Brands
A brand is the set of things that make a design look like one client or business: logos, colours, fonts and layout rules. You set it up once. Every run for that brand follows it.
A brand holds:
- a name, and a short key called a Code;
- brand colours and fonts;
- a primary and an alternate logo, as PNG or SVG files up to 2 MB;
- layout rules: the logo’s minimum width, the clear space around the logo, the maximum headline lines, a grid and a minimum gap between elements.
Mestra uses whichever logo stands out more on the artwork. Figma and Canva use the logos you upload. InDesign uses the logo file paths you enter on the brand’s Advanced tab.
The minimum type size isn’t on the brand. You set it on each format, in points.
Why it works this way
Section titled “Why it works this way”Brand rules are the part people forget when they resize in a hurry. Putting them in one place means each format is checked against the same rules, and nobody has to remember them. A clear-space rule is checked on every format, not just the ones someone looked at.
A campaign can override a brand’s rules for one rollout. That keeps the brand’s standing rules clean.
Brands, “centres” and your plan
Section titled “Brands, “centres” and your plan”The web app calls them Brands. The InDesign, Figma and Canva plugins still call them Centres. They are the same thing.
Your plan sets how many brands you can hold: Trial 1, Starter 1, Team 5 and Agency 20. The sample brand doesn’t count. Every new organisation starts with a “Sample Brand” and 40 free sample formats, so you can try a run before you add your own. See Plans and billing.
Editors and owners can edit brands. Viewers can look but not change.
How it fits with other parts of Mestra
Section titled “How it fits with other parts of Mestra”- A campaign chooses one or more brands. Each ticked brand is its own run.
- A run builds each format with that brand’s logos and rules.
- Review flags such as “No logo for this brand; the master’s logo was kept” point back to the brand’s setup. See Review and flags.