You’re launching a new campaign. Someone grabs an old logo file. Another team uses last year’s pitch deck. A freelancer shares a video with the wrong tone of voice.
Suddenly, the message is muddy and the brand feels off.
That’s where on-brand assets come in. They’re not just polished they’re aligned. With your brand voice, your visual identity, your values, and your audience.
They make your content look and feel like you, no matter who’s creating it or where it appears.
On-Brand Assets Definition
On-brand assets are content materials : visual, written, or multimedia, that consistently reflect a company’s brand identity, including its tone, style, design, and messaging guidelines.
They include:
- Logos and iconography
- Templates (slides, emails, social posts)
- Typography and color usage
- Voice and tone in copy
- Photography and video style
- Approved taglines or CTAs
- Design files and layout structures
The goal? Ensure that every customer-facing piece of content, from a tweet to a keynote deck, feels recognizably, confidently on-brand.
Why On-Brand Assets Matter
- Builds trust and recognition
→ Consistency signals professionalism and reliability. - Saves time and confusion
→ Teams don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time. - Improves collaboration
→ Freelancers, agencies, and new hires all work from the same playbook. - Reinforces positioning
→ A consistent brand look and tone makes your company easier to remember — and harder to confuse. - Scales content without chaos
→ You can publish more, across more channels, without diluting your identity.
Examples of On-Brand Assets in the Wild
1. Figma – Brand Kit for Internal and External Creators
Figma offers a publicly accessible brand kit, including logo usage rules, color values, and typography guidelines, plus downloadable assets for partners, press, and event organizers.
They even provide motion guidelines for animated content and social assets that match their product’s minimalist, flexible identity.
Why it works: Anyone creating content, internal or external, can stay aligned without constantly asking for approvals. The result? Figma looks like Figma everywhere.
2. Webflow – Scalable Visual Identity Through Templates
Webflow’s brand design team built reusable social media templates and blog visuals in their own tool. Writers, marketers, and content creators can plug in text and images without needing design help.
They also share motion design principles that ensure every video, from YouTube tutorials to landing page explainers feels cohesive.
Why it works: Brand control doesn’t live with just one team, it's embedded in scalable tools and workflows.
3. Intercom – Voice Guidelines That Go Beyond “Friendly”
Intercom has a sharp tone-of-voice guide that defines not just style but attitude: conversational, confident, no corporate speak. Their on-brand assets reflect this, whether it’s blog copy, landing page headers, or video scripts.
Even their product tooltips are aligned with their brand voice.
Why it works: The voice is baked into assets at the copy level, not just visuals. It makes every touchpoint feel like a continuation of the same story. Some digital companies also use AI avatars.
4. Notion – UGC Templates That Stay On-Brand
Notion encourages creators to submit templates, tutorials, and visuals. But they also provide template starter kits and design rules so that third-party submissions still feel consistent with Notion’s clean, minimal aesthetic.
Why it works: They’ve built a system where even user-generated content can reflect their brand, at scale.
How to Create and Maintain On-Brand Assets
1. Build a clear brand system
This includes your brand guidelines (visual + verbal), your logo kit, and usage rules. It should be accessible, readable, and regularly updated.
Tip: Keep it all in one place. Use Notion, Frontify, Canva, or a shared Drive — but make sure everyone knows where to find it.
2. Create a reusable asset library
Store approved templates, visuals, video bumpers, and presentation decks. This empowers teams to move faster, without going rogue.
Pro move: Include “don’t use this” examples to show what’s off-brand as clearly as what’s on-brand.
3. Review assets at key handoff points
Before publishing new ads, videos, or product pages, run a quick brand check:
- Does this sound like us?
- Does it look like us?
- Would our audience instantly know this is from us?
Tools like Figma libraries, Canva Brand Kits, and Google Slides templates can keep assets locked to brand rules.
4. Align content creators early
Freelancers, agencies, new team members, don’t wait until final drafts. Share your brand kit upfront. Include tone samples, design references, and examples of great past work.
Pro tip: Build a “welcome doc” or onboarding slide with 5–10 of your best on-brand assets.
What Makes an Asset Truly On-Brand?
Ask yourself:
- Does it follow our visual identity (colors, fonts, layout)?
- Is the tone of voice aligned with our guidelines?
- Does it reinforce our brand story or product positioning?
- Is it instantly recognizable : even without a logo?
- Can it scale across formats (web, mobile, print, video) and still feel like us?
If you’re saying “yes” to most, you’re on the right track.