STUDIO NOIR

Private · Master Plan · v1.0
STUDIO NOIRNAMING ARCHITECTURE

STUDIO NOIR

Naming Architecture

The parent brand and everything that lives underneath it. Rationale for each name, use cases, and rules for how the names lock up with the STUDIO NOIR wordmark.

Architecture principle: branded house. STUDIO NOIR is the parent. Everything wears the wordmark. Nothing breaks away.

1. STUDIO NOIR (Parent Brand)

Full name: STUDIO NOIR. Wordmark: Fraunces Italic, uppercase. Legal entity: STUDIO NOIR OpCo LLC (operating company) + STUDIO NOIR IP LLC (trademarks + franchise IP).

Why STUDIO NOIR

“Studio” names the space. It is a room, not a service. It reads athletic (dance studio), artistic (painter’s studio), architectural (design studio), and private (recording studio). It signals a workshop where real work happens.

“Noir” carries darkness, elegance, and cinema. It reads luxurious without saying luxury. It reads private without saying private. It reads editorial without saying editorial. It works in a whisper.

Together, STUDIO NOIR is a room where quiet, serious work happens at hotel-grade hospitality standard. Short, easy to say, easy to own, easy to tattoo, scales to national IP (THE NOIR INVITATIONAL).

Not a wellness word. Not a gym word. Not a spa word. That is the point.

What STUDIO NOIR refers to

  • The Raleigh studio (Phase 1) and later the Raleigh-Durham flagship (Phase 2), as physical places
  • The parent brand under which all sub-brands sit
  • The member community, sometimes referenced as “inside STUDIO NOIR”

Usage rules

  • Always uppercase in the wordmark
  • In prose, “STUDIO NOIR” is preferred. “Studio Noir” is acceptable in flowing body copy where all-caps would read jarring
  • Never possessive (“STUDIO NOIR’s”) in headlines. Fine in body copy
  • Never pluralized. When chapters open (Phase 3), each takes a place suffix (STUDIO NOIR Raleigh, STUDIO NOIR Atlanta, STUDIO NOIR Charlotte), not a numbered edition

2. THE NOIR INVITATIONAL (Phase 2 forward)

The competition IP. Produced by The Walker Group.

Not launched Phase 1. Trademark filed Day 1 so nobody else takes it. Event production begins Phase 2 Year 2 (roughly 2031).

What it is

A curated, invitation-only pole and movement competition staged at STUDIO NOIR Raleigh, filmed at broadcast quality, released as an annual event and a media property.

Why the name

“Invitational” is the right register. It signals selection, respect, and stature. Golf has invitationals. Track has invitationals. Tennis has invitationals. Pole and movement have not been given the same seriousness of framing at the elite level. THE NOIR INVITATIONAL corrects that.

“THE” in all caps, always. It is not “a” competition. It is the one.

Usage rules

  • Always uppercase
  • Wordmark lockup: THE NOIR INVITATIONAL in Fraunces Italic, with the parent STUDIO NOIR wordmark visually anchored above or beside
  • Never shortened to “TNI” externally. Internally acceptable in ops docs
  • Producer credit: “Produced by The Walker Group” appears in the tail credits of every filmed release and on the event program

3. Membership Tiers

Phase 1 has two sellable tiers plus one charter designation.

Access ($199/month)

Phase 1 entry tier. Unlimited group classes. Booked through Mariana Tek.

Public name: Access. It names what it gives you: full access to the class schedule.

Studio ($349/month)

Phase 1 core tier. Unlimited group classes plus a named locker, one guest pass per month, priority booking window, first seat at every members’ event.

Public name: Studio. It names the space. If you are a Studio member, the studio is yours.

The Founders (charter designation, not a sellable tier)

The first 30 members who sign up (charter cohort). Given at time of joining, permanent, capped at 30. Comes with: - Studio tier rate locked at $349/month for life (protects against future price increases) - Founder’s signed folio at intake - In-person introduction to Taj - Named in the founders’ plaque installed at Phase 2 flagship - First seat at every future STUDIO NOIR event

Not sold. Given. Once we hit 30 Founders, the door closes on that designation forever.

Why “The Founders”: these are the members whose belief funded the room. The name honors that, permanently.

Phase 2 additions (not Phase 1)

  • Black Card ($999/month) at Phase 2 flagship: full access to recovery wing, unlimited private studio hours, monthly personal training session, concierge extras. Only added when the amenities exist to justify it.

Tier naming rules

  • Never “Basic,” “Silver,” “Gold,” “Platinum,” or any hierarchy that reads gym
  • Never “VIP.” STUDIO NOIR has no VIP tier because every member is treated as one
  • The tiers are always presented in this order in public copy: Access, Studio, (Phase 2) Black Card. Entry first, aspiration last. Members choose up

4. Apparel Line

Name: STUDIO NOIR (as label) with sub-collection designators.

Phase 1

Small print-on-demand line. No warehouse. No inventory risk. See 11_RETAIL_APPAREL for scope.

Phase 2 sub-collection names

  • STUDIO NOIR Core. Permanent essentials. Training pieces, robes, towels, day-to-day. Always in stock.
  • STUDIO NOIR Invitational. Limited pieces tied to the annual competition. Released each September before the event (Phase 2 Year 2 forward).
  • STUDIO NOIR Founders. Not for sale. Given, once per year, to members holding The Founders charter status. A physical marker of belonging.

Why the structure

A branded house apparel line reads as an extension of the club, not a separate business. Every piece is a wearable membership card. The founders’ piece is uncommercial by design, which is what makes it desirable.

