# IBM Brand Style Guide

IBM-inspired brand guide for usable report and content production. This specimen is a practical show-and-tell library: brand assets, colour roles, typography, badges, message states, data components, recommendations, briefs, and export rules.

IBM-styled content should feel systematic, engineered, accessible, and explicit. Use the grid to make complex information understandable; use blue to mark interaction and verified structure; use red, amber, and green only when the status itself matters.

### IBM production manifest

- Brand: IBM
- Content system: technical reports, governance memos, product explainers, audit handoffs
- Shape language: modular grid, square panels, strong alignment, visible rules
- Colour rule: blue is the system accent; severity colours are functional, not decorative
- Writing rule: classify evidence, name the decision, then show the verification path
- Export rule: every public artefact uses placeholder evidence and hides browser PDF chrome

## 1. Brand assets and surface rules

### 1.1 Logo on light surface

Show primary artwork on white or cool-grey backgrounds with generous clearspace. Use for: report covers, section openers, and client handoff PDFs.

### 1.2 Logo on dark surface

Use reverse artwork only when the whole page or module is dark. *Do not mix light and dark logo treatments in the same component row.*

### 1.3 Icon or monogram

Use a compact mark for small metadata blocks, export thumbnails, or dashboard tiles. Keep the mark visually centred and never use it as a bullet.

### 1.4 Partner lockup

Use a lockup area when the brand appears beside a product, client, or programme name. Keep equal optical weight and align baselines.

### 1.5 Primary blue

Use for links, active states, chart bars, focus indicators, and primary system emphasis. Pair with white or very light grey.

### 1.6 Strong text

Use for headings, dense tables, labels, and decision statements. It carries authority without needing extra decoration.

### 1.7 Raised surface

Use for cards, tables, briefs, and source ledgers. It should separate information without creating unrelated widths.

### 1.8 Critical state

Use only for blockers, risk, failed validation, or policy exceptions. Always pair it with a text label and recovery instruction.

### 1.9 Warning state

Use for dependencies, partial evidence, or pending verification. It should be visible in print, not a faint tint.

### 1.10 Verified state

Use for shipped controls, passed checks, and preserved patterns. Keep the label legible on the state colour.

## 2. Typography and formatting

### 2.1 H1 / cover title

Technical audit readiness report

Use for the single page purpose. Keep it direct; avoid marketing flourish.

### 2.2 H2 / section title

Evidence and decision path

Use H2s for major production tasks: assets, colours, data, decisions, export.

### 2.3 H3 / component title

Source ledger card

Use H3s inside reusable blocks. They should name the component, not repeat the section.

### 2.4 Body, emphasis, and citation

Normal body copy states the fact. Bold marks the decision or required field. *Italic* marks caveat, interpretation, or non-blocking nuance.

Use quotation styling for source excerpts and reviewer notes. A quote is not a notification; it is a cited voice that supports or challenges the report claim.

## 3. Information tagging badges

Badges are metadata tags, not notifications. Use them inline beside claims, table cells, or source IDs to classify evidence without taking over the page.

Evidence: Evidence:Verified Evidence:Partial Evidence:Inferred Evidence:Missing

Priority: Critical High Medium Low

Badge | Purpose | Use example | Avoid
--- | --- | --- | ---
Evidence:Verified | Confirmed evidence | “Pricing table present in first-fetch HTML” | Using it for assumptions
Evidence:Partial | Some support, not enough | “Two engines cite the page; one cites stale copy” | Hiding uncertainty
Evidence:Inferred | Modelled judgement | “Likely entity mismatch from source drift” | Presenting as fact
Evidence:Missing | No evidence found | “No source card for the claim” | Using as blame language

## 4. Message states and notifications

Notifications are interruption patterns. They need colour, shape, label, purpose, and action. They are not badge rows.

### 4.1 Critical blocker

Purpose: stop delivery until fixed. Use when evidence is inaccessible, a required source is missing, or a public artefact risks disclosure.

Example: “Source B004 is absent from the export ledger. Add it before approval.”

### 4.2 Warning dependency

Purpose: expose risk without blocking every reader. Use for partial evidence, ownership gaps, or pending validation.

Example: “Table fit passes A4 but needs slide review before client deck export.”

### 4.3 Information note

Purpose: explain method or scope. Use for assumptions, sampling windows, and environment details.

Example: “Crawler evidence was captured from a logged-out first fetch.”

### 4.4 Verified outcome

Purpose: mark a stable pattern to preserve. Use when a check passed and should not regress.

Example: “All priority cards now include owner, source, and verification fields.”

## 5. Report component show-and-tell

12

Component families covered. Source: B001.

4

State colours with visible contrast. Source: B002.

100%

Recommendation cards include owner and verification. Source: B003.

0

Private artefacts in public output. Source: B004.

Component coverage 100%

Evidence traceability 92%

Notification clarity 88%

Print readiness 94%

Component | Purpose | IBM treatment | Example content
--- | --- | --- | ---
Manifest | Scope and production rules | Field grid with firm labels | “Export rule: placeholder evidence only”
KPI card | Executive metric | Large value, short source line | “12 component families covered”
Facts table | Dense comparison | Aligned headers, stable columns | Component / purpose / treatment / example
Source ledger | Claim provenance | One width, row dividers, source IDs | B001 — Component inventory
Brief card | Delivery handoff | Light command panel, blue left rule | Task / files / acceptance / verification

B001 — Component inventory — High confidence; checks rendered block families.

B002 — Severity review — High confidence; validates visible critical, warning, information, and verified states.

B003 — Recommendation audit — Medium confidence; verifies owner, due date, source, and acceptance fields.

B004 — Redaction audit — High confidence; confirms public-safe export.

## 6. Recommendation patterns

### 6.1 Critical control gap Evidence:Verified

Use when a missing component, evidence field, or verification step blocks approval.

Owner: Governance. Due: current release. Verify: source ledger contains B001 and B004.

### 6.2 High-priority dependency Evidence:Partial

Use when a recommendation depends on another system, owner, or evidence source.

Owner: Delivery. Due: next sprint. Verify: dependency has an assigned owner.

### 6.3 Medium optimisation Evidence:Inferred

Use when the report is correct but can improve scanability, table density, or export fidelity.

Owner: Design systems. Due: backlog. Verify: A4 and slide output remain aligned.

### 6.4 Completed control Evidence:Verified

Use for implemented safeguards and stable patterns.

Owner: QA. Verified: B004. Preserve: state label remains high contrast.

### 6.5 Preserve

- Explicit source IDs beside claims.
- Stable table columns and aligned panel widths.
- Clear owner, due date, and verification fields.

### 6.6 Avoid

- Ambiguous status labels.
- Decorative charts without data labels.
- Recommendations without acceptance criteria.

## 7. Handoff, code, and export

### 7.1 Implementation brief

Task: Apply IBM-styled report components to a technical audit.

Files: report Markdown, renderer CSS, evidence ledger, PDF exports.

Acceptance: every finding maps to source IDs, confidence, owner, and verification.

Verification: render HTML, A4, US Letter, and slides; inspect badges, notifications, charts, tables, and code panels.

IBM light code panel
Text code

    Do: classify evidence, assign owner, include verification.
    Do not: use a notification when a small metadata badge is enough.

### 7.2 Source-card purpose

Use source cards as governance records: source ID, type, observed date, claim supported, confidence, sensitivity, and storage location.

Public artifact rule

IBM-styled public examples must not include private client names, URLs, local paths, screenshots, raw exports, or uncontrolled evidence excerpts.

IBM brand style guide specimen · usable production guide · public-safe placeholder content