git:20260524.74b8370 to git:20260902.035e58d

---

name: brand-designer

description: >-

license: MIT

compatibility: >-

CLI requires Python 3.8+; generate script requires an image generation backend.

All templates are plain markdown. Works with any agent supporting Agent Skills.

metadata:

source: "https://github.com/agentskills/agent-skills"

spec-version: "1.0"

category: creative

---

# Brand Designer

A systematic toolkit for documenting brand identity. Elicits brand information through structured templates, validates completeness, compiles into reference documents, and generates brand-compliant images.

## Quick Start

```bash

# 1. Scaffold a new brand

brand-book init ./my-brand --name "Acme Corp"

# 2. Fill in the templates (7 markdown files)

# Start with strategy.md → visual-id.md → voice.md

# 3. Validate your work

brand-book validate ./my-brand/strategy.md --strict

# 4. Compile output

brand-book compile ./my-brand --artifact brand-card # One-page summary

brand-book compile ./my-brand --artifact full # Full brand book

# 5. Generate brand image (optional)

generate brand-card --brand-dir ./my-brand --layout landscape

```

## When to Use This Skill

| Trigger | Artifact | Audience |

|---------|----------|----------|

| "I need a brand card for press/stakeholders" | Brand card (image + one-pager) | Executives, press, partners |

| "I need to document my brand strategy" | Strategy memo | Leadership, marketing |

| "I need visual identity documentation" | Visual identity spec | Designers, developers |

| "I need brand voice guidelines" | Voice & messaging spec | Writers, content team |

| "I need a full brand book for agency handoff" | Compiled brand book | Agencies, partners |

| "I need to inventory all my brand assets" | Asset inventory | Everyone |

## Workflow

### 1. Choose artifact type

The decision tree in `references/canonical-components.md` maps brand maturity to artifact scope:

- **Startup** (<10 people) → Brand card + Strategy memo (condensed)

- **Growing** (10-50) → Full visual identity + voice specs

- **Scaling** (50-200) → All specs + governance framework

- **Enterprise** (200+) → Full system + asset inventory + compiled brand book

### 2. Fill templates

7 templates live in `templates/`. Start with strategy (it informs everything else), then visual-id, voice, and the rest:

| Template | What It Captures | Depends On |

|----------|-----------------|------------|

| `strategy.md` | Positioning, personality, mission, audience | — |

| `visual-id.md` | Logo system, color palette, typography, iconography, imagery | Strategy |

| `voice.md` | Voice attributes, tone matrix, vocabulary, copy examples | Strategy |

| `application.md` | Digital, print, social, co-branding rules | Visual identity |

| `governance.md` | Versioning, review cadence, exceptions | — |

| `asset-inventory.md` | Structured file index | All others |

| `brand-card.md` | Condensed visual summary (sources from others) | Strategy, visual-id, voice |

**Filling technique:** Replace `{{placeholders}}` in each template with your brand's information. Required fields are marked in frontmatter. Optional fields can be removed.

### 3. Validate

```bash

brand-book validate ./my-brand/visual-id.md # Basic checks

brand-book validate ./my-brand/brand-card.md --strict # Cross-reference checks

brand-book validate ./my-brand/*.md # Batch check all

```

Validation catches:

- Missing required fields

- Incomplete color values (missing RGB, CMYK, or Pantone)

- Cross-reference breaks (brand-card sourcing from nonexistent specs)

### 4. Compile

```bash

brand-book compile ./my-brand --artifact brand-card # One-pager

brand-book compile ./my-brand --artifact full # Full book

brand-book compile ./my-brand --artifact full --format html --output book.html # HTML

```

The `--artifact` selector maps to individual templates or the compiled whole. See `references/artifact-hierarchy.md` for the complete taxonomy.

