First steps · Chapter 4

Recording an existing CI

Many clients bring their CI with them, as a style guide, a PDF or just as a website. Then you design nothing; you record what applies. If you would rather not type it all, let nexbrand collect the values.

Beginning empty

For a new client, open the wizard with New client, enter name and sector in the first step, and at the step Start choose Empty, record a CI and then Start empty. You land at the colours with an empty palette; the wizard needs at least one colour before it goes on. At the end, click Create as a draft only.

If the client exists already but has no CI, its page shows No CI yet with three ways: With the wizard, Collect and Begin empty. Begin empty creates an empty draft named 1.0. Everyone who may write can create a CI.

Entering and publishing

1. Open the draft

   On the client's page, click Edit draft in the draft's bar.

2. Enter the parts

   In the tabs Colours, Fonts, Logos, Sizes, Rules and Examples, enter what the style guide says and click Save. The chapters from Colours on explain each tab.

3. Publish with the right date

   Publish asks for Name of the version and Valid from. For a CI that has applied for years, use the date it started, such as the day of the last relaunch. Then Publish now.

Adding older versions

If you want to keep the client's history, start with the oldest version and publish it with its date, say 2019. Then create a draft with New version that starts with 2019, change what changed in 2022, and publish it with the date of 2022. And so on up to today. The time line orders everything by the day it applies from, and As of then shows every day correctly.

Changing a client's details

Edit client details at the top of the client's page opens Name, Sector, Contact or address, Colour, a Note and the Addresses: up to ten websites and GitHub repositories of the client. They stand ready when collecting, and the first website shows at the top of the client's page.

Client names are unique. nexbrand compares them without capitals and without spaces at the ends; “Morgenrot Bakery” and “morgenrot bakery ” are the same name.

Trash

Move to trash at the bottom of the client's page puts the client away with all its versions and projects; whoever may write may do so. In the overview, Trash opens the list with Restore and Delete for good. After 30 days nexbrand deletes by itself.