# Brand consistency Human Guide

## What This Is For
Align animation style with brand identity using Disney's principles. 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 consistency 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 consistency.
- 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 consistency 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
- Generic motion that could be any product
- Inconsistent animation styles across features
- Motion conflicts with brand voice
- Users don't recognize the product's personality
- **Create a motion style guide** - Document easing, duration, principles used
- **Define 3-5 brand motion words** - "Swift, precise, confident"
- **Build reusable animation tokens** - Consistent timing/easing variables
- **Audit existing animations** - Find outliers
- **Create animation components** - Enforce consistency through code
- [ ] Can you describe animation in 3 brand words?
- [ ] Does motion match brand voice guidelines?
- [ ] Are easing curves consistent across features?

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Problem Indicators, Diagnosis by Principle, Appeal, Exaggeration, Timing, Squash and Stretch, Secondary Action, Quick Fixes, Troubleshooting Checklist, Code Pattern.

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
- Users don't recognize the product's personality
- **Issue**: Details don't reinforce brand

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Brand consistency 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 dylantarre/animation-principles skill entry for `brand-consistency`.

## 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 Consistency

Align animation style with brand identity using Disney's principles.

## Problem Indicators
- Animation feels "off-brand"
- Generic motion that could be any product
- Inconsistent animation styles across features
- Motion conflicts with brand voice
- Users don't recognize the product's personality

## Diagnosis by Principle

### Appeal
**Issue**: Animation lacks distinctive character
**Fix**: Define brand motion attributes. Is your brand playful (bouncy easing), professional (smooth, minimal), energetic (quick, snappy)?

### Exaggeration
**Issue**: Wrong level of drama for brand
**Fix**: Match exaggeration to brand personality. Luxury = subtle. Playful = bouncy. Corporate = restrained.

### Timing
**Issue**: Speed doesn't match brand energy
**Fix**: Fast brands: 100-200ms. Calm brands: 300-500ms. Define a timing scale and use consistently.

### Squash and Stretch
**Issue**: Elastic effects conflict with serious brand
**Fix**: Reserve squash/stretch for playful brands. Use scale transforms for professional brands.

### Secondary Action
**Issue**: Details don't reinforce brand
**Fix**: Secondary actions should amplify brand personality. A fun brand might have playful ripples; a serious brand uses subtle fades.

## Quick Fixes

1. **Create a motion style guide** - Document easing, duration, principles used
2. **Define 3-5 brand motion words** - "Swift, precise, confident"
3. **Build reusable animation tokens** - Consistent timing/easing variables
4. **Audit existing animations** - Find outliers
5. **Create animation components** - Enforce consistency through code

## Troubleshooting Checklist

- [ ] Can you describe animation in 3 brand words?
- [ ] Does motion match brand voice guidelines?
- [ ] Are easing curves consistent across features?
- [ ] Is timing scale documented and followed?
- [ ] Would a competitor use identical animation?
- [ ] Do animations feel like the same product?
- [ ] Test: Show animation without UI—recognizable as your brand?
- [ ] Review with brand/design team

## Code Pattern

```css
:root {
  /* Brand motion tokens */
  --brand-ease-default: cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1);
  --brand-ease-enter: cubic-bezier(0, 0, 0.2, 1);
  --brand-ease-exit: cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 1, 1);
  --brand-duration-fast: 150ms;
  --brand-duration-normal: 250ms;
  --brand-duration-slow: 400ms;
}
```