Art First
Art first, expression first, aesthetics first. The founding principle, and the reason nothing leaves the studio looking like a template.
Always the three firsts, always in that order.
MVKBIZMikhail V. KuznetsovStyle GuideEdition I
The style guide
MVKBIZ
Your idea is only as good as your art.
How MVKBIZ looks, sounds and sells. The rulebook for every page, post and pitch that carries Mikhail’s name, built on twenty years of direct-response craft and the art-first principles behind it.
MVKBIZStyle GuideI Essencep. 01
Chapter I
Essence
Who he is and what the brand stands for, told in the words it already uses.
Persuasion is an art form. Treat it like one.
- Name
- Mikhail V. Kuznetsov
- Brand
- MVKBIZ
- Role
- Artist and marketer. Marketing architect and growth strategist.
- Base
- Austin and Tulum
- Proof
- Twenty years of direct-response craft and close to $100M in client sales across fitness, the creator economy, speaking authority and wealth.
- Mission
- Help great founders build great companies: art first, expression first, aesthetics first.
- Who he serves
- Founders running $1M to $10M businesses, and the CMOs of portfolio companies who need senior craft on a high-stakes launch.
- The promise
- Work that compounds, never template-shaped output that decays.
“People don’t buy what you sell. They buy the version of themselves they become when they say yes.”
Mikhail V. Kuznetsov
MVKBIZStyle GuideII Voicep. 02
Chapter II
Voice
The romantic operator. Warm by default, surgical when the subject turns to craft, never cynical and never breathless.
- 2.1
Lead with the work
Clarity converts. Not cleverness. Not volume. Clarity.
Skip the resume, the awards and every ‘expert’ title. Cite the campaign, name the lift, then write the next sentence.
- 2.2
Romantic and principled
Building a business is one of the most romantic things a person can do.
Skip ironic detachment, and anything that pretends the work is only a transaction.
- 2.3
Quiet conviction
The right idea is worth one conversation.
Skip hard pitches, discount stacks, invented scarcity and begging for the meeting. Be willing to walk away.
- 2.4
Show the receipts
Three to seven times the ROAS, from the copy alone.
Skip ‘helped clients grow’ and any round number without a story behind it.
His words
art firstexpression firstthe craftthe workthe right ideatrue desirecompoundcinematicprincipledrelentlessromanticinnovate, never replicate
Words we skip
10xleveragesynergygurugrowth hackscalable solutionideatecircle backunlock
Writing mechanics
6 rules- Open on the strongest sentence. No setup and no throat-clearing.
- Default short, lengthen for cadence, and end every paragraph on a beat.
- Leave heavy white space, one idea to a paragraph.
- Build every piece as hook, truth, mechanism, proof and invitation, in that order.
- Use Title Case for emphasis, never capitals in body copy.
- No semicolons and no em dashes. A period does the job.
MVKBIZStyle GuideIII Signature ideasp. 03
Chapter III
Signature ideas
The principles and frameworks that make the work recognisably his. Write them the same way every time so they read as his.
First
ArtSecond
ExpressionThird
Aesthetics
Innovate, Never Replicate
We don’t replicate. We innovate. Borrow the lineage of Schwartz, Halbert, Bencivenga and Ogilvy, never a competitor’s swipe file.
Title Case when it heads a section.
Chess, Not Checkers
Every campaign is a game of chess. Think three moves ahead while competitors react to the last one. The market punishes the reactive and rewards the architects.
The only strategy metaphor. No sports, no war.
Message Before Medium
The channel is never the strategy. A weak message amplified by perfect targeting is just expensive noise.
The first question in every audit.
Hook, Truth, Mechanism, Proof, Invitation
The five beats behind every post, page and script. Each beat earns the next, and the last one invites instead of pushing.
Written with commas, never arrows.
The Right Idea Conversation
The 1:1 strategic call, by application only. The right idea is worth one conversation, and it is the only door to roster work.
Never called a discovery call.
MVKBIZStyle GuideIV Colourp. 04
Chapter IV
Colour
Obsidian, champagne gold and ivory. Seven colours measured from the live site. Gold is the only accent.
