The 30-Second Brand Kit Test
I've struggled on projects a lot of times to find something like a transparent logo with just a brand mark, or I wanted a horizontal brand mark, or I just wanted a brand mark that I can convert to a favicon so it didn't look dumb in my website.
It would take me forever on projects, especially as I built up multiple products for people. It would be really hard to go find these assets and track them down.
The Problem
When you need brand assets, you shouldn't have to: - Search through Slack channels - Ask five different people - Dig through old email threads - Find the designer who worked on it three years ago - Download something from a random Dropbox folder - Hunt for a transparent version of the logo - Figure out which brand mark works best as a favicon - Track down the horizontal logo variant
You should be able to go to one place and get what you need. Immediately.
The 30-Second Test
If you can't get to any asset in 30 seconds, or any asset you need from a design perspective, you have failed.
This isn't about having perfect brand guidelines or a massive design system. This is about basic operational competence. High-functioning companies need these assets routinely. They're used in: - Marketing materials - Product features - Partnership presentations - Social media - Email templates - Documentation - Sales decks - Website favicons
If you're constantly hunting for these assets, you're wasting time that could be spent on actual work.
The Solution: Build a /brand Page
What I do now is I make it public for the entire team, so it's just a simple URL, and then I post it in with a commit on the project. Then, typically, it's a silent link in the background that I just go to when I need something.
Here's an example, very basic: https://terrancemacgregor.com/brand
In the `/brand` page, include some really basic things: - Favicon - A brand mark that works well at small sizes - Logos - Transparent brand mark, horizontal logo, in different formats (PNG, SVG) - Color scheme - Primary colors, secondary colors, with hex codes - Typography - Font families, sizes, weights - Download links - Make it easy to grab what you need
If you ever need to go in and get access to them, you don't have to fumble; you can pull everything right away.
What to Include
Your `/brand` page doesn't need to be fancy. It just needs to be:
- Accessible - Anyone on your team can find it
- Complete - All the basic assets are there (favicon-ready brand mark, transparent logos, horizontal variants)
- Downloadable - People can grab what they need
- Clear - It's obvious what each asset is and when to use it
That's it. No complex design system required. No massive documentation. Just the basics, in one place, accessible to everyone.
Getting Started
It takes a few minutes with an LLM to generate this. Verify it's correct and you really go for it—it does wonders for your site and your team.
If you can't get to any asset in 30 seconds, you have failed. Build the system. Make it easy. Your future self (and your teammates) will thank you.