Branding generator

Branding Generator

Create brand identity kits. Interview the user, research the space, then deliver 3 distinct brand directions with visual assets.

When to Use

• "I need branding / a brand identity / brand kit"
• Color palettes, typography, visual identity from scratch
• Rebranding or brand refresh
• Brand naming

When NOT to Use

• Full UI design (use design skill) · Slide decks (use slides skill)

Step 1: Brand Interview

Conduct this like a real branding agency discovery session. Ask these questions conversationally, not as a wall of text — adapt based on answers, ask follow-ups, go deeper where it matters. Group into 2-3 messages max.

Round 1 — The Business

• What does your company/product do, in one sentence?
• Who is your target audience? (Be specific — age, role, lifestyle, not just "everyone")
• What problem do you solve that nobody else does?
• What's your pricing position? (Budget / mid-market / premium / luxury)
• Do you already have a name, or do you need naming help?

Round 2 — The Feeling

• Name 3 brands you admire (any industry) and what you admire about them
• If your brand were a person, how would they dress? How would they speak?
• What emotions should someone feel when they see your brand for the first time?
• What's the one word you'd want people to associate with you?
• Any colors, styles, or aesthetics you absolutely hate?

Round 3 — Practical Constraints

• Do you have any existing brand assets (logo, colors, fonts) you want to keep?
• Where will this brand primarily live? (Web app, mobile app, physical product, social media, print)
• Any industry conventions you need to follow — or deliberately break?
• Competitor URLs or screenshots? (If provided, extract their palettes with colorthief for contrast analysis)

Do not proceed until you have solid answers. Push back if answers are vague — "everyone" is not a target audience, "clean and modern" is not a personality.

Step 2: Research

After the interview, do targeted research before generating directions:

• Competitor visual audit — Search for 3-5 competitors' visual identities. Extract their color palettes, typography, and logo styles. Present a side-by-side summary of what's common in the space so the new brand can visually stand apart — not just conceptually, but with measurable color distance.
• Mood/reference gathering — Search for visual references matching the interview answers (e.g., "minimalist premium SaaS branding", "bold playful fintech design").
• Industry conventions — What do users in this space expect? Where is there room to stand out?

Step 2.5: Brand Naming (if needed)

If the user doesn't have a name, generate name candidates as part of each brand direction. For each direction, propose 2-3 name options.

Naming criteria:

• Memorable — short (ideally 1-2 syllables, max 3), easy to say and spell
• Distinctive — doesn't sound like existing competitors in the space
• Meaningful — connects to the brand concept, even if abstractly
• Domain-friendly — check .com availability via webSearch("site:instantdomainsearch.com [name]") or similar
• Social-friendly — the name should work as a handle (@name) on major platforms

Name generation approaches:

1. Portmanteau — blend two relevant words (e.g., Pinterest = Pin + Interest)
2. Action verb — conveys what the product does (e.g., Grab, Snap, Dash)
3. Abstract/invented — coined word that sounds right (e.g., Spotify, Figma)
4. Real word, new context — existing word reframed (e.g., Slack, Notion, Linear)
5. Foreign/multilingual — borrow from another language for freshness

Present names alongside each direction so the name and visual identity feel cohesive.

Step 3: Generate 3 Brand Directions

Always present exactly 3 distinct directions. Each should feel like a different creative team's pitch — not slight variations.

For each direction, provide:

1. Brand name (if naming) & concept narrative — 1-2 sentence strategic thinking behind this direction
2. Color palette — primary, secondary, accent with hex + OKLCH values. Include neutral scale (50-900) tinted toward the primary hue. Verify WCAG AA contrast for all text/background pairs.
3. Typography — display + body font pairing from Google Fonts with rationale
4. Voice — 3-5 adjectives defining how the brand speaks, plus an example headline
5. Visual mood — overall aesthetic description (photography style, illustration approach, texture usage). Reference 2-3 real-world brands that share elements.
6. Exportable tokens — provide CSS custom properties and Tailwind config alongside each direction (not just at the end) so developers can start experimenting immediately:

