Brand guidelines · Heritage motifs
Twelve Adinkra symbols, each with one job, and the Strip, a pattern inspired by Ghanaian strip-weaving. We drew every piece ourselves on the same 64-unit grid as our doorway, in ink and gold only.
01What they are
Adinkra are visual symbols of the Akan people of Ghana. Each one stands for a proverb, a value or an idea. They were first stamped on cloth worn at funerals and farewells, and they are now part of everyday life across Ghana.
We chose each symbol for what it means to a product about welcoming people safely. Each keeps one job in Agoo, so meanings never mix, and each appears with its name and meaning.
The Strip keeps only the structure of Ghanaian strip-weaving: narrow strips of stripes with patterned blocks, sewn edge to edge so the blocks step across the cloth. It copies no named cloth.
We drew every mark ourselves from circles, arcs and lines. We traced no font, icon set or other drawing, and we keep a dated log of how each mark was made and changed.
Spellings, pronunciations, proverbs and drawings are pending one review pass by an Akan cultural and language reviewer and a Ghanaian designer. Last updated 1 October 2026.
02The twelve marks
Each meaning is checked against at least two published sources. Each mark is outline only, drawn at one stroke weight, and keeps its role. Hover over or focus a mark to watch it drawn.
Say it: FEE-hahn-kra
“house, compound”
Security and safety in a home.
How Agoo uses it
Sites and premises; the visitor-pass corner stamp; "no sites yet".
Sources: R. S. Rattray, Religion and Art in Ashanti (1927); W. Bruce Willis, The Adinkra Dictionary (1998); National Commission on Culture (Ghana), Adinkra: Cultural Symbols of the Asante People; G. F. Kojo Arthur, Cloth as Metaphor (2001), and Arthur and Rowe, Akan Cultural Symbols Project.
Say it: EH-bahn
“fence”
Love, safety and security: the fence keeps the family safe from the outside.
How Agoo uses it
Security features; the guard and security desk; the alternative pass stamp.
Not Aban (the castle), which is a royal symbol.
Sources: W. Bruce Willis, The Adinkra Dictionary (1998); National Commission on Culture (Ghana), Adinkra: Cultural Symbols of the Asante People.
Say it: MAH-teh mah-SEE-eh
“what I hear, I keep”
Wisdom, knowledge and prudence; the virtue of keeping a confidence.
How Agoo uses it
Privacy and data protection (marketing and help pages, never the consent form itself).
Nyansa bun mu ne mate masieSources: R. S. Rattray, Religion and Art in Ashanti (1927); W. Bruce Willis, The Adinkra Dictionary (1998); National Commission on Culture (Ghana), Adinkra: Cultural Symbols of the Asante People.
Say it: ah-KOH-mah n-TOH-soh
“linked hearts”
Understanding and agreement.
How Agoo uses it
Host and visitor agreements; NDAs; "linked" integrations.
Never used alone as a logo-like badge: it is at the core of the Ghana Stock Exchange logo.
Sources: R. S. Rattray, Religion and Art in Ashanti (1927); W. Bruce Willis, The Adinkra Dictionary (1998); National Commission on Culture (Ghana), Adinkra: Cultural Symbols of the Asante People.
Say it: n-KON-son-KON-son
“links of a chain”
Unity and human relations: in unity lies strength.
How Agoo uses it
Integrations; multi-site groups; community and church organisations.
Sources: R. S. Rattray, Religion and Art in Ashanti (1927); W. Bruce Willis, The Adinkra Dictionary (1998); National Commission on Culture (Ghana), Adinkra: Cultural Symbols of the Asante People.
“help me and let me help you”
Cooperation and interdependence.
How Agoo uses it
Hosts and teams; the help centre.
Sources draw this symbol differently; the reviewer confirms the form.
Sources: W. Bruce Willis, The Adinkra Dictionary (1998); National Commission on Culture (Ghana), Adinkra: Cultural Symbols of the Asante People; G. F. Kojo Arthur, Cloth as Metaphor (2001), and Arthur and Rowe, Akan Cultural Symbols Project.
Say it: m-FRAH-mah-dahn
“wind-resistant house”
Fortitude, and readiness to face hard times.
How Agoo uses it
Offline mode, power-cut resilience, uptime and status.
Sources: W. Bruce Willis, The Adinkra Dictionary (1998); National Commission on Culture (Ghana), Adinkra: Cultural Symbols of the Asante People.
