What is missing, and who is looking after it
On this page
The completeness meter tells you what is still missing from your manual. The governance page tells you who looks after what is already there, and when it is next due for review. Neither one appears on the published manual.
The six steps that come first
WhereDashboard, Overview
A new brand shows Get your brand hub ready instead of the meter, with six steps:
- Write a cover heading
- Add your brand colors
- Add your typefaces
- Upload your logo
- Upload files your team can download
- Publish the manual
Each step is one of the checks below under another name. When all six are done, Set up your brand hub, the meter, takes its place.
How the percentage is worked out
The meter scores the primary manual of the brand you are in against 18 to 24 checks. The score is the checks that are done divided by the checks that apply, rounded.
The ring is green from 80 percent, orange from 50, and red below that. Inside each group, open items are listed before done ones.
It reads the primary manual
What counts as filled in
A check looks for a block of the right kind with content in it. An empty block is not shown on the published page, and it does not count here either. See Every block, and what it holds.
- An empty block does not count. Adding Spacing scale and never typing a step leaves the spacing check open.
- Choosing a tone or an icon does not fill a block. Only content a reader would see counts, and an empty paragraph counts as empty.
- Only the first filled block of a kind is read. A second Color block adds nothing to the score.
- A color counts only when its hex value is valid. Brand foundation counts when one written field holds something, or when three of the six parts of the positioning statement are filled in.
Every check, and what it wants
Essentials
Without these the manual cannot do its job.
| Check | What it wants | When open |
|---|---|---|
| Cover with heading and subheading | A heading or a subheading on the cover. | Red |
| Brand colors | Add at least a primary color. | Red |
| Accessible text color | No color meets WCAG AA for body text on white. Add a darker color. | Amber |
| Color usage notes | Explain when each color should be used. | Amber |
| Typography | Add at least one typeface. | Red |
| Font fallback stack | Add a fallback stack so text renders everywhere. | Amber |
| Secondary typeface | Most brands pair a display and a body font. | Amber |
| Logo | Upload your primary logo. | Red |
| Logo clear space and minimum size | Define clear space and a minimum size. | Amber |
| Logo misuse examples | Show how the logo should not be used. | Amber |
| Photography or imagery guidelines | Show what on-brand imagery looks like. | Amber |
Design system
The decisions a developer needs in numbers.
| Check | What it wants | When open |
|---|---|---|
| Type scale | One base size and a ratio, so every size is decided. | Amber |
| Spacing scale | A base unit and the steps built on it. | Amber |
| Grid and breakpoints | Columns and the widths the layout changes at. | Amber |
| Corner radius | Name the radii instead of leaving them to each build. | Amber |
| Elevation | Shadow levels, with the CSS to copy. | Amber |
| Iconography | The icon set with its grid and stroke weight. | Amber |
Story and language
What the brand says and how it says it.
| Check | What it wants | When open |
|---|---|---|
| Tone of voice | Describe how the brand speaks. | Amber |
| Brand foundation | Say what the brand is for, and who for. | Amber |
| Values | Name what the brand stands for. | Amber |
| Messaging | A tagline and the boilerplate people paste into things. | Amber |
| Glossary | How to write the names, so nobody has to guess. | Amber |
Sharing
Getting it in front of people.
| Check | What it wants | When open |
|---|---|---|
| Downloadable assets | Upload logos and files teams can download. | Amber |
| Manual published | Publish to share your brand hub. | Amber |
Downloadable assets is the only check that looks outside the manual. It counts files in the asset library of this brand that are not in the trash. See Uploading files.
Why the score can drop
Six checks only appear once something else exists, so the total grows as the manual grows. Colors add two checks, a typeface adds two, and a logo block adds two. An empty manual is scored against 18 checks and a full one against 24. Adding your first color turns one red check green and adds two new checks that may still be open, so the percentage can fall a few points while the manual gets better.
The three governance fields
WhereDashboard, Brand manual, a section, Owner, review date and internal notes
Every section has them. The panel is collapsed until you open it, or opens by itself when one of the fields already holds something.
The same panel holds an internal note, which is never public, and the link anchor, which is public. See The editor and Text and links.
What the governance page shows
WhereDashboard, Governance
- Four tiles: Approved as a percentage of sections, then Past review, No review date and No owner as counts.
- A Worth a look banner when there is anything to say. Its Show these button filters the list and scrolls to it.
- Every name used as an owner, with how many sections each holds. A Nobody chip appears when anything is unowned.
- The section table, with filter chips above it: All, Past review, No date, No owner, Draft, In review, and Owner has left when there is at least one. Each chip carries its count, and a filtered view survives a reload and can be sent to somebody.
The table columns are Section, which links to that section in the editor, Status, Owner, Review and Last edited. The order is overdue first, then due soon, then no date, then everything else. Counts cover all sections, including ones hidden from the public page.
The page opens on the primary manual. With more than one manual you also get a Manual picker, a Show button, an Open editor button, and an Across panel giving each manual a line: sections, percent approved, percent owned.
Review dates
A review date is read in your own time zone and compared by day.
Nothing is sent when a date passes, so open the page on a schedule of your own.
No owner, and an owner who has left
A section with no owner shows Nobody in the owner column. A section whose owner is not a name on the team gets a not on the team badge, and an Owner has left chip appears above the table. That badge is normal for an agency or a client contact. Nothing is reassigned automatically: you name the new owner yourself.
Removing somebody says what they own
Who can open these
- Reading the governance page needs
manual:read, which is view the brand manual. Every built-in role has it. - Changing a status, an owner or a review date needs
manual:writeand happens in the editor. A viewer cannot change the panel. - Neither page is gated by plan. Both work on Free. See What each plan includes.
What to do about each gap
Where to go next
- Activity, versions and restoring for who changed a section and when.
- Governance (opens in a new tab) and the overview (opens in a new tab) in your own account.
Still stuck? Write to hello@stylehub.cloud and say which page you were on.