magnus919_agent-skills/brand-designer/references/canonical-components.md

Canonical Brand Identity Components

A definitive hierarchy of every component a brand identity can document, organized by maturity tier. Each component notes whether it's required (must document), recommended (should document), or advanced (document when scaling).

Decision Tree

Which components to document depends on brand maturity:

flowchart TD
    A[What stage is the brand?] --> B{Startup<br/>pre-revenue, team < 10}
    A --> C{Growing<br/>revenue, team 10-50}
    A --> D{Scaling<br/>team 50-200}
    A --> E{Enterprise<br/>team 200+}

    B --> B1[Brand Card + Strategy Memo]
    B1 --> B2[Visual Identity Spec<br/>condensed]
    B2 --> B3[Done — revisit at next stage]

    C --> C1[Strategy Memo]
    C1 --> C2[Visual Identity Spec<br/>full]
    C2 --> C3[Voice & Messaging]
    C3 --> C4[Application Guidelines<br/>digital-first]

    D --> D1[All spec documents]
    D1 --> D2[Governance framework]
    D2 --> D3[Asset inventory]
    D3 --> D4[Co-branding guidelines]

    E --> E1[Compiled Brand Book]
    E1 --> E2[Design system integration]
    E2 --> E3[Global localization]
    E3 --> E4[Training materials]

Component Hierarchy

Tier 0 — Brand Card (visual summary)

Required at any stage. The "elevator pitch" of the brand.

Component	What It Documents	Depth
Brand name & tagline	Full name, shorthand, tagline/mission statement	One line each
Logo presentation	Primary logo on light + dark backgrounds	Image + brief specs
Color swatches	Core palette as visual swatches with names	4-8 colors
Type specimen	Primary typeface shown in headline + body	One type family
Brand personality	3-5 keywords describing the brand character	Keywords + one-liner
Reference image	A hero image that embodies the brand feel	Single image

Tier 1 — Strategy & Positioning

Required for growing brands. Provides the "why" behind visual decisions.

Component	What It Documents	Required Fields
Brand positioning statement	Audience, differentiator, market category	positioning.audience, positioning.differentiator, positioning.market
Brand personality (5-axis)	Traits along sincere/exciting/competent/sophisticated/rugged	personality[5].axis + personality[5].value
Mission & vision	Core mission statement and long-term vision	mission, vision
Core values	3-5 values with descriptions	values[].name, values[].description
Competitive landscape	Key competitors and brand differentiation	competitors[].name, competitors[].differentiator
Target audience	Primary and secondary audience personas	audiences.primary, audiences.secondary

Tier 2 — Visual Identity (full spec)

Required for any brand producing external materials. The "how it looks."

Logo System

Component	What It Documents	Required Fields
Primary logo	Full-color horizontal logo	file.svg, file.png, min-width
Secondary logo	Stacked or condensed variant	file.svg, usage context
Icon / symbol	Standalone mark without wordmark	file.svg, min size
Monochrome variants	Black, white, grayscale versions	file.svg per variant
Clear space	Minimum empty area around logo	value in units of logo height
Minimum size	Smallest reproducible size per medium	print, screen, social
Background rules	Approved and prohibited backgrounds	allowed[], prohibited[]
Incorrect usage	Visual "do not" examples	misuses[].image, misuses[].note
Favicon / app icon	Simplified mark for small contexts	favicon.ico, apple-touch-icon

Color Palette

Component	What It Documents	Required Fields
Primary palette	Core brand colors	Per color: hex, rgb, cmyk, pantone
Secondary palette	Supporting accent colors	Per color: hex, rgb, cmyk
Functional palette	UI states (success, error, warning, info)	Per color: hex, role
Neutral palette	Grays, blacks, whites	Per shade: hex, usage
Dark mode adaptation	Adjusted palette for dark backgrounds	Per color: hex (dark)
WCAG contrast pairs	Color combinations that meet AA/AAA	foreground, background, ratio, level
Usage rules	Which colors for which contexts	Per color: role, max-area

Typography

Component	What It Documents	Required Fields
Primary typeface	Main brand font	family, weights[], license
Secondary typeface	Supporting font for body/code	family, weights[], fallback
Type scale	Size/line-height/tracking per level	levels[].name, font-size, line-height, tracking
Hierarchy roles	Which type level for heading/body/caption	role, type-level, usage-context
Web fallbacks	System font stack	font-stack
Licensing	Font source and license type	foundry, license-type