Say it: HWEH-moo-dwah
“measuring stick”
Examination and quality control: strive for the best quality.
How Agoo uses it
Quality and reliability sections (decorative only).
Never placed beside "verified" or "certified" badges: the Ghana Standards Authority mark derives from it.
Sources: W. Bruce Willis, The Adinkra Dictionary (1998); National Commission on Culture (Ghana), Adinkra: Cultural Symbols of the Asante People.
“he who does not know can know from learning”
Knowledge and life-long learning.
How Agoo uses it
Docs, the help centre and onboarding.
Sources: W. Bruce Willis, The Adinkra Dictionary (1998); National Commission on Culture (Ghana), Adinkra: Cultural Symbols of the Asante People.
Say it: n-CHIN-chim
“twistings”
Initiative, dynamism and adaptability: life's path is full of twists and turns.
How Agoo uses it
Onboarding paths and step progress.
Obra kwan ye nkyinkyimiieSources: R. S. Rattray, Religion and Art in Ashanti (1927); W. Bruce Willis, The Adinkra Dictionary (1998); National Commission on Culture (Ghana), Adinkra: Cultural Symbols of the Asante People; G. F. Kojo Arthur, Cloth as Metaphor (2001), and Arthur and Rowe, Akan Cultural Symbols Project.
Say it: DWEN-nee-men
“ram's horns”
Humility together with strength.
How Agoo uses it
Enterprise; the large waiting spinner ("Contacting your host").
Sources: R. S. Rattray, Religion and Art in Ashanti (1927); W. Bruce Willis, The Adinkra Dictionary (1998); National Commission on Culture (Ghana), Adinkra: Cultural Symbols of the Asante People.
Say it: san-KOH-fah
“return and fetch it”
Learning from the past to build the future.
How Agoo uses it
Visit history, the audit log and reports.
Heart form (Rattray #95).
Se wo were fi na wosankofa a, yennkyiSources: R. S. Rattray, Religion and Art in Ashanti (1927); W. Bruce Willis, The Adinkra Dictionary (1998); National Commission on Culture (Ghana), Adinkra: Cultural Symbols of the Asante People.
03Two accents
These two are never shown on their own as symbols.
Say it: ah-DIN-krah-heh-neh
“chief of the adinkra symbols”
Greatness, charisma and leadership; the basis of adinkra printing.
As a still badge it would read as “chief”, so we use it only in motion: the ripple when a visitor is checked in or a booking is confirmed.
How Agoo uses it
Motion only: the check-in and booking-confirmed ripple. Never a static badge.
Sources: R. S. Rattray, Religion and Art in Ashanti (1927); W. Bruce Willis, The Adinkra Dictionary (1998); National Commission on Culture (Ghana), Adinkra: Cultural Symbols of the Asante People; Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, "Adinkra: Message and Medium" (2018).
Say it: n-CHI-moo
“the crossed divisions ruled on adinkra cloth before printing”
Skilfulness and precision.
Adinkra makers rule these lines on the cloth with a comb before any stamping. In Agoo it becomes the grid, ruled on before content appears.
How Agoo uses it
The ruled grid: comb-line reveals and lattice backgrounds.
Sources: W. Bruce Willis, The Adinkra Dictionary (1998); National Commission on Culture (Ghana), Adinkra: Cultural Symbols of the Asante People.
04The Strip
Strip cloth is woven in narrow strips: striped runs with patterned blocks at intervals, sewn edge to edge so the blocks step across the cloth. We keep that structure and nothing else. Our blocks come from a closed set of five shapes, one of them our own arch, with no Adinkra inside.
For hero backgrounds: strips side by side, each offset by half a block, held at low contrast and cleared around content. It drifts one unit a second.
On light grounds the Strip uses ink and grey, and gold appears only as solid bars. Gold on white is decorative and never carries meaning.
A strip is 64 units wide, the same as the icon grid. Gold bars and cells, pale stripes, and a 2-unit seam where strips meet.
05Motion
Timing runs on a 100 ms pulse. Staggers follow the twelve-pulse bell pattern heard across West African music, with onsets at 0, 200, 400, 500, 700, 900 and 1,100 ms. Stamps rock 1.5° once and settle.
These samples repeat so you can watch them. In the product each plays once, and nothing loops on a screen where staff work. Every animation has a still form: switch Motion to Reduced to see it.
