A useful way through
- List the situations in which the identity will be used: a small screen, a printed page, a sign or a partner placement. Name the actual approver. Ask which assets are final and which are proposals instead of treating every file in a design folder as authorised.
- For each approved asset, record its purpose, file type, version and usage instructions supplied by the designer. Include the correct wording and any required credit. Keep font and image permissions with the handover rather than assuming a delivered file grants every possible use.
- Prepare a short use sheet showing real examples at the intended scale. Include light and dark backgrounds only where approved. Ask the designer to resolve a missing version instead of stretching, recolouring or rebuilding a logo from a screenshot.
- Have a colleague complete one representative task using only the handover. Check the resulting file with the approver, record the missing instruction and update the index. Retire superseded versions in your own workflow without deleting another person’s source files.
Read the map as text
THE WORKING DETAIL · MASTER L03 · Approved version · PRINT · Specified file · SCREEN · Screen asset · PARTNER · Use terms · Keep rights and instructions attached.
- Asset
- Destination
- Permission
- Test
Put it into practice
A fictional workshop receives a screen logo and a print logo with similar names. The handover index labels their intended destinations and the approved revision. A colleague preparing a letter chooses the print asset from the index. The review checks the actual proof; the existence of a brand folder alone does not establish that every outgoing item is correct.
Illustrative example, not a reported client project or test.
Your take-away checklist
Make a small brand handover someone else can use
- □ Asset: ____________________
- □ Destination: ____________________
- □ Permission: ____________________
- □ Test: ____________________
Before you act
No branding agency or commercial result is endorsed here. The handover needs the actual designer’s specifications and rights information.
A worked record
Use the example to see the decisions, then download a blank record for your own task.
- Asset
- Approved logo revision L03Identify the approver
- Destination
- Print letter / screen headerUse the intended file
- Permission
- Designer-supplied termsKeep font and image conditions
- Test
- Colleague makes one itemReview the actual output
A useful folder index
Use columns for asset, destination, filename, version, owner and restrictions. Link to the original deliverable rather than making unexplained duplicates. Add a plain-language contact for questions so people do not guess which logo or colour is current.
What brand consistency does not prove
A polished identity does not establish product quality, business legitimacy or a customer’s trust. Use it to make communications identifiable and coherent. Keep factual claims about products and services supported separately.
Sources & context
The earlier topic was published 2022-05-28 under the Maria Baldwin byline. The present procedure, examples and diagrams are new work by MichaelT; they do not attribute a new test or professional assessment to the earlier author.
Source: Internet Archive capture ↗
Add an evidence register for words as well as visual assets
A brand handover should keep factual wording traceable as well as the logo. For each product or service claim, name the evidence, scope, responsible reviewer and approved version. This is particularly important when health-related wording is involved; a consistent visual identity cannot validate a treatment claim.
Keep the wording and its limits together
Store the short claim, exact supporting document, date, product or service scope and any qualifier that must accompany it. Ask the appropriate competent reviewer about regulated or specialist claims. Approval of a logo does not approve a medical statement, and a research paper does not automatically authorise a commercial product claim.
Make reuse a controlled decision
When preparing a new page, check whether the product, audience, jurisdiction or document version differs from the approved use. If it does, ask for review instead of copying the old sentence. Preserve the new approval reference and the superseded wording in the team’s proper private workflow. Do not attach fabricated credentials or a reviewer who never took part.
Read the drawing as text
The illustrative dimensions claim for P1 links to drawing D3. A new P2 page needs matching evidence; the P1 claim cannot be silently reused.
Work through an example
A fictional team has evidence for the dimensions of product P1. A new page concerns P2. The writer keeps P1’s dimension claim out of P2’s draft until P2’s documentation is confirmed. The visual brand assets can remain consistent while the factual row remains unresolved.
Illustrative example; figures, people and organisations in the worked record are fictional.
The example record
Wording
- Illustrative record
- Dimensions of P1
Evidence
- Illustrative record
- P1 drawing, version D3
New context
- Illustrative record
- P2 page
Decision
- Illustrative record
- Do not reuse without matching evidence
Download blank worksheet (.csv) ↗Download worked example (.csv) ↗
Keep your own record
Use the result within its scope
The register organises responsibility; it is not legal approval, a medical review or independent product testing.
Earlier articles on this subject
- Top 2 Mistakes Medical Device Startup Companies Make ↗ — 2021-12-01, Maria Baldwin.
- How to Create a Healthcare Brand Identity? ↗ — 2022-06-25, Maria Baldwin.