcoal) backgrounds
  • ✓
    Light version — Use on all light (Soft White / Linen Tint) backgrounds
  • ✕
    Never place the Lana In Progress wordmark on a busy photographic background without a scrim
  • ✕
    Never use the wordmark in any colour other than White or Warm Charcoal
  • ✕
    Never stretch, condense, or reweight the typeface
  • ✕
    Never apply drop shadows or outlines to the wordmark

"We're never finished."

Every year is another opportunity to become healthier, wiser, happier, more confident, more adventurous — and more yourself. Take care, and keep building your best year yet.

Best Year Yet  ·  Brand Guidelines  ·  Version 1.0  ·  July 2026