gsp-brand-identity

name	gsp-brand-identity
description	Create visual identity — logo, color, typography (creative phase — benefits from capable models) — use when: design the logo, pick colors, choose fonts, create the visual identity

Phase 3 of the GSP branding diamond. Creates the visual identity — logo system, color, typography, imagery — grounded in the strategy and voice defined in Phase 2.

Prerequisites: /gsp-start → /gsp-brand-research → /gsp-brand-strategy must complete first. Identity reads strategy chunks and BRIEF.md as required input; missing scaffolding or an incomplete Phase 2 exits with a next-step prompt.

Build the brand's visual identity.

Input: Strategy chunks + BRIEF.md + discover/mood-board-direction.md Output: .design/branding/{brand}/identity/ (6 chunks + palettes.json + INDEX.md) Agent: gsp-brand-creative-director

- Always use `AskUserQuestion` for user-facing questions — never raw text prompts - One decision per question — never batch multiple questions in a single message - Never re-ask what the user already answered in a prior phase — read BRIEF.md and strategy chunks, build on them - Every visual decision must trace to strategy — archetype, positioning, or voice - Artifacts must balance human readability with agent consumption for downstream phases ## Step 0: Resolve brand

Resolve brand from .design/branding/ (one → use it, multiple → ask). Set BRAND_PATH. If missing, tell user to run /gsp-start first.

Step 1: Validate prerequisites

Read {BRAND_PATH}/STATE.md. Strategy (Phase 2) must be complete. If not: "Strategy isn't done yet. Run /gsp-brand-strategy first."

Load:

• {BRAND_PATH}/BRIEF.md
• {BRAND_PATH}/strategy/INDEX.md → load all 5 strategy chunks
• {BRAND_PATH}/discover/mood-board-direction.md
• {BRAND_PATH}/config.json → read system_config.style_base

Style base presets

If style_base is a non-empty array, load each preset's files from ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../gsp-style/styles/:

• {preset-name}.yml — tokens + intensity + patterns + constraints + effects (structural scaffold)
• {preset-name}.md — design philosophy, signature techniques, implementation patterns (creative context)

Both files matter: the .yml gives the creative-director the aesthetic rules to respect, the .md gives the emotional DNA and visual signatures to channel. The creative-director adapts the brand within the preset's structure — respecting intensity dials, patterns, and constraints while bringing the brand's unique personality.

Step 2: Visual direction

Load mood-board-direction.md + archetype visual tendencies. If audit exists, load audit/brand-inventory.md for current visuals.

Present research context (compact — colors, typefaces, imagery from mood board + archetype tendencies). If style base presets are loaded, frame the visual directions around them:

• Faithful — follows the preset's aesthetic closely, adapting for this brand
• Selective — cherry-picks elements (e.g. typography approach but different palette)
• Departure — uses the preset as a point of contrast, defining what the brand is not

Use AskUserQuestion with 2-3 visual directions:

• Label: direction name (e.g. "Minimal & Sharp")
• Description: color palette direction, typography feel, overall aesthetic
• Preview: "Palette: {key colors}. Type: {typeface style}. Feel: {1-line vibe}."

Step 2b: Constraints

After visual direction is confirmed, ask as a separate AskUserQuestion:

• No constraints — "Go ahead with this direction"
• Add constraints — "I have specific requirements (colors to avoid, accessibility needs, existing assets to match)"

Step 3: Spawn creative director

Load references and agent methodology

Read these files and hold their content for inlining into the agent prompt:

• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../templates/phases/identity.md — identity output template
• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../gsp-color/references/color-composition.md — color composition reference
• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/methodology/gsp-brand-creative-director.md — agent methodology

Spawn the gsp-brand-creative-director agent. Inline all content — the agent should not need to read any input files.

Pass in the agent prompt:

• Content of BRIEF.md (loaded in Step 1)
• Content of strategy chunks: archetype.md, positioning.md, brand-platform.md, voice-and-tone.md, messaging.md (all 5 loaded in Step 1; older brands without messaging.md proceed without it). Tagline directions and core message in messaging.md materially shape logo concept rationale and typography voice — do not skip it.
• Content of discover/mood-board-direction.md (loaded in Step 1)
• Content of style base preset .yml + .md (when loaded in Step 1) — .yml as structural scaffold, .md as design philosophy and signature techniques
• Content of audit/brand-inventory.md (when loaded in Step 2)
• Agent methodology (loaded above)
• Content of identity output template (loaded above)
• Content of color composition reference (loaded above)
• User-confirmed visual direction + constraints
• Output path: {BRAND_PATH}/identity/

The agent writes 5 chunks + INDEX.md (creative decisions only — no technical execution):

1. logo-directions.md
2. color-system.md (chosen colors + rationale, no OKLCH/contrast math)
3. typography.md (chosen typefaces + rationale, no scale math)
4. imagery-style.md (creative direction, no icon library specifics)
5. brand-applications.md
6. INDEX.md

Step 3.5: Enrich with domain skills (parallel)

After the creative-director finishes, invoke all 5 domain skills in parallel — they operate on separate chunks with zero dependencies:

• /gsp-logo --enrich — reads logo-directions.md, enriches with construction geometry, variation specs, clear space rules, minimum size calculations.
• /gsp-color --enrich — reads color-system.md, generates OKLCH palettes via tints.dev, calculates WCAG contrast, writes palettes.json, enriches with contrast ratios and semantic mapping.
• /gsp-typography --enrich — reads typography.md, generates mathematical type scale, adds fluid type formulas, enriches with font loading instructions.
• /gsp-visuals --imagery --enrich — reads imagery-style.md, enriches with photography/illustration direction, CSS texture/treatment recipes, image processing implementation. Icons are NOT covered here — gsp-icons owns them.
• /gsp-icons --enrich — defines the icon system: library selection, stroke standardization, size system, container treatments, custom SVG direction.

Invoke all 5 using the Skill tool simultaneously. Each skill loads its own domain references on-demand — no upfront context cost.

Step 4: Perspective check

Load BRIEF.md personas. Present brief stress-test:

"Stress-testing the visual identity:

{Primary persona name}: {1-line — would they trust this visual language?} Skeptic: {1-line — challenges the boldest visual decision} {Top competitor}: {1-line — is the brand visually differentiated?}

Concerns?"

Use AskUserQuestion:

• Lock it in — "Identity looks solid"
• Adjust — "I want to change something"

Step 5: Update state and route

Update {BRAND_PATH}/STATE.md: set Phase 3 (Identity) to complete, Prettiness Level to 80%.

Invoke /gsp-phase-transition with phase identity and output directory {BRAND_PATH}/identity/.