Your brand has to be life-proof.

A brand can look great in a presentation.

That's not the test.

The test is Tuesday morning.

You're busy. Someone needs a proposal. The website needs updating. You have an email to send and approximately twelve other things that seemed less urgent yesterday.

Can you use your brand without having to think too hard about it?

If it's too complicated to use, you'll use it inconsistently.

And that doesn't just make your life harder.

It makes your business harder to recognize.

If your message changes every time you talk about what you do, people have to keep figuring you out.

If everything looks different, they have to keep getting to know you.

The best brands make ordinary work easier.

They help you make decisions faster. They help things look like they belong together. They give people something familiar to recognize and remember.

Your brand doesn't need to impress anyone in a 60-page strategy document.

It needs to work when you have twenty minutes before your next meeting.

That’s life.