Obsidian
Champagne
Champagne light
Charcoal
BronzeThe field is Obsidian. The type is Ivory. Gold appears once, where the eye should land.
Champagne carries the one action on a screen. Champagne light and Bronze exist only inside the gold: the highlight and the shadow of the same metal, used in the sheen gradient and never on their own.
Obsidian #070708Champagne #D4AF37Ivory #F5F1E6
How much of each
By areaObsidian 58%Charcoal 20%Ivory 12%Stone 5%Champagne 4%Champagne light 0.6%Bronze 0.4%
Do
Keep gold rare. One gold element on a screen carries more weight than five.
Do
Use the sheen gradient on gold display type and rules, at display sizes only.
Don’t
Add a second accent. No teal, no red and no new blue, however well it photographs.
MVKBIZStyle GuideV Typep. 05
Chapter V
Type
Cinzel carries the voice in tracked capitals. Satoshi does the reading. Cormorant Garamond is the quiet italic for quotes.
Voice, Cinzel
Cinzel, via Google Fonts400 to 700, capitals only
Voice
CINZEL
Titles, labels and buttons, tracked wide.
Text
Satoshi
Paragraphs, lists, answers and forms.
Quote
Cormorant
Pull quotes and the occasional aside, always italic.
Figures
$100M / XX
Cinzel for numbers and Roman numerals.
Do
Track Cinzel wide in labels and buttons, 0.2em and up.
Do
Keep Satoshi at 17px or larger for anything people read.
Don’t
Set Cinzel in a paragraph. It is a titling face and it tires the eye.
MVKBIZStyle GuideVI Marksp. 06
Chapter VI
Marks
The gold marble mark, the wordmark and the three devices that frame the work.
MVKBIZMarketing Architect
I · II · III
THE WORK
Please don’t
4 rulesRound corners
Zero radius everywhere. Sharp geometry is the signature, on buttons, cards and frames.
Gold on gold
Gold type never sits on a gold field. Put it on Obsidian or Charcoal.
Effects
No glows, bevels, outlines or drop shadows on the mark or the wordmark.
Lowercase Cinzel
Cinzel has no lowercase worth using. Titles go in capitals, reading goes in Satoshi.
MVKBIZStyle GuideVII Photographyp. 07
Chapter VII
Photography
Real life, full of colour and adventure, shot like a film still. The work gets serious; the pictures stay human.
Light
Window light or golden hour. Never a ring light, never flash.
Wardrobe
Tailored for the studio, black for Tulum, one bright piece on the road.
Moments
Working, travelling and speaking, caught mid-thought rather than posed.
Grade
Warm skin, deep blacks, true colour. Black and white for detail shots.
The shot list
8 frames, all in the library
Skip in every shoot
- Ring light and phone flash
- Stock laptops and coffee cups
- Heavy filters and neon gels
- Text baked into the frame
The numbers
On every proof slide20+
Years in direct response
3-7×
Typical ROAS lift from copy alone
48h
Average VSL script turnaround
Day 1
When the strategy starts paying off
MVKBIZStyle GuideVIII Building blocksp. 08
Chapter VIII
Building blocks
Buttons, cards and rules, rendered live from the MVKBIZ design system.
Do
One gold button per screen. The ghost button carries everything else.
Do
Button labels in Cinzel capitals, three words or fewer.
Don’t
Round a corner, add a shadow or put gold type on a gold button.
MVKBIZStyle GuideIX In the wildp. 09
Chapter IX
In the wild
Templates in the brand’s own formats. Typography is the image; the photo is the proof.
- KeptCinzel capitals as the headline, tracked wide.
- KeptGold as the single accent on Obsidian.
- KeptRoman numerals for every sequence.
- KeptReal photographs from the shoots and the road.
- RefinedOne claim per post, with the number that proves it.
- RefinedEvery carousel ends on a clean invitation, never a hard pitch.
CLARITY
CONVERTS
Not cleverness. Not volume.
