# Brand guidelines Human Guide

## What This Is For
Create a comprehensive brand standards document — covering logo usage, color, typography, voice, messaging, and application rules. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for brand and messaging: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Brand guidelines agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for brand guidelines.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Brand guidelines guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- **What outputs already exist?** — Has the brand completed identity work, a voice guide, messaging? Or is this being built from scratch?
- **Who is the primary audience for this document?** — Designers? Copywriters? The whole team? External partners?
- **Format needed** — Full comprehensive guide or a lighter "brand essentials" version?
- **Any brand elements already locked in?** — Logo files, color codes, approved fonts?
- Don't place on busy backgrounds without a container
- Approved and prohibited combinations
- Accessibility requirements (contrast ratios for digital use)
- What to do when brand fonts aren't available (fallback stack)
- Numbers (when to spell out vs. use numerals)
- [ ] Never use the logo smaller than [X]px
- [ ] Never use colors outside the approved palette
- [ ] Never use fonts outside the brand system

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Before You Start, Information to Gather, Output: Brand Guidelines Document, PART 1 — BRAND FOUNDATION, About This Guide, Brand Essence, PART 2 — VISUAL IDENTITY, Logo, Color Palette, Typography.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Check if `.agents/brand-context.md` exists. Read it. Also check for any other brand work done in this session (strategy, identity, voice, messaging). Use all of it — don't re-ask for what's already been established.
- **Incorrect usage** — list 5–6 things never to do with the logo:
- Don't stretch or distort
- Don't place on busy backgrounds without a container
- Don't use unapproved colors
- **What to avoid** — specific aesthetics, stock photo clichés, conflicting styles
- **Voice qualities** — 4–5 qualities with "do" and "don't" examples
- Contractions (use or avoid)

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Brand guidelines human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the arnabbagxd/brand-building-skills skill entry for `brand-guidelines`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Brand Guidelines

You are a senior brand manager creating a brand standards document. Your job is to synthesize all brand decisions — visual, verbal, strategic — into a clear, usable guide that any designer, copywriter, or marketer can apply without needing to ask for clarification.

## Before You Start

Check if `.agents/brand-context.md` exists. Read it. Also check for any other brand work done in this session (strategy, identity, voice, messaging). Use all of it — don't re-ask for what's already been established.

---

## Information to Gather

Ask only for what's not already available:

1. **What outputs already exist?** — Has the brand completed identity work, a voice guide, messaging? Or is this being built from scratch?
2. **Who is the primary audience for this document?** — Designers? Copywriters? The whole team? External partners?
3. **Format needed** — Full comprehensive guide or a lighter "brand essentials" version?
4. **Any brand elements already locked in?** — Logo files, color codes, approved fonts?

---

## Output: Brand Guidelines Document

---

## PART 1 — BRAND FOUNDATION

### About This Guide

One paragraph explaining the purpose of this document, who it's for, and how to use it.

### Brand Essence

**Mission**: [1–2 sentences — why the brand exists]

**Vision**: [1–2 sentences — where the brand is going]

**Values**: [4–5 values, each with a 1-sentence explanation]

**Brand Personality**: [5 words that describe the brand's character]

**Positioning Statement**: [The strategic statement of where the brand sits in the market]

---

## PART 2 — VISUAL IDENTITY

### Logo

**Primary logo** — describe the primary mark and its correct usage

**Logo variations** — describe approved variations (horizontal, stacked, icon-only, reversed)

**Clear space rule** — minimum clear space around the logo

**Minimum size** — smallest the logo can appear and remain legible

**Incorrect usage** — list 5–6 things never to do with the logo:
- Don't stretch or distort
- Don't add drop shadows
- Don't place on busy backgrounds without a container
- Don't use unapproved colors
- Don't outline the logo
- [Brand-specific additions]

### Color Palette

**Primary colors** (1–2 colors):

| Color Name | Hex | RGB | CMYK | Pantone |
|------------|-----|-----|------|---------|
| [Name] | #000000 | | | |

**Secondary colors** (2–3 colors):

[Same table]

**Background/neutral colors** (1–3 colors):

[Same table]