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A Guest Pass is a time-limited, scope-limited link granting read access to a specific part of the brand atlas. It is the right tool when someone outside the team needs to see part of the brand without becoming a team member: a vendor preparing to print, a partner writing a press release, a reviewer ahead of a launch.

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What a Guest Pass is

A Guest Pass is, technically, a URL with an access token. Sending the URL gives the recipient access to the scope of the pass, for the duration of the pass, without an account on Brand Atlas. The recipient does not see the rest of the atlas. A pass has four attributes:
  1. Scope. What the recipient can see. A specific section, a specific Horizon, a defined subset, or the whole atlas.
  2. Expiry. When the pass stops working. A date, a number of views, or the next sunset.
  3. Identity. Optionally, who the pass is for. A name and email at creation time make the audit trail more useful.
  4. Permissions. Read by default. Optionally, the right to download attached files.
A pass cannot grant edit rights. Editing requires an account.

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When to use a Guest Pass

Five situations:
  1. A printer needs the colour system to print. A pass scoped to Colour System, valid for 30 days, with file downloads enabled.
  2. A partner needs the lock-ups for a press release. A pass scoped to Logo & Identity, valid for two weeks, downloads enabled.
  3. A reviewer needs to see a campaign Horizon ahead of launch. A pass scoped to that Horizon, valid until the launch date.
  4. A freelance writer needs to read the voice section. A pass scoped to Voice, valid for the engagement length.
  5. An auditor needs to see the full atlas for compliance. A pass scoped to the whole atlas, valid for the audit window, with downloads disabled.

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When not to use a Guest Pass

Three cases where a Guest Pass is the wrong tool:
  • The person will need ongoing access. A long-term collaborator or recurring vendor benefits more from a Team Member seat than a series of Guest Passes.
  • The person needs to edit. Editing requires an account; Guest Passes are read-only.
  • The pass would need to expose substantially the whole atlas. A pass that covers everything is almost always less appropriate than an account. The exception is short-window audits and reviews.

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Tier limits

  • Scout. One active pass at a time.
  • Keeper. Up to five active passes at a time.
  • Guardian. Unlimited active passes.
Expired and revoked passes do not count against the limit.

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Scope options

When creating a pass, the brand owner can scope:
  • A standard section. One of the eight, e.g. Voice or Photography.
  • A Horizon. One specific active or archived Horizon.
  • A custom subset. Multiple sections and Horizons selected explicitly.
  • The full atlas. Every readable surface. Best reserved for short-window cases.
The scope is shown to the recipient on first load. They see a banner: You are reading a Guest Pass scoped to [scope]. The banner stays through the session.

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Expiry options

A pass can expire on any combination of:
  • A date. The pass stops working at midnight in the brand owner’s time zone on the chosen date.
  • A number of views. The pass works for the chosen number of views; after that, it stops. Useful for known one-off reviewers.
  • Revocation. The brand owner can revoke at any time. Revocation is immediate.
A pass without any expiry is not supported. Every pass has at least one limit.

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Permissions

Two permissions can be toggled at creation:
  • Allow downloads. The recipient can download attached files (logos, fonts, gallery images). Off by default; on for vendor and partner passes.
  • Allow sharing. The recipient can forward the link to someone else with the same scope. Off by default; rarely on, because forwarding undermines the audit trail. Better practice is to issue a new pass for each recipient.

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Audit

Every pass creation, access, and revocation is recorded in the brand record’s history with the brand owner who created it, the date, the scope, and the identity (if specified). Useful for compliance reviews and for the brand owner’s own visibility into what is being shared.

Creating and revoking

The mechanics.

Sharing a single section

The most common use case.

Expiring links and access logs

The audit side.