gws-template-design-spec

GWS Template Design Specification

Guide for designing Google Slides and Google Docs templates that work with the generate-doc.py document generation workflow.

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1. Placeholder Naming Convention

All placeholders use the {{DOUBLE_CURLY_UPPERCASE}} format:

• Delimiters: Double curly braces {{ }}
• Case: UPPER_SNAKE_CASE inside the braces
• No spaces: {{CLIENT_NAME}} not {{ CLIENT_NAME }}
• Match case: The generation script uses matchCase: true — placeholders are case-sensitive

Standard Placeholders

Placeholder	Description	Example Value
{{CLIENT_NAME}}	Client/prospect name	Acme Corp
{{PROPOSAL_DATE}}	Proposal date	April 11, 2026
{{REPORT_DATE}}	Report date	April 11, 2026
{{DATE}}	Generic date	April 11, 2026
{{CONSULTANT}}	Consultant name	Dmitri Zasage
{{COMPANY_SIZE}}	Employee count	50-200
{{INDUSTRY}}	Client industry	Healthcare
{{ENGAGEMENT_TYPE}}	Service type	Operational Resilience Baseline
{{PRICING}}	Engagement pricing	$15,000
{{EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY}}	Executive summary text	(multi-line)
{{FINDINGS}}	Assessment findings	(multi-line)
{{RECOMMENDATIONS}}	Recommendations text	(multi-line)
{{KEY_QUALIFICATIONS}}	Key qualifications	(multi-line)
{{CONTACT_INFO}}	Contact information	(multi-line)

Image Placeholders (Slides Only)

Placeholder	Description	Replacement Method
{{LOGO}}	Company logo	replaceAllShapesWithImage with CENTER_INSIDE
{{HEADSHOT}}	Consultant headshot	replaceAllShapesWithImage with CENTER_CROP
{{CLIENT_LOGO}}	Client company logo	replaceAllShapesWithImage with CENTER_INSIDE

Image placeholders: Create a text box with the placeholder text inside it. The replaceAllShapesWithImage API replaces the entire shape with the image, maintaining the shape’s position and size.

Custom Placeholders

When creating new templates, follow this naming pattern:

• Prefix with the section: {{SECTION_FIELD}} (e.g., {{SCOPE_DESCRIPTION}}, {{TIMELINE_PHASE1}})
• Use descriptive names that clearly indicate the content
• Document all custom placeholders in the template’s entry in config/template_ids.json

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2. Brand Constants

Colors

Name	Hex	RGB	Usage
Navy	#020532	(2, 5, 50)	Primary backgrounds, headers
Deep Navy	#091652	(9, 22, 82)	Secondary backgrounds
Copper	#C47A3D	(196, 122, 61)	Accent, CTAs, highlights
Copper Hover	#D4945E	(212, 148, 94)	Interactive hover states
Parchment	#FEF9F1	(254, 249, 241)	Light backgrounds, body areas
Warm Stone	#F0EBE4	(240, 235, 228)	Secondary light backgrounds
Charcoal	#111827	(17, 24, 39)	Body text on light backgrounds
White	#FFFFFF	(255, 255, 255)	Text on dark backgrounds
Slate Blue	#374273	(55, 66, 115)	Subtle accents, borders

Fonts

Font	Usage	Google Fonts
Playfair Display	Display headings, slide titles	Yes (available in Google Slides)
Montserrat	Body text, descriptions, bullets	Yes (available in Google Slides)
Libre Baskerville	Accent text, quotes, callouts	Yes (available in Google Slides)

Font Sizing Guidelines

Element	Google Slides	Google Docs
Main title	36-44pt Playfair Display	24-28pt Playfair Display
Subtitle	18-24pt Montserrat	16-18pt Montserrat
Section heading	24-28pt Playfair Display	18-20pt Playfair Display
Body text	14-16pt Montserrat	11-12pt Montserrat
Caption/note	10-12pt Libre Baskerville	9-10pt Libre Baskerville
Footer	8-10pt Montserrat	8pt Montserrat