Usage rules

  • No influencer seeding for the first three drops. Members and staff wear the line first. Photography is documentary, not campaign.
  • No sale, ever. Sold-through, then archived.
  • Materials palette lives inside the visual identity: cream linen, black cotton, Champagne Gold thread.

5. STUDIO NOIR Digital (Phase 2 forward)

Remote and travel-friendly membership. Not Phase 1.

Filmed classes, coach follow-alongs, recovery protocols, member community, THE NOIR INVITATIONAL archive access. Also serves in-club members when they travel.

Usage rules (Phase 2)

  • Sub-brand lockup: “STUDIO NOIR DIGITAL” set in Söhne Kräftig small caps, beneath the parent wordmark, hairline rule between
  • Marketed to members first, non-members second
  • Content is commissioned, filmed at broadcast quality, never repurposed influencer content

6. STUDIO NOIR Café and Lounge (Phase 2 forward)

The hospitality footprint inside the flagship. Not Phase 1.

STUDIO NOIR Café

The daytime food and coffee counter. Open to members and their guests. Small plates, a rotating kitchen, prosecco always.

STUDIO NOIR Lounge

The evening and event space adjacent to the café. Hosts member events, THE NOIR INVITATIONAL after-parties, private founder gatherings.

Usage rules

  • The café can be booked by members for guests without paperwork
  • The lounge is booked through the concierge, only for aligned events
  • Menus set in Söhne with Fraunces Italic headers. Prices in Söhne Mono. No dollar signs. Numerals only
  • Never called “the restaurant” or “the bar.” Café and lounge, exactly

7. Retail Micro-Boutique (Phase 2 forward)

Name: THE HOUSE SHOP.

A small, curated retail moment inside the flagship: STUDIO NOIR apparel, aligned outside brands (recovery tools, grip aids, athletic-luxury basics). Physical footprint under 300 square feet. Staffed by the concierge team.

Not Phase 1. Phase 1 apparel is direct-to-member online only.

Usage rules

  • Curation is Taj’s call, quarterly
  • No consignment. All product bought outright, priced at retail
  • Signage: Champagne Gold plate, engraved “The House Shop,” on the oak wall beside the entry. No storefront window graphics

8. Private Studio Rooms (Phase 2 flagship)

Individually named. Not numbered.

Three private studios inside the Phase 2 flagship. Named after three people who shaped Taj’s sense of a room worth being in. Names finalized by Taj before Phase 2 open. Working placeholders below to hold the pattern.

Naming pattern

Each studio takes a single first name, set in Fraunces Italic on a foil-pressed cream card inside a Champagne Gold frame beside the door.

Placeholder names (Taj finalizes)

  • Studio One placeholder: MAE
  • Studio Two placeholder: CAMILLE
  • Studio Three placeholder: SIMONE

Why named, not numbered

Numbered studios read as gym. Named studios read as suites. Members book “Camille at 6” instead of “Studio 2 at 6.” The room takes on a character.

9. Sub-Brand Rules (Summary)

  • Every sub-brand carries the STUDIO NOIR wordmark somewhere in its lockup
  • No sub-brand competes with the parent in size, weight, or visual dominance
  • Sub-brand names are set in Söhne Kräftig small caps below the parent, hairline rule between. THE NOIR INVITATIONAL is the exception (it stands alone in Fraunces Italic at full weight, because it is the media property)
  • No sub-brand gets its own color palette, typography exception, or photography style. One system
  • No sub-brand launches without a founder review by Taj

10. Names Not to Use

Rejected during development. Kept here so they do not resurface.

  • “STUDIO NOIR Wellness.” Wellness word ban
  • “The Studio Noir Club.” Redundant
  • “Studio Noir Athletic.” Splits from luxury frame
  • “Studio Noir Society.” Reads network-marketing
  • “House of Studio Noir.” Reads editorial-magazine, not club
  • “Vaulted.” Old VAULT-era language, retired
  • “The Vault Invitational.” Old name, retired 2026-07-28 when brand became STUDIO NOIR
  • Any tier named “Elite,” “Prestige,” “Signature,” “Platinum.” Gym language
  • Any studio numbered
  • Any use of “Studio Noir” as a verb in copy (“noir your training”). Never

11. The Full Architecture, One Page

STUDIO NOIR (parent)
├── Phase 1 (2027 to 2028)
│   ├── STUDIO NOIR Raleigh (boutique studio)
│   ├── Membership Tiers
│   │   ├── Access ($199)
│   │   ├── Studio ($349)
│   │   └── The Founders (charter designation, cap 30)
│   └── STUDIO NOIR Apparel (small print-on-demand)
│
├── Phase 2 (2029 to 2030)
│   ├── STUDIO NOIR Raleigh Flagship (full luxury club)
│   ├── Black Card membership tier ($999)
│   ├── THE NOIR INVITATIONAL (produced by The Walker Group)
│   ├── STUDIO NOIR Café
│   ├── STUDIO NOIR Lounge
│   ├── The House Shop (retail micro-boutique)
│   ├── STUDIO NOIR Digital (remote/travel membership)
│   ├── STUDIO NOIR Apparel (real line: Core, Invitational, Founders)
│   └── Private Studios (Mae, Camille, Simone — placeholders, Taj finalizes)
│
└── Phase 3 (2032+)
    ├── STUDIO NOIR Atlanta (franchise)
    ├── STUDIO NOIR Miami (franchise)
    └── Future international (London, Dubai)

One parent, one wordmark, one visual system, one voice. Everything ladders home.