Brand Evolution

From the PDF to the conversation: how branding has changed

Brand Evolution

From the PDF to the conversation: how branding has changed

Brand Evolution

From the PDF to the conversation: how branding has changed

Brand manuals are over

For a long time, brand knowledge had a fairly clear shape. First a printed manual, later a PDF, where we documented rules, uses, examples, and exceptions. It moved from hand to hand, or from inbox to inbox, so everyone working with the brand had its application guidelines close at hand.

The problem with this format? Versions.
A brand manual is supposed to be something living, because day-to-day work changes things. Suddenly a new sub-brand appears, an application that was not originally considered, Instagram formats change, or something happens that was not taken into account when the document was first compiled.

Work is no longer linear

Today, decisions are not made in a single place or by a single person. They are distributed across teams, tools, timelines, and very different contexts. A presentation finalized at the last minute, a piece adapted for another channel, a question that comes up exactly when no one is available to answer it.

That is why Brand Centers emerged: online tools designed to keep brand management alive. The book became a website. Just as happened in the early 2000s with catalogs, they were digitized, and the version problem largely disappeared. In addition, with varying degrees of success, digital brand centers introduced approval workflows, DAM tools to keep all digital assets within reach, access roles, and practical ways to share documentation with third parties without leaving the platform.

A format designed for another time

Brand manuals were created for a more stable world. One where touchpoints were more controlled, teams were smaller, and decisions followed a more linear path.

Today, brands are used more often, in more places, and by more profiles. And that use is far more immediate. The question is no longer “What does the manual say?” but “Does what I’m doing fit or not?”

That is where the gap starts to show. Not because the content is wrong, but because the format no longer matches the real pace of work.

From searching for answers to asking questions

Over the past year, we have grown used to a different way of interacting with information. We no longer read endless instructions to resolve a specific doubt. We ask a question and expect a direct, contextual, and understandable answer.

AI has played a major role in this shift, but it did not create it from scratch. What it did was accelerate an expectation that already existed: understand quickly, get to the point, and avoid spending extra energy just to move forward.

That expectation is also changing how brands are consulted and used on a daily basis.

And that affects branding too.

The brand as a living system

Branding makes sense when it supports real work and helps people make decisions without constantly going back to the definition. That means accepting that a brand is not a closed document, but a living system. One that adapts to specific questions, different contexts, and decisions that require coherence.

At that point, the brand stops being a rigid framework and becomes a voice that guides and helps people decide.

An operational shift

This move toward conversation puts the focus on the usefulness of branding. On reducing the distance between criteria and action, avoiding interpretation issues, and making sure the brand is there exactly when someone needs it.

When that happens, coherence no longer depends on memory or prior experience. It becomes naturally integrated into the workflow.

Responding to this context

At Small*, where we have been and continue to be brand guardians for many brands, we have been observing this shift for some time. We have seen how brand knowledge, as it was traditionally structured, has started to fall short in the real day-to-day of many organizations. I am not always available, and my client needs answers now.

That situation is what led us to explore new ways of relating to the brand. More direct, more aligned with how work actually happens in a studio, where you talk things through, ask questions, and interpret the rules, sometimes flexibly.

That is how EVA was born. Because if the brand is alive, it makes sense to be able to talk to it.

Over the next few days, we will share more about our new office companion.

Learn more about EVA: https://wearesmall.es/en/holaeva