People don’t buy what you sell.
They buy who they become
Carousel · II of V
II
Message before medium
The channel is never the strategy. A weak message amplified by perfect targeting is just expensive noise.
Essay · No. VII
Building a business is one of the most romantic things a person can do.
3-7×ROAS lift from copy alone
The operating system
Chess, not checkers
Think three moves ahead while your competitors are still reacting to the last one.
MVKBIZThe work, the craft
Start the ConversationSee the Work
Start the ConversationSee the Work
MVKBIZStyle GuideX The offer ladderp. 10
Chapter X
The offer ladder
Every offer, in the order a buyer meets it. Each offer page follows this pattern: kicker, name, price, one paragraph, one gold button.
FreeFive to ten prompts
Rung I, free
Solo Operator Starter
A curated file of the best agent prompts, delivered by email. The top of the list, and the first thing a solo operator receives from MVKBIZ.
Get the Starter$7One-time
Rung II, tripwire
The Daily Ship Pack
A tight set of prompts to help you ship something every single day in public. Momentum on demand.
Get the Pack, $7$47
Lifetime access
Rung III, flagship
The Solo Operator Pack
Battle-tested prompts, agent briefs and an automation playbook. Everything you need to run like a team of one.
Get the Pack, $47$97Per month
Rung IV, community
Build Your Own Agent System
The membership community for building your own agent system. The founding annual plan is $970 a year, two months free against monthly.
Join the Community, $97/mo
Rung V, senior craft
Cinematic Copy Audit
A campaign audit performed personally by Mikhail: offer architecture, sales letter, ad copy, voice and funnel sequencing. A senior craft pass on a high-stakes campaign before it launches.
Request the Audit
Rung VI, by application
The Right Idea Conversation
A strategic call that is never bookable from the public site. The right idea is worth one conversation, and it is the way into roster work.
Apply for a Conversation Application only, never a public booking linkMVKBIZStyle GuideXI Codesp. 11
Chapter XI
Codes
Everything a designer or developer needs to build in this world without guessing.
Motion
- Content rises 18px as it scrolls into viewCSS scroll timeline
- The sheen travels across gold display type8s a pass
- Buttons shift their fill on hover and never scale300ms
- Nothing is ever hidden waiting for a scriptalways visible
- Reduced motion stops everything at its final statealways
The easing curve
Everything eases the plain way, quick to start and soft to land: ease, 180ms, 300ms and 600ms.
Design tokens
CSS.mvkbiz{
--obsidian:#070708; --charcoal:#151515; --champagne:#D4AF37;
--champagne-light:#F5E6A8; --bronze:#8C6D2F; --ivory:#F5F1E6;
--stone:#9A9286;
--gradient-gold:linear-gradient(180deg, #F5E6A8 0%, #D4AF37 50%, #8C6D2F 100%);
--gradient-sheen:linear-gradient(100deg, #8C6D2F 0%, #D4AF37 35%, #F5E6A8 50%, #D4AF37 65%, #8C6D2F 100%);
--gradient-gold-rule:linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(212,175,55,.4), transparent);
--font-heading:'Cinzel', Georgia, serif;
--font-body:'Satoshi', 'Inter', system-ui, sans-serif;
--font-mono:'Cinzel', Georgia, serif;
--radius-sm:0px; --radius-md:0px; --radius-lg:0px;
--ease:ease; --duration:300ms;
}Font links
One tag per familyhttps://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Cinzel:wght@400;500;600;700&display=swaphttps://api.fontshare.com/v2/css?f[]=satoshi@400,500,700,900&display=swaphttps://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Cormorant+Garamond:ital,wght@0,300;0,400;1,300;1,400&display=swapHard rules
6- Gold is the only accent. Obsidian field, champagne gold, ivory type.
- Cinzel in capitals. Titles, labels and buttons, tracked wide.
- Zero radius. Sharp geometry is the signature.
- Twelve pixels minimum. Nothing readable under 12px.
- Real work, real numbers. Every claim carries a campaign or a figure.
- No em dashes. A period does the job.