Skip to content

ADR-0005: Activate the Endorsed Brand Architecture

Status: Accepted

Date: 2026-08-03

Owner: Rafael da Silva Guerra

Context

W7 needs an active identity model before additional initiatives or visual assets are created. The Brand Architecture already described initiatives as independently named brands with a visible relationship to W7, but remained marked Draft and used the mixed term "endorsed sub-brands." Its role also needed to remain independent of WarTips so the Identity layer would govern initiatives rather than derive its authority from one downstream example.

Constitutional Assessment

  • Why should this exist? Initiatives need a consistent way to express their relationship to W7 without losing their own identity.
  • Who benefits? Initiative leads, designers, contributors and audiences gain a clear ownership and naming model.
  • Will it remain valuable over time? Yes. The relationship model is independent of a particular visual style, product or technology.
  • Does it strengthen the W7 ecosystem? Yes. Trust and recognition can compound across initiatives while each remains appropriate to its own audience.

Decision

Activate version 1.1.0 of the Brand Architecture and adopt endorsed brands as W7's identity model. Every initiative keeps its own name, voice and visual expression while maintaining a visible connection to W7. Detailed visual identity remains deferred until a concrete use case exists.

Alternatives Considered

  • Use one monolithic W7 brand. Rejected because unrelated initiatives may serve different audiences and require distinct voices.
  • Use fully independent brands. Rejected because the relationship to W7 would be invisible and trust could not compound across the ecosystem.
  • Keep the architecture as Draft until visual assets exist. Rejected because the brand relationship must guide those assets when they are created; it does not depend on them.
  • Derive the model specifically from WarTips. Rejected because a shared Identity layer must remain valid for initiatives that do not resemble the first one.

Consequences

New initiatives must preserve a visible connection to W7 but have room to develop identities suited to their audiences. Future visual identity work has a stable relationship model to express. W7 accepts the ongoing responsibility to keep the endorsement clear and consistent across initiative touchpoints.