The short version
- In Gradiently, a brand is a home for one voice: its own Marks, brand kit, brand profile and every design made with them.
- One account can run several brands, and the brand switcher at the top of the app moves between them in one click.
- New designs in a brand start on its primary Mark with its fonts, and the Designer writes in the voice set in its brand kit.
- You can start a brand from a name alone, or answer three short questions and pick from Marks made for it, with three starter designs.
- Deleting a brand deletes its designs, but any Mark you hold stays yours.
On this page
To manage multiple brands in Gradiently, you give each one its own brand: a home for one voice that keeps its own Marks, brand kit, brand profile and designs. You switch between brands from the switcher at the top of the app, and whatever you make lands in the brand you're in, on that brand's look. One account can run your personal work, a company and several clients without their colours, fonts or tone of voice ever mixing.
This guide covers what a brand holds, two ways to start one, how switching works, and when to split work into a new brand rather than a new campaign. If you're setting a brand's details for the first time, keep setting up your brand kit open alongside.
What each brand keeps to itself
| Part | What it holds | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Marks | The living backgrounds the brand wears. The first is its primary. | New designs start on the primary Mark |
| Brand kit | Name, logos, colours, fonts, voice and audience | Brand colours show first in every colour picker; heading and body fonts are the starting faces |
| Brand profile | What the brand is, who it's for, what it makes and how it sounds | The Designer reads it before every design |
| Designs | Everything made in the brand, grouped by the Mark it wears | Home and Designs show only this brand's work |
Inside a brand, each Mark acts like its own space: designs live on the Mark they wear, and you can filter a brand's designs by Mark. You can even give a Mark a local name with Rename in this brand. Only that brand sees the new name; everywhere else, the Mark keeps its own.
Two ways to start a new brand
The quick way is New brand in the brand switcher: give it a name and, if you like, choose a Mark to start with. As the dialog puts it, one for you, one for a company, one for a client.
The fuller way is Start from your brand, which makes Marks for the brand before you've designed anything:
- 1
Name it
The brand's name, as it should appear on its designs.
- 2
Say what it does, in a line
"Small-batch coffee roasted in Leeds" is plenty.
- 3
Choose how it should feel
Up to three of Calm, Bold, Warm, Cool, Playful, Luxurious, Natural, Technical, Editorial and After dark. Brand personality helps if you're unsure.
- 4
Add colours you already use
Optional. Leave it open for a wider set of Marks.
- 5
Pick from Marks made for you
Each comes with a short reason, such as its material and whether it sits on a light or dark ground. Show me others deals six more from the same answers.
- 6
Use this
The brand is set up with that Mark and three starter designs, ready to edit in the Studio.
Giving every brand its own look
Brands earn their keep when they look nothing alike. A café and an accountancy practice run by the same person should differ in ground, material, type and voice, not just in logo. Decide each one on purpose; matching your visuals to your brand voice maps voice traits to visual choices.
Brand one: a warm café, a soft Mark, a friendly headline…
…brand two: a precise practice on a quieter, cooler Mark. Same account, no overlap.
| Brand | Feel | Ground | Voice in the kit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal studio | Editorial, Calm | Light | Thoughtful, first person |
| Crumb Café | Warm, Playful | Light | Friendly, short sentences |
| Harbour Accounts | Cool, Technical | Dark | Precise, reassuring, no jargon |
Switching between brands
The brand switcher sits at the top of the app. It lists the brands in this workspace, each with its count of Marks and designs, plus shortcuts to the current brand's Brand profile and to New brand. Choosing a brand changes everything below it: Home, Designs and Marks show only that brand's work, and a new design starts on that brand's primary Mark.
- A brand without a Mark starts new designs on a house Mark until you pick one from the Market or make one.
- Saving a Mark to a brand never claims it. You can design with any Mark for free; exporting asks you to claim it. See how to find and claim a Mark.
- One Mark can serve several brands. Removing it from one brand leaves it wherever else it lives.
- Move a Mark to another brand from its menu. If it has designs, you choose where they go.
One brand or two: how to decide
Not every new project needs a new brand. A brand kit can hold extra palettes for campaigns and product lines, so a summer promotion usually belongs inside the brand it promotes.
Keep it in one brand
- A seasonal campaign or a product launch
- A second palette for a sub-range
- A new format, like a podcast cover for the same company
- Same audience, same voice
Start a separate brand
- A different business or a client's business
- A different audience or tone of voice
- A personal account next to your company
- Anything whose designs should never share a Mark
Renaming and deleting brands
Settings › Brands lists every brand with its Marks and designs. From there you can open a brand, rename it, edit its brand profile or delete it. Deleting a brand deletes its designs with it, and the confirmation tells you how many; Marks you hold stay yours. An account always keeps at least one brand.
Questions people ask
How many brands can I run from one Gradiently account?
One account can run several brands, each with its own Marks, brand kit, brand profile and designs. You switch between them from the brand switcher at the top of the app.
Do brands share a brand kit?
No. Each brand has its own kit: name, logos, colours, fonts, voice and audience. A brand kit can hold extra palettes for campaigns within the same brand.
Can two brands use the same Mark?
Yes. A Mark can be saved to more than one brand, and each brand can even give it its own local name. Removing it from one brand leaves it in the others.
What happens to my Marks if I delete a brand?
The brand's designs are deleted with it, but any Mark you hold stays yours.
Does the Designer know which brand I'm in?
Yes. It reads the current brand's profile before every design and writes in the voice set in that brand's kit.
Written by Gradiently
The team behind Gradiently, a design tool built around Marks: living gradients that make everything you design look like yours.
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