brand-guidelines

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---
name: brand-guidelines
description: "Professional brand consistency enforcement and corporate identity management with support for color palettes, typography, logo usage, tone of voice, and multi-channel brand application. Use for: (1) Creating brand style guides, (2) Enforcing brand consistency across documents, (3) Logo usage validation, (4) Typography standards, (5) Color palette management, (6) Brand voice guidelines"
---

# Brand Guidelines Skill

Apply comprehensive brand consistency and corporate identity standards across all communication channels and materials.

## Overview

Brand guidelines (brand style guides or brand books) define how your brand should be represented visually and verbally across all touchpoints. This skill helps you create professional brand guidelines and ensure consistent brand application.

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

- **Create comprehensive brand guidelines** from scratch
- **Audit existing materials** for brand compliance
- **Apply brand standards** to documents, websites, or marketing materials
- **Define or refine** brand identity elements (logo, colors, typography)
- **Establish tone of voice** and messaging frameworks
- **Manage multiple brands** or sub-brands within an organization
- **Ensure accessibility** in brand color choices
- **Train stakeholders** on proper brand usage

## Core Brand Elements

### 1. Logo Guidelines

Define logo variations (primary, secondary, icon, horizontal/vertical, reversed), usage rules (clear space, minimum size, color variations), and prohibited alterations (no stretching, rotating, color changes, effects, or placement on busy backgrounds).

**Quick Reference:**
- Minimum size: 0.75" print, 120px digital
- Clear space: Height of a logo element on all sides
- Required variations: Full-color, monochrome, reversed

See `references/visual-specifications.md` for complete logo specifications and `examples/logo-usage-guide.md` for visual do's and don'ts.

### 2. Color System

Establish primary colors (1-3), secondary colors (2-5), accent colors (1-3), and neutral colors. Specify all color values (Pantone, CMYK, RGB, HEX, HSL) and ensure WCAG accessibility compliance.

**Quick Reference:**
- WCAG AA: 4.5:1 contrast ratio for text
- WCAG AAA: 7:1 contrast ratio (preferred)
- Document approved color combinations

See `references/visual-specifications.md` for complete color specifications including accessibility requirements.

### 3. Typography

Define primary and secondary typefaces with weights, establish hierarchy (H1-H6, body text, specialty text), and set spacing rules.

**Quick Reference:**
- Specify font weights and fallbacks
- Define size scale and line-heights
- Set optimal line length: 45-75 characters
- Document licensing requirements

See `references/visual-specifications.md` for complete typography system.

### 4. Iconography and Imagery

Establish icon style (stroke weight, corner radius, grid system) and photography guidelines (composition, lighting, color treatment, technical requirements).

See `references/visual-specifications.md` for detailed specifications.

### 5. Spacing and Layout

Use 8px base unit spacing system and define grid systems for desktop (12-column), tablet (8-column), and mobile (4-column) layouts.

See `references/visual-specifications.md` for complete grid specifications.

### 6. Brand Voice and Tone

Define voice characteristics, create voice spectrum positioning, and establish tone adaptation for different contexts (customer support, marketing, technical docs, social media, internal comms).

**Quick Reference:**
- Use active voice and second person
- Apply contractions in casual contexts
- Adapt tone by audience and channel
- Maintain consistency in style and punctuation

See `references/voice-and-messaging.md` for complete voice guidelines and `examples/voice-examples.md` for before/after examples.

### 7. Messaging Framework

Create elevator pitch template, define primary and secondary me