### 5. Generate images (optional)

```bash

generate brand-card --brand-dir ./my-brand --layout landscape # Press kit card

generate mockup --brand-dir ./my-brand --type social # Social media mockup

generate swatch --brand-dir ./my-brand # Color palette card

generate moodboard --brand-dir ./my-brand --theme "innovation" # Mood board

generate logo-bg primary --brand-dir ./my-brand --background dark # Logo on dark

```

The `generate` script is prompt-engineering-first: it reads your brand data and constructs optimized prompts for image generation backends. For best results with accurate logo rendering, provide reference images alongside the prompt.

## Scripts Reference

### `scripts/brand-book`

The main CLI. Subcommands:

| Command | Action |

|---------|--------|

| `init <dir> [--name]` | Scaffold brand directory with 7 templates |

| `compile <dir> [--artifact] [--format] [--output]` | Assemble brand artifact |

| `validate <file...> [--strict] [--json]` | Check frontmatter completeness |

| `preview <file> [--json]` | Terminal preview of a brand component |

All subcommands support `--json` for machine output and `--dry-run` for preview.

### `scripts/generate`

Image prompt construction for brand-compliant generation. Subcommands:

| Command | Action |

|---------|--------|

| `brand-card [--layout portrait|landscape]` | Brand card image prompt |

| `mockup --type stationery|social|signage|digital` | Application mockup prompt |

| `swatch` | Palette visualization prompt |

| `moodboard [--theme]` | Mood board prompt |

| `logo-bg <variant> [--background]` | Logo presentation prompt |

## Reference Files

| File | What It Contains |

|------|-----------------|

| `references/canonical-components.md` | Definitive component hierarchy + maturity decision tree |

| `references/artifact-hierarchy.md` | Every artifact: who consumes it, format, depth, relationships |

| `references/gold-standard-analysis.md` | Structural analysis of Cash App, IBM, Netflix, Bang & Olufsen, Klarna |

| `references/brand-card-formats.md` | Format comparison: PDF vs online vs CLI vs Figma vs image |

| `references/template-schemas.md` | Complete YAML frontmatter schemas for all 7 templates |

| `references/image-generation.md` | Brand-compliant image prompt patterns and reference-image usage |

## Artifact Tiers Summary

```

Tier 0: Brand Card → image + one-pager → stakeholders, press

Tier 1: Strategy Memo → narrative document → leadership, marketing

Tier 2: Visual Identity → structured spec → designers, developers

Tier 3: Voice & Messaging → guidelines with examples → writers, content

Tier 4: Application → channel-by-channel rules → producers, agencies

Tier 5: Governance → framework document → brand owners, legal

Tier 6: Asset Inventory → indexed table → everyone

└── Compiled Brand Book (Tiers 0-6 combined) → agencies, partners

```

## Gotchas

### Templates are elicitation tools, not final designs

The templates produce markdown documentation, not designed PDFs. The content is structured and correct; visual polish is a post-processing step. If you need a beautifully designed PDF, export the markdown and lay it out in InDesign/Figma.

### Color accuracy in generated images

Generated images will *approximate* brand colors, not match them precisely. The `generate swatch` command provides hex values in the prompt, but image models interpret color imprecisely. For Pantone-accurate color reference, use the documented values in the spec, not generated images.

### Reference-image-aware generation is setup-dependent

The `generate` script constructs prompts regardless of backend. To use reference images (logos, existing materials) for better results, you need a generation setup that supports image inputs — e.g., ComfyUI, local Stable Diffusion with img2img, or an API that accepts image references. The prompts work without this; they just improve with it.

### Brand card sources from other templates

The brand-card template uses `source:` frontmatter links to strategy, visual-id, and voice templates. This means: compile may show placeholder text if those source templates aren't filled yet. Fill strategy + visual-id before expecting a complete brand card.

### The skill produces documents, not art

The image generation capability exists, but the primary output is **structured documentation** — markdown that can live in a vault, be versioned in git, and be compiled into various formats. The images are the garnish, not the meal.

## See Also

- `nous-branding` — Reference-image generation for Nous Research brand

- `cli-builder` — Patterns used by the brand-book CLI

- `references/image-generation.md` — Detailed prompt craft guide