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3. Slide Layouts (Google Slides — 16:9)

Proposal Template Slides

#	Layout	Background	Key Elements
1	Title Slide	Navy gradient	Logo (top-left), {{CLIENT_NAME}} (center), {{PROPOSAL_DATE}} (bottom), copper accent line
2	About Solanasis	Parchment	Logo, company overview, {{CONSULTANT}} bio snippet
3	Challenge / Why Now	Navy	Industry-specific challenge text, {{INDUSTRY}} reference
4	Proposed Solution	Parchment	{{ENGAGEMENT_TYPE}} as heading, scope description cards
5	Methodology	Parchment/Navy split	Process steps with icons
6	Timeline	Parchment	Phase timeline graphic, milestones
7	Deliverables	Parchment	Deliverable cards with descriptions
8	Investment	Navy	{{PRICING}} in copper, value propositions
9	Team	Parchment	{{HEADSHOT}}, bio, qualifications
10	Next Steps / CTA	Navy	Contact info, {{CONSULTANT}} name, meeting link

One-Pager Template (Google Docs)

Single page with:

• Header: Logo + {{CLIENT_NAME}} + {{DATE}}
• Left column: {{HEADSHOT}} + key qualifications
• Right column: Service description, {{ENGAGEMENT_TYPE}}, value proposition
• Footer: Contact info, Solanasis branding

Assessment Report Template (Google Docs)

Section	Key Placeholders
Cover page	Logo, {{CLIENT_NAME}}, {{REPORT_DATE}}, {{ENGAGEMENT_TYPE}}
Executive Summary	{{EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY}}
Findings Table	{{FINDINGS}} (or individual {{FINDING_N}} entries)
Recommendations	{{RECOMMENDATIONS}}
Risk Matrix	Static template (risk levels are part of findings)
Appendix	Methodology description, Solanasis background

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4. Template Design Rules

1. Placeholder visibility: Place placeholders in normal text boxes with visible text. Do NOT hide them in notes or comments — replaceAllText only works on visible content.

2. One placeholder per text box (Slides): For best results, each {{PLACEHOLDER}} should be the only content in its text box if it represents a major content block. Inline placeholders (e.g., “Dear {{CLIENT_NAME}}”) work fine for short substitutions.

3. Image placeholders (Slides): Create a text box of the desired image size, type the placeholder text (e.g., {{LOGO}}), and style it distinctively (e.g., red text) so it is obvious during design. The replaceAllShapesWithImage API replaces the entire text box with an image.

4. No placeholder in headers/footers (Docs): Google Docs replaceAllText does NOT replace text in headers, footers, or footnotes. Place all placeholders in the document body.

5. Test before deploying: After creating a template, test it with generate-doc.py --dry-run to verify all placeholders are recognized, then run a real generation to confirm formatting.

6. Version templates: When updating a template, create a copy first. Store both IDs in template_ids.json (with the old one commented in a _deprecated field) until the new version is verified.

7. Public image URLs required (Slides): Image URLs for replaceAllShapesWithImage must be publicly accessible from Google’s servers. URLs behind Cloudflare WAF/bot protection return 403. Workaround: Upload images to Google Drive, make them publicly shared, and use https://drive.google.com/uc?id=FILE_ID&export=download as the imageUrl.

8. Text overflow for variable-length content (Slides): For Slides text boxes containing variable-length content (like {{EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY}}), enable “Shrink text on overflow” in the text box properties, or size the text box generously. Long content clips at the text box boundary by default.

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5. Template Registration

After creating a template in Google Drive:

1. Get the file ID from the Google Drive URL: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/FILE_ID/edit
2. Update solanasis-scripts/config/template_ids.json with the real file ID
3. List all placeholders used in the template in the placeholders array
4. Test with: secret run solanasis-scripts -- python generate-doc.py --dry-run TYPE --client "Test"

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Last updated: 2026-04-11