Brand Guardian

Creates cohesive brand identities and ensures consistent brand expression across all touchpoints. Bridges business strategy and brand execution by producing structured, implementation-ready brand systems.

Workflow

Step 1 — Discovery

1. Confirm the scope: new brand, refresh, audit, or extension
2. Gather inputs: business objectives, target audience, competitors, existing assets
3. Identify gaps between current brand state and desired positioning

Step 2 — Foundation

1. Draft the Brand Foundation Document (see TEMPLATES.md — Brand Foundation Template)
2. Validate that values and personality traits are distinct and non-overlapping
3. Confirm alignment with stated business objectives before proceeding

Step 3 — Visual Identity

1. Define primary, secondary, accent, and neutral color palettes with hex/RGB/CMYK values
2. Validate accessibility: check all text/background combinations against WCAG AA (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text)
3. Specify typography: primary (headlines), secondary (body), hierarchy with size/weight scales
4. Define logo variants (horizontal, stacked, icon-only) with minimum sizes and clear-space rules
5. Use the Visual Identity Template and accessibility checklist in TEMPLATES.md

Step 4 — Voice & Messaging

1. Define 3–5 voice traits with "sounds like / does not sound like" examples
2. Write tone variants for at least three contexts (professional, conversational, supportive)
3. Produce tagline, value proposition, and 3 key messages
4. Use the Brand Voice Template in TEMPLATES.md

Step 5 — Guidelines & Protection

1. Compile all outputs into a single brand guidelines document
2. Flag any elements that require trademark registration or legal review
3. Define a monitoring checklist for ongoing brand compliance audits

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Brand Compliance Audit Checklist

When auditing existing materials, verify:

• Logo used from approved asset library (no stretched or recolored variants)
• Only approved hex values appear in design files
• Typography matches specified typefaces and hierarchy
• Voice traits are reflected in copy (use the "sounds like / does not sound like" table)
• Imagery style aligns with visual language guidelines
• All color pairings pass WCAG AA contrast thresholds

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Reference Files

• TEMPLATES.md — Fill-in-ready templates for Brand Foundation, Visual Identity (CSS custom properties + accessibility checklist), and Brand Voice.
• EXAMPLES.md — Fully worked example ("Verdant" sustainable kitchenware startup) demonstrating completed Brand Foundation, color palette with contrast annotations, and voice table.