You have the brand system. Now what?
A well-designed identity system is a tool. Like any tool, someone needs to know how to use it, it needs to be accessible when needed, and someone has to be responsible for making sure it is used properly.
You have the brand system. Now what?
A couple of days ago, I spoke with a company that had completed a branding project two years earlier. I asked them how they were using it. Their answer was: honestly, more or less. We have the guidelines somewhere, but everyone does what they can.
It is not a rare case. In fact, it is the most common one. A company invests in an identity project, receives a PDF with guidelines and a folder with files, and six months later the brand has turned back into a mess of versions and personal criteria.
The problem is almost never the system. It is what happens after it is delivered. And that is something people rarely talk about.
Why brand systems end up in a drawer
A well-designed identity system is a tool. Like any tool, someone needs to know how to use it, it needs to be accessible when needed, and someone has to be responsible for making sure it is used properly.
When that does not exist, the system deteriorates quickly. The freelance designer brought in to create a presentation cannot find the right files and uses whatever they have. The marketing team downloads the logo from the website because they do not know where the original is. Someone changes the colours because they do not like how they look on screen. And within two years, the brand has five different versions circulating at the same time.
First: decide who protects the brand
Before thinking about tools or providers, there is an organisational decision that needs to be made: who inside the company is responsible for the brand. Not responsible for designing things — responsible for making sure that everything that goes out into the world is aligned with the system. What is known as a Brand Guardian.
In small companies, this is usually the CEO or the person responsible for marketing. In medium and large companies, it should be the communications or brand director. The important thing is not the title: it is that there is someone with real authority to say that something has not been applied properly and ask for it to be corrected.
Without that figure, the brand belongs to everyone and to no one. And what belongs to everyone and to no one deteriorates.
Who to hire to apply the system
This is where there is the most confusion. Having an identity system does not mean that any design provider will know how to apply it well. And hiring the studio that created the project for everything that comes afterwards does not always make financial sense either.
For day-to-day needs — presentations, documents, internal templates — the most efficient solution is to have an internal person, a freelance designer or a small trusted agency that knows the system and applies it consistently. They do not need to be a senior designer: they need to be meticulous, have good visual judgement and study the brand guidelines before they start working.
For high-visibility pieces — websites, campaigns, sales materials, events — it is worth involving someone with stronger judgement. Ideally, the same studio that built the system, or someone who has been thoroughly briefed. These are the pieces that shape the first impression of the brand, and where poor application comes at a higher cost.
For the supervision and evolution of the system —when the company grows, launches new lines or enters new markets — you need someone who understands the brand from the inside and can decide how to extend it without breaking it. Some companies solve this with a continuity fee with the studio that created the original project.
The tools that actually help
A guidelines PDF is necessary, but it is not enough. The companies that apply their brand systems best usually have two additional things:
A digital brand center. An internal URL — it could be a Notion page, a Google Site or a specific platform such as Frontify or Brandfolder — where the files are always up to date, the usage guidelines are available and examples of correct application are shown. The goal is for anyone on the team, or any external provider, to have immediate access to what they need without having to ask anyone.
A minimal review process. There is no need to set up a committee. When our clients have internal design teams, we usually support them during the first 3–6 months, setting aside some hours to pay special attention to the first materials created after the brand change. A few initial reviews help clarify concepts and prevent the brand from being activated incorrectly from the very beginning.
When to go back to the studio that created the system
There are moments when it makes sense to reopen the conversation with the original studio: when the company is about to launch something new and it is not clear how it fits into the existing system, when the system has not been updated for a while and some pieces no longer feel up to standard, or when someone in the team notices that the brand is losing consistency but does not know exactly why.
In those moments, the person who built the system has context that no new provider will have. And a one-hour conversation can prevent months of poorly directed work.
A good identity system is not a project that is closed. It is a foundation that needs to stay alive. And for it to stay alive, someone has to take care of it.