Marks are stamped into a 3 × 3 grid in bell-pattern order, then the cloth clears. For short waits.
A strip builds one weft pick per percent, and the blocks complete as it grows. For uploads and imports.
The four horns draw outward from the centre, then the pairs rock slowly against each other. For longer waits.
The door opens a little, rings ripple out (Adinkrahene), and the host’s answer arrives as a second beat.
The pass rises from behind the arch, complete and still, then one Fihankra is stamped in the corner. The QR code never moves on its own.
The seven days arrive on the bell-pattern onsets. Booking week view, first load only.
Check-in steps sit on a twisting path that fills as each step is done: life’s path is full of turns.
Nkyimu lines are ruled on before a section’s content appears, as the cloth is ruled before stamping.
06Explained, never used
Some symbols are sacred, or speak of death, slavery, war, royalty or enmity. We never draw them into a pattern, loader, piece of merchandise or product screen. They appear here as words only.
Gye Nyame
“except God”
Sacred: the supremacy of God.
Nyame Dua
“tree of God, an altar”
Sacred: God's presence and protection.
Nyame Biribi Wo Soro
“God, there is something in the heavens”
Sacred: a prayer, once hung above a palace door.
Nyame Nti, Nyame Nnwu Na Mawu, Onyankopon Aniwa, Nyame Ye Ohene, Adwera
Sacred, or purification and sanctity.
Mmusuyidee
“that which removes ill luck”
Ritual.
Owuo Atwedee
“the ladder of death”
Death.
Epa, Sepow
“handcuffs; the execution knife”
Slavery, violence and punishment.
Akoben, Akofena, Tuo ne Akofena, Ohene Tuo
“war horn; state sword; gun and sword”
War and state regalia.
Aban, Ohene Adwa, Adinkrahene Dua
“castle; the king's stool”
Royal regalia.
Fofoo, Tamfo Bebre, Kramo Bone
Jealousy and enmity; Kramo Bone also carries a religious stereotype.
Kintinkantan, Kwatakye Atiko
A warning against arrogance; a war captain's haircut. No fit for a product.
"Akwaaba" glyphs and Adinkra Alphabet letters
Modern inventions, not traditional Adinkra.
There is no traditional Adinkra for “welcome”. Our doorway is our welcome.
07Not yet in use
Symbols we may use later, with care and only after review. Until then we don’t draw them.
Mpatapo
“knot of reconciliation”
Reconciliation and peacemaking.
Ese Ne Tekrema
“the teeth and the tongue”
Friendship and interdependence.
Funtunfunefu Denkyemfunefu
“Siamese crocodiles”
Democracy and unity in diversity.
Bese Saka
“sack of cola nuts”
Affluence, abundance and unity.
Dame-Dame
“draughts (a board game)”
Intelligence and ingenuity.
Aya
“the fern”
Endurance and resourcefulness.
Mmere Dane
“time changes”
Change and the dynamics of life.
Akoma
“the heart”
Patience and tolerance.
Nsoromma
“child of the heavens, star”
Guardianship.
Owo Foro Adobe
“snake climbing the raffia tree”
Steadfastness and prudence (sources differ).
Bi Nka Bi
“no one should bite the other”
Peace and harmony.
Fawohodie
“independence”
Independence, freedom and its responsibilities.
Akoko Nan
“the leg of a hen”
Mercy, nurturing and protection.
Mmra Krado
“seal of law and order”
The authority of the court, law and order.
Nyansapo
“wisdom knot”
Wisdom, ingenuity and patience.
Ananse Ntontan
“spider's web”
Wisdom and creativity.
08Where they go
Motifs frame the moments of arriving: the welcome, the pass, an empty first day and the story we tell. Everything people work in stays plain.
09Credits
These symbols and this craft belong to the people of Ghana. We are grateful to use them, and we want to get them right.
Adinkra belong to the Akan people, and to the Asante in particular. We credit the Akan and Asante communities, and the adinkra makers of Ntonso and Asokwa, who still carve the calabash stamps and print the cloth by hand.
The Strip takes its structure from the work of Asante and Ewe strip-weavers, in Bonwire, Adanwomase, Agotime, Agbozume and beyond. Their cloth is the inspiration; the pattern copies none of it.
We welcome corrections from Akan language and culture specialists, and we fix what they point out.
Spotted a mistake, or have a view on how we use these symbols? Please tell us.
Write to us about the motifs