By Mehdi HassanWhat are the deliverables of a brand sprint?
The deliverables of a brand sprint fall into four groups: decisions (positioning, messaging and voice), identity (logo, color and type), application (the brand on real screens) and files (source and exports). A sprint that skips any group leaves you doing that work yourself, usually at the worst time, the week before launch.
This checklist describes what a complete sprint should hand over, and how we organise our own. If you're still deciding whether a sprint is the right format, start with what a brand sprint is. If you want to compare a sprint's output with a full branding project, our brand identity checklist covers the larger version.
Which strategy deliverables should a brand sprint include?
A brand sprint should include written positioning, a homepage headline and voice rules, because those are the decisions every later piece of design and copy depends on. Without them, the logo is decoration and the website starts from scratch.
- Positioning statement. Who it's for, the problem, the alternatives and why you. A few sentences, not a deck.
- Homepage headline and subhead. Written in the sprint, before design. It's the fastest test of whether positioning is clear.
- Three proof points. The reasons a buyer should believe the headline, in plain language.
- Personality profile. Where the brand sits on the sliders agreed in the workshop, with a line on what that means in practice.
- Voice rules. Do-and-don't pairs and sample lines for the website, product and sales emails.
Which logo, color and type files should you get?
You should get a logo set built for every place the brand appears, a palette with defined roles and hex values, and typography with named fonts, sizes and licence notes. The exact files are what let a developer or another designer use the brand without asking you questions.
Deliverable | Formats and versions | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
Primary logo or wordmark | SVG and PNG, light and dark backgrounds | Website, deck, documents |
Icon or symbol | SVG, plus favicon and app icon sizes | Browser tabs, app stores, avatars |
Clear space and minimum size | Documented in the Figma file | Stops the logo being squeezed |
Color palette | Hex values with roles: primary, text, background, accent | Developers build without guessing |
Contrast pairs | Which text and background combinations are safe | Accessible buttons and body text |
Typography | Font names, weights, sizes, line heights | Consistent headings and body text |
Font licence notes | Which licences cover web, app and desktop | Avoids legal surprises later |
What applied screens should a brand sprint deliver?
A brand sprint should deliver the identity applied to the screens your customers will see first, usually website sections and a few product views. Applied screens are the deliverable that proves the brand works, and the one cheaper sprints most often leave out.
In our brand & design sprint, this is the 10 website or product explorations. Typical choices are a homepage hero, a features section, a pricing or proof section and a product dashboard view, with small formats such as the favicon and social avatar checked alongside. We pick them with you based on where the brand appears first. Developer audiences, for example, need more documentation and product views; devtools branding explains why.
- Website hero. Headline, subhead, primary button and navigation, at desktop and mobile widths.
- One or two content sections. Features, proof or pricing, to show type and color at reading length.
- Product screen. A dashboard or core view, where the brand meets dense UI.
- Small formats. Favicon, app icon and social avatar, where weak marks fail first.
These screens are also the most useful starting point for your website. They aren't a finished site, but they mean the build starts from approved designs. Credible, consistent screens are one of the brand trust signals early-stage startups need most.
How should the brand sprint Figma file be organised?
The Figma file should be organised so someone who wasn't in the sprint can find and use everything in a few minutes. Clear pages, named components and exported assets matter more at this stage than a designed PDF brand book.
Cover and read-me
What the file contains, who made the decisions and where to find each asset.
Strategy
Positioning, headline, proof points, personality and voice rules, written out in full.
Logo
Primary mark, icon, light and dark versions, clear space and minimum sizes, set up as components.
Color and type
Color and text styles with names that match their roles, plus contrast pairs.
Explorations
The applied website and product screens, labelled by page and breakpoint.
Exports
Ready-to-use logo and icon files, also delivered outside Figma.
Why a Figma file beats a PDF brand book for an early startup
A PDF brand book is a snapshot. It looks finished, but nobody can copy a color style or a logo component out of it, and it goes out of date the first time the brand changes.
A well-organised Figma file is a working tool. Your next designer, developer or agency can pick up styles and components directly. At pre-seed to Series A, the brand will evolve, and a file that evolves with it is more useful than a document that has to be redesigned every time.
What isn't included in brand sprint deliverables?
Brand sprint deliverables don't usually include naming, trademark clearance, a full design system, a pitch deck or a built website. These are separate pieces of work with their own scope. Knowing that upfront stops you expecting them at handover.
The line between a brand and a design system is the one teams most often blur: the sprint defines how the brand looks and sounds, while a design system defines how every button, form and table behaves. To see how the same deliverables compare with the output of an agency or freelancer, read branding agency for startups vs brand designer, and for the full budget picture, brand sprint cost.
