Applications

Applications is the fourth standard section. It contains the worked examples of the brand applied across the surfaces it inhabits: product, screen, print, packaging, signage, environment. Where the first three sections define the elements, Applications shows what those elements look like in context.

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What lives here

A complete Applications section is organised by surface, with five common surfaces:

1. Screen. Web, app, marketing pages, social formats, presentation templates. Includes example layouts, do-and-don’t pairings, and the templates the team works from.
2. Print. Marketing collateral, stationery, packaging, signage. Specifications for stock, finishes, and print partners. Templates where templates exist.
3. Product. How the brand integrates into the product itself: UI patterns, voice in the product, in-product imagery. Where relevant, links to the product design system.
4. Environment. Physical spaces where the brand appears: office signage, event installations, retail. Photographic examples plus production specifications.
5. Partnerships. Co-branding rules, joint lock-ups, what is permitted and what is not, when partners use the marks.

Not every brand needs every surface. Skip surfaces that do not apply, or move them into a Horizon when the surface is rarely used.

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Who edits this section

The brand owner. Editors with Applications edit rights, often the in-house designer or marketing lead. MadeBy_ during an engagement. Applications generates more Update Requests than any other section, because every new piece of work is implicitly an application. Team members raise requests when a new template is needed, when an existing template no longer fits, or when a surface has produced a result that should be canonised.

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What team members see

The section is image-heavy. Each surface shows a gallery of approved examples and (separately) a gallery of refused examples with the reason. Templates are downloadable in the team’s tool of choice (Figma, Sketch, Adobe Illustrator, PowerPoint, Keynote). Specifications are listed in tables for the surfaces that require them.

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How this section changes

Applications changes the most often of any standard section. Most edits are additive:

• A new template after a campaign has produced a layout worth reusing.
• A new partner lock-up rule after a partnership is signed.
• A new “don’t” example after a misuse has been seen in production.

Larger changes (a complete redesign of the marketing template, a new product surface) often involve a Horizon: a campaign Horizon for the new direction, then a graduation of the rules into the standard section once the campaign settles.

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Common mistakes

Five mistakes show up repeatedly in Applications sections:

1. Examples without specifications. A beautiful gallery of past work, with no specifications a team member could use to produce a new piece. Photographs alone do not transfer; specifications do.
2. Templates that go out of date. The marketing template was built six months ago; the brand’s tone has moved on; the template still reflects the old tone. Review templates quarterly.
3. Refused examples missing. Only “do” examples are shown. The team learns what is allowed; they do not learn what is forbidden. Show the refused work explicitly.
4. No partnership rules until the first partnership. A partnership is signed; the partner asks for lock-up rules; the brand owner improvises under pressure. Build the partnership block before the first partnership, even if it is empty.
5. Surfaces silenced because they are rare. “We almost never print, so let’s not document print.” Then a print job comes up and is improvised. Document every surface the brand might plausibly inhabit, even the rare ones.

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