/* Direction A tokens */
--primary: #1A1A2E;
--primary-oklch: oklch(18% 0.02 270);
--accent: #D4A855;
--background: #F5F0EB;

// Tailwind extend
colors: {
  primary: { 50: '...', 100: '...', /* ... */ 900: '...' },
  accent: { 50: '...', /* ... */ 900: '...' }
}

Step 4: User Picks a Direction

Present all 3 and ask the user to pick one or mix elements. Use structured prompts to make mixing easier:

• "Which name resonates most?"
• "Which color palette feels right for your brand?"
• "Which voice/tone matches how you want to speak to users?"
• "Which visual mood would you want your product to feel like?"

The user can pick Direction A's name with Direction B's colors and Direction C's tone — facilitate that mixing explicitly. Don't proceed to assets until they approve a direction (or hybrid).

Step 5: Deliver the Brand Kit

Once a direction is approved, delegate to the design subagent (subagent with specialization="DESIGN") to build polished visual boards. Embed them as iframes on the canvas.

Deliverables

Board 1 — Color & Typography: Color swatches with hex + OKLCH values, shade ramps (50-900), typography specimen at heading/body/caption sizes with Google Fonts loaded, contrast audit table, dark mode variant.

Board 2 — Logo Concepts: 3-4 logo variations (wordmark, icon+text, icon-only, monogram) built as inline SVG. Show on light and dark backgrounds at multiple sizes (large display + 32px favicon size). Include SVG source for export.

Logo quality checklist:

• Every logo must be recognizable at 32px (favicon/app icon test)
• Include a single-color version for monochrome contexts (printing, embossing, watermarks)
• Test on both light and dark backgrounds — the logo must work on both without modification or with a simple color inversion
• Use geometric simplicity — avoid fine details that collapse at small sizes
• Provide the icon in a rounded-square container variant for app store / social profile use

Board 3 — Brand in Action: Realistic mockups showing the brand applied to the user's actual product type, not generic pages. If the user is building a marketplace, show a listing card, search results, and app header. If they're building a SaaS dashboard, show the dashboard. Match the mockups to what they're actually building. This board should feel like seeing their real product with the new brand applied.

Board 4 — Brand Guidelines: Color usage rules, typography hierarchy, voice & tone guidelines, 1-2 sample applications (business card, social post).

Step 5.5: Domain & Social Handle Check

After the user approves a direction and name, verify availability:

• Domain: Search for .com, .co, .app, .io availability
• Social handles: Check @name availability on major platforms via web search (Instagram, TikTok, X/Twitter)
• Trademark conflicts: Quick web search for existing trademarks in the same industry

Present findings clearly:

Name: SWAPD
- swapd.com — ❌ taken
- swapd.co — ✅ available
- swapd.app — ✅ available
- @swapd (Instagram) — ❌ taken
- @getswapd (Instagram) — ✅ available
- @swapd (TikTok) — ✅ available

If the primary domain or key handles are taken, suggest variations (get-, try-, use- prefixes, or alternate TLDs) before the user commits.

Color Science

• Work in OKLCH color space (perceptually uniform — same L = same perceived lightness across hues)
• Use color harmony from OKLCH hue space: complementary (H+180°), analogous (H±30°), triadic (H±120°), split-comp (H+150°/H+210°)
• Generate shade ramps by stepping L linearly in OKLCH — avoids the muddy-middle problem of RGB interpolation
• WCAG 2.2 AA: 4.5:1 contrast for normal text, 3:1 for large text and UI components
• Use chroma-js or apcach for programmatic contrast verification
• Dark mode: backgrounds at oklch(15-20% 0.01 H) not pure black. Desaturate brand colors slightly (reduce C by ~0.02).

Limitations

• Logo concepts are starting points — final production logos should be refined with a dedicated designer
• Fonts limited to Google Fonts / open-source unless user provides custom fonts
• Domain/handle availability checks are point-in-time — availability can change; register quickly once decided
• Trademark search is a surface-level web check, not a legal opinion — recommend a proper trademark search for high-stakes brands