Bttr. · Field Guide
Brand Operating System Checklist. Audit your team in ten minutes.
Thirty items across six layers. Check the ones that are actually true. The unchecked items tell you exactly where your brand operating system is broken.
New to the concept? Start with the definitional field guide → What Is a Brand Operating System?
How to use the checklist
Score real, not aspirational.
Each item is binary: true today, or not. "True today" means a new person joining the team this week could find the artifact, understand it, and ship from it without asking anyone where it lives. "Soft" yeses are no.
Count your checks per layer. Score under 3 out of 5 in any layer means that layer is the weakest link and the team is shipping incoherent brand from it.
01 · Layer
Strategy
- A written positioning statement exists and the senior team agrees on it.
- The brand can be described in one sentence that the team can defend.
- The audience model identifies primary, secondary, and tertiary audiences with real attributes.
- A competitive frame names three to five direct comparisons and how the brand differs.
- The strategy doc was reviewed in the last twelve months.
02 · Layer
Identity
- A logo lockup file exists in vector format with usage rules.
- A type system specifies headline, body, and mono families plus a fallback stack.
- A color system has named tokens (not just hex codes) with intended use per token.
- Photography direction is documented with at least ten approved reference images.
- A motion language defines easing, duration, and intent across product and marketing.
03 · Layer
Voice
- A voice guide exists with surface-specific examples (product UI, marketing, sales, support).
- A writer joining the team this week could produce on-voice copy by Friday.
- Edge cases are covered: error states, legal disclaimers, regulatory copy, escalations.
- Common voice mistakes are catalogued with side-by-side wrong-and-right examples.
- Voice rules are versioned alongside the rest of the system.
04 · Layer
Application
- A real homepage, product UI, deck, social post, and email exist in the system, not as mockups.
- Marketing, product, sales, and support all produce work that visibly comes from the same brand.
- Application examples are dated and updated when the system changes.
- There is a documented gallery showing on-brand vs off-brand examples.
- Year-over-year coherence is visible — not just the launch screenshot.
05 · Layer
Governance
- A named owner exists for the brand operating system as a whole.
- A documented review path exists for new brand surfaces or major edits.
- A decision log captures the why behind brand decisions, not just the what.
- Escalation criteria are defined: what gets a quick approval vs what gets a real review.
- The governance model has been tested by an actual decision in the last quarter.
06 · Layer
Operating layer
- Design tokens are wired into the codebase, not living only in Figma.
- A component library is installed and used by engineers shipping product UI.
- Figma libraries are shared, named clearly, and version-controlled.
- Templates exist for the work the team produces most often (decks, social, email).
- A non-designer can produce an on-brand asset for a known surface without asking permission.
Reading the result
What your score means.
25-30 checks. You have a working brand operating system. Focus is on operational refinement and staying ahead of organizational drift.
18-24 checks. The skeleton is there. Specific layers are weak. The Brand Sprint can usually close the gap in a single fixed-timebox engagement.
10-17 checks. The team has artifacts but not a system. The brand is being held together by senior judgment that does not scale.
Under 10. The team is shipping brand improvisationally. A Brand Sprint is the fastest path to getting from improvisation to a working operating system.