michailbul/brand-guidelines-builder

Brand Guidelines Builder

A reusable system for creating complete brand guidelines for any company, product, or idea. Run this skill once per project, then save the output as a project-specific brand skill to apply consistently across all future artifacts.

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WHEN TO USE THIS SKILL

• User wants to define or formalize a brand for a new or existing project
• User has a rough idea but no structured brand identity yet
• User wants a reusable brand system they can apply to decks, docs, websites, etc.
• A new client project is starting and needs a brand foundation

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STEP 1 — GATHER BRAND INPUTS

Start by collecting what the user already has. Ask only what you don't already know from context. Categories to cover:

A. Identity basics

• Name of the brand / product / company
• One-line description: what it is, who it's for
• Industry / category: tech, wellness, fashion, B2B SaaS, creative studio, etc.
• Stage: early idea, startup, established brand, rebrand

B. Personality & tone

Ask the user to pick 3–5 words that describe the brand's personality. Offer examples if they're stuck:

"Bold, minimal, warm, playful, authoritative, experimental, luxury, accessible, technical, human, dark, vibrant, clean, raw, cinematic"

C. Visual references

• Any existing logos, colors, or assets?
• Any brands they admire visually? (doesn't have to be same industry)
• Dark or light aesthetic preference?
• Any colors they definitely want or want to avoid?

D. Audience

• Who is the target customer / user?
• What's the emotional experience they should have with this brand?

E. Outputs needed

• What will this brand be applied to? (website, decks, social, product UI, docs, video)

If the user provides a URL, website, or existing doc — read it first and extract as much as possible before asking questions. Only ask for what's missing.

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STEP 2 — GENERATE THE BRAND SYSTEM

Once you have enough input (aim for at least A + B + C), generate a complete brand guidelines document using the structure below. Use creative judgment to fill gaps — make opinionated, coherent decisions rather than leaving things open.

OUTPUT STRUCTURE

Produce a markdown document with the following sections:

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1. Brand Overview

• Name
• Tagline (generate one if none exists)
• One-paragraph brand story / positioning
• Brand archetype (choose one: Creator, Hero, Sage, Explorer, Rebel, Magician, Ruler, Caregiver, Jester, Lover, Innocent, Everyman)

2. Personality & Voice

• 5 personality adjectives
• Tone of voice: how the brand speaks (formal/casual, warm/cool, etc.)
• 3 "we are / we are not" pairs (e.g. "We are bold. We are not aggressive.")
• Sample copy: write 2–3 example sentences in brand voice

3. Color System

Define a complete palette with hex codes and usage rules:

PRIMARY
#XXXXXX — [name] — Main brand color, dominant in UI and print

SECONDARY
#XXXXXX — [name] — Supporting color, used for accents and CTAs

NEUTRAL DARK
#XXXXXX — [name] — Text, dark backgrounds

NEUTRAL LIGHT
#XXXXXX — [name] — Light backgrounds, cards, whitespace

ACCENT (optional)
#XXXXXX — [name] — Highlight color, use sparingly

Rules to include:

• Which color is dominant vs. supporting
• Dark mode vs. light mode defaults
• What never to combine (contrast violations)

4. Typography

Define heading and body fonts. Choose from Google Fonts for maximum compatibility.

HEADING FONT: [Font Name]
  Weight: Bold (700) for H1, Semibold (600) for H2–H3
  Use for: all headings, display text, hero sections

BODY FONT: [Font Name]
  Weight: Regular (400) for body, Medium (500) for labels/captions
  Use for: paragraphs, UI text, documentation

MONO FONT (if needed): [Font Name]
  Use for: code, technical data, timestamps

Type scale (px, desktop):

• H1: 56px / H2: 40px / H3: 28px / H4: 20px / Body: 16px / Caption: 13px

5. Logo & Mark Usage

Even without a logo file, document rules:

• Preferred logo format (wordmark / icon + wordmark / monogram)
• Clear space rule: minimum padding = X height of logo
• Background rules: approved backgrounds for logo placement
• What NOT to do: stretch, recolor, add effects

6. Imagery & Photography Style

Describe the visual language for photos, illustrations, and video:

• Photography mood (e.g. "candid and natural, never stock-photo polished")
• Color grading direction (warm/cool, high/low contrast, saturated/muted)
• Illustration style if applicable
• What to avoid

7. UI & Layout Principles (if digital product)

• Border radius: sharp (0px) / soft (4–8px) / rounded (12–16px+)
• Shadow style: none / subtle / dramatic
• Spacing system: 8px base grid
• Component feel: dense vs. airy

8. Quick-Reference Card

End with a compact summary:

BRAND: [Name]
TAGLINE: [Tagline]
ARCHETYPE: [Archetype]
PERSONALITY: [5 words]

COLORS
Primary: #XXXXXX
Secondary: #XXXXXX
Dark: #XXXXXX
Light: #XXXXXX

FONTS
Heading: [Font], Bold
Body: [Font], Regular

VOICE: [2-sentence summary]

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STEP 3 — DELIVER & OFFER TO SAVE

After generating the brand guidelines:

1. Present the full document in the chat as formatted markdown
2. Offer to create a downloadable .docx if the user wants a shareable file
3. Offer to save as a project skill — say:

"Want me to save this as a [brand-name]-brand skill in your Laniameda skills library? That way I'll automatically apply these guidelines to any artifact I create for this project."

If they say yes, package the brand system into a minimal SKILL.md using this template:

---
name: [brand-name]-brand
description: >
  Applies [Brand Name] brand guidelines to any artifact. Use whenever creating
  docs, decks, websites, social assets, or any visual output for [Brand Name].
  Triggers on any mention of [brand name] or requests to style something
  "for [brand name]".
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# [Brand Name] Brand Guidelines

[Paste the Quick-Reference Card here]

[Paste the full Color System here]

[Paste the full Typography section here]

[Paste the Personality & Voice section here]

[Paste the Imagery Style section here]

Then install it to /mnt/skills/user/[brand-name]-brand/SKILL.md.

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NOTES FOR THE AGENT

• Be opinionated. Don't leave color palettes or font choices as "TBD" — make a strong, coherent decision and explain the reasoning briefly.
• If the user gives a vague brief (e.g. "a tech startup for Gen Z"), use industry knowledge to infer what would work. You can offer alternatives.
• Prioritize coherence over novelty — the brand system should feel like one unified thing, not a collection of random choices.
• Reference the design-inspiration skill if you need to check saved visual references before making aesthetic decisions.
• Reference the typography-master skill if the user wants an interactive font comparison before locking in typography choices.