Brand Identity · Visual system · Component
The application rules
How the system behaves in the difficult cases — small sizes, dark backgrounds, third-party templates — because the easy cases were never the problem.
The deliverable
What it is
Guidelines specify the ideal application and leave the constrained ones to judgement, which is exactly backwards. Nobody needs help with a full-page advertisement.
Third-party contexts are where the system is applied most and controlled least: partner sites, marketplaces, job boards, invoicing systems, each with their own constraints.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The hard cases
The constrained contexts the system has to survive.
3 attributes: Case · Specified answer · Frequency
LearnThe co-branding
How the identity behaves next to someone else’s.
3 attributes: Rule · Partner type · Approves
LearnThe departures
When the rules may be broken, and by whom.
3 attributes: Departure · Approved by · Reason
Learn
Write the rules for small, single-colour and someone else’s template. Nobody needed help with the full-page version.
The other components in visual system
The distinctive assets
The elements that carry recognition, identified rather than assumed — because most of a visual system is styling and a small part of it is memory.
LearnThe specifications
Colour, type, spacing and construction in values that can be reproduced exactly — because the system will be applied by people who never spoke to anyone about it.
Learn