One of my primary responsibilities at JDK was designing and maintaining Xbox’s brand guidelines, template library, and branded assets.

This included:
Xbox Brand Guidelines
Xbox One Brand Guidelines
Xbox 360 Brand Guidelines
Xbox Live Brand Guidelines
Xbox 360 Game Advertising Guidelines
Xbox One Game Advertising Guidelines
Xbox Entertainment Studios Guidelines
Xbox Entertainment Partner Guidelines
Templates and branded assets supporting each of the above

The Ask
Xbox branding appears alongside content created by game and media studios, retailers, publishers, websites, and other partner organizations. Because much of this work is produced outside Microsoft, maintaining brand consistency required a robust system of guidelines, templates, and assets that could support a wide range of layouts, applications, and unforeseen use cases.

The Insight

Before the launch of Xbox One, this was managed through a single brand guideline document. Over time, it had grown into an unwieldy brand bible that was no longer serving users effectively. With the addition of multiple consoles, services, events, and entertainment studios, Xbox had evolved into a branded house with a growing family of sub-brands.

The solution was to replace the single document with a suite of focused guidelines, each tailored to a specific brand or audience. This made the information easier to navigate, improved control over confidential content, and better supported the many external partners responsible for producing Xbox-branded retail, print, digital, and video experiences.

The Outcome
Key benefits included:
• Fewer requests for clarification from the brand team
• Better control and distribution of confidential information
• Shorter, more focused guideline documents
• Improved readability through clearer hierarchy and increased negative space