Iconography (recommended)

Component	What It Documents	Required Fields
Icon style	Stroke weight, corner radius, filled/outlined	stroke-width, corner-radius, style
Grid system	Base grid size, padding	grid-size, padding
Metaphor rules	How abstract concepts map to icons	rules[]
Accessibility	Minimum touch target, contrast	min-touch, min-contrast

Photography & Imagery (recommended)

Component	What It Documents	Required Fields
Visual narrative	Subject matter, mood, lighting	subject-matter, mood, lighting
Color grading	Filter, temperature, saturation	lookup-table or description
Framing rules	Composition guidelines	rules[]
Diversity standards	Representation requirements	guidelines
Anti-patterns	What to avoid in imagery	prohibited[]

Illustration Style (advanced)

Component	What It Documents	Required Fields
Art style	Medium, linework, coloring	description
Palette constraints	Colors allowed/forbidden	allowed-colors[], forbidden-colors[]
Detail level	Minimal vs. detailed	scale 1-5
Tone	Whimsical, serious, technical, etc.	descriptors[]

Tier 3 — Voice, Tone & Messaging

Required when multiple people write for the brand.

Component	What It Documents	Required Fields
Voice attributes	3-5 defining voice traits	attributes[].name, attributes[].description
Tone matrix	How tone shifts by context and audience	matrix[].context, matrix[].audience, matrix[].tone
Messaging pillars	Core message categories	pillars[].name, pillars[].description
Vocabulary	Approved terms, forbidden terms	approved[], forbidden[]
Good/bad copy examples	Before/after for common scenarios	examples[].scenario, examples[].bad, examples[].good
Localization notes	Cross-market adaptation rules	rules[]

Tier 4 — Application Guidelines

Required for any brand that appears across multiple channels.

Component	What It Documents	Required Fields
Digital applications	Social media, email, website	Per channel: templates[], specs
Print applications	Business cards, letterhead, signage	Per medium: templates[], specs
Co-branding rules	Partner logo usage	rules[], examples[]
File format matrix	Which format for which use	deliverables[].format, deliverables[].usage
Motion principles	Animation duration, easing	principles[]

Tier 5 — Governance & Maintenance

Required for scaling/enterprise brands. The "how we keep it consistent."

Component	What It Documents	Required Fields
Version numbering	MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH convention	scheme
Brand steward	Who owns the brand	name, contact
Review cadence	Scheduled review frequency	frequency, trigger-events[]
Exception process	How to request deviations	process-steps[], approval-chain
Changelog	History of updates	entries[].date, entries[].change
Archive policy	How to retire old assets	retention, disposal

Tier 6 — Asset Inventory

Required for any brand with >50 files.

Component	What It Documents	Required Fields
Logo files	All variants with formats and paths	Per asset: name, format[], path, usage
Color reference files	Swatch books, palette files	Per asset: name, format, path
Font files	Typeface files and licenses	Per asset: family, format[], path
Icon sets	Icon libraries with format	Per asset: name, count, format, path
Illustration assets	Illustration libraries	Per asset: name, style, path
Photography	Photo libraries, stock sources	Per asset: source, license, path
Templates	Slide decks, email, social templates	Per asset: name, tool, path
Video assets	Brand videos, motion files	Per asset: name, duration, path

Component Relationships

Components are not independent — they reference each other:

Brand Card (Tier 0) ──sources from──▶ Strategy + Visual-ID + Voice
Strategy (Tier 1)    ──informs──▶ Visual-ID (Tier 2) + Voice (Tier 3)
Visual-ID (Tier 2)   ──feeds──▶ Application (Tier 4) + Image Generation
Voice (Tier 3)       ──feeds──▶ Application (Tier 4)
Application (Tier 4) ──uses──▶ Asset Inventory (Tier 6)
All tiers            ──governed by──▶ Governance (Tier 5)

Component Maturity Model

Brand Stage	Tiers to Document	Format
Startup (<10 people, pre-revenue)	Tier 0 + Tier 1 (condensed)	Brand card image + strategy memo
Growing (10-50 people, revenue)	Tier 0-3	Full spec documents + brand card
Scaling (50-200 people, multi-channel)	Tier 0-5	All specs + governance + compiled brand book
Enterprise (200+, global)	Tier 0-6	Full system + asset inventory + localization