brand-style-guide

name	brand-style-guide
description	Use when packaging an approved identity into a client-facing guide with logo, colour, typography, spacing, imagery, voice, and application rules. Unlike brand-visual-identity, this documents settled decisions rather than creating the identity.
metadata	{"portable":true,"category":"02-color-brand-and-visual-identity","compatible_with":["claude-code","codex"]}

Brand Style Guide

Acknowledgement: Shared by Peter Bamuhigire, techguypeter.com, [phone].

Use when

• You need to assemble the final client-facing brand style guide (docs/brand-style-guide.md) once brand strategy and the design system already exist — the premium hand-off deliverable.
• The request is to package logo usage rules, a colour palette card (hex/RGB/CMYK + roles), a typography specimen with scale, the spacing system, photography style, voice/tone, and component usage examples into one governed document.
• The client asks "how do we keep the brand consistent" and needs do/don't rules and usage standards a third party could follow without you in the room.

Do not use when

• The palette itself is still being decided or needs WCAG-contrast values worked out — use the sibling color-system-and-palette first.
• The logo or wordmark has not been designed yet — that is logo-and-wordmark-design, and the broader mark/identity system is brand-visual-identity.
• The deep voice, tone, and editorial rules are the actual ask (not just a guide section) — route to voice-tone-and-content-style-guide.
• Type faces are still being chosen/paired — use font-selection-and-pairing before specimen-ing them here.

Required inputs

Input	Supplied by	Required?	Why
Approved identity-system specification	Brand-visual-identity	yes	Supplies settled rules
Production assets and licence records	Brand owner/production	yes	Enables lawful delivery
Audience, formats, and maintenance owner	Delivery brief	yes	Shapes usable guidance

• Completed brand strategy and design-system decisions: chosen palette (with hexes/roles), the selected and paired typefaces, logo/wordmark assets, and spacing/type scale.
• Voice and tone direction, photography/art-direction intent, and any component patterns to be shown in usage examples.
• The banned-fonts and font-groups references, so the specimen can be verified against approved, non-slop faces before it ships.

Workflow

1. Read the current business context and the concrete task to solve.
2. Use only the relevant detailed guidance and references for the request at hand.
3. Produce the strategy, writing, or framework output this skill is responsible for.
4. Check the result for clarity, realism, and handoff readiness.

Quality standards

• Outputs must be specific, usable, and grounded in the available evidence.
• Recommendations should support follow-on execution instead of staying abstract.
• The result should remain consistent with the broader repository system.

Anti-patterns

• Do not produce generic framework dumps with no decision made.
• Do not invent facts to complete the output.
• Do not ignore the actual audience, offer, or business constraints.
• Do not invent missing identity decisions to fill pages; return them to the owner.
• Do not show only ideal examples; include misuses and edge cases.

Outputs

Output	Consumer	Evidence / acceptance
Client-facing style guide	Client, partners, and producers	Required sections use approved examples
Asset and licence index	Client asset custodian	Source, format, owner, and restrictions recorded
Guide QA record	Delivery owner	Links, values, specimens, accessibility, and exports verified

• Strategy notes, writing deliverables, framework outputs, or implementation-facing recommendations.

Decision Rules

Condition	Decision	Wrong-choice failure
Decision is approved and stable	Document with do/don't examples	Rule remains open to interpretation
Decision is missing or contradictory	Stop and return to identity owner	Guide invents policy
Guide serves non-designers	Prefer concise rules and production examples	Attractive document remains unusable
Editable and fixed delivery are needed	Supply source plus verified PDF	Client cannot maintain or view faithfully

Capability Contract

Read and document generation are required. Editing applies only to the authorised guide and delivery copies. Do not change master identity rules, redistribute restricted files, or publish without approval.

Degraded Mode

If required evidence or tooling is unavailable, use the scoped fallback below and mark the result unverified. Without final assets or approvals, create a marked draft with an open-decisions register. Without rendering, supply source content and mark visual QA blocked; never call it final.

References

• doctrine/design-doctrine.md — the Mission and Anti-Slop Charter; the style guide must record deliberate, stated choices, not defaults.
• doctrine/references/ai-slop-banned-fonts.md and doctrine/references/font-groups-and-usage.md — verify the typography specimen names an approved, non-banned face before it ships to the client.
• doctrine/references/pairing-principles.md, doctrine/references/type-scale-and-spacing.md — typography pairing and the spacing/type scale the specimen documents.
• Sibling skills: 02-color-brand-and-visual-identity/color-system-and-palette (palette card hexes + WCAG), 02-color-brand-and-visual-identity/brand-visual-identity, 01-typography-and-fonts/font-selection-and-pairing.
• Start with references/legacy-guidance.md and references/style-guide-template.md for the deliverable structure; read only the files under references/ that match the task.
• Apply ../../../doctrine/references/book-driven-brand-story-and-visual-evidence.md for strategy-before-styling, evidence mapping, and current accessibility verification.

Examples

• examples/mini-style-guide-worked.md — a worked compact brand style-guide deliverable for a sample roaster (Köya): logo usage, colour palette (hex + OKLCH + roles), an approved Fraunces + Public Sans typography specimen with scale, spacing system, photography note, and a do/don't. Use it as the calibration target for specificity and the stated-choice discipline.

Notes

• Treat this SKILL.md as the portable execution layer for both Claude Code and Codex.
• Preserve existing project behavior unless the current task explicitly requires a change.