Open Brand Format · Version 1.1

An open standard for sharing a brand

Published by
Jam
Version
1.1, October 2026
Status
Open, in use

Abstract

Brands are shared through documents written for people: a guidelines PDF, a folder of logos, an email with hex codes. Agencies, partners, press and now AI tools all rebuild the brand from these fragments, and each copy drifts. Open Brand Format defines one published form of a brand: a public page, a package with a fixed shape, and a plain-language brief beside exact values. This paper describes the format, what it introduces, and how a brand publishes it.

jamcontent.com/brand
Figure 1. Jam’s own brand page, generated from its brand kit in Open Brand Format.

1.The problem

A brand is used far more often than it is read. Every post, slide, ad and AI-generated image draws on it, usually through a file someone sent months ago. Colours are re-typed, logos are re-exported, and usage rights live in an email thread.

Each reader solves the same problem alone, so no two copies of a brand agree. The guidelines describe the brand, but nothing delivers it in a form that every reader can use as it is.

2.The format

Open Brand Format publishes a brand in three forms that always agree. The brand page is for people. The package is one download with fixed folders and names, so any brand opens the same way. The brief and the manifest state the rules in words and the values exactly, for software and AI.

All three are generated from one brand kit. A brand edits the kit, never the outputs.

3.What it introduces

  1. 01

    A brand page in one link

    Logos, colours, type, guidelines and approved assets on one public page, at /brand on the brand’s own domain.

  2. 02

    One package, one shape

    A single download with the same folders and names for every brand.

  3. 03

    A brief and a manifest

    Rules in plain language for people, and exact values for software, published side by side.

  4. 04

    Every colour format

    HEX, RGB and HSL for every colour, with its Pantone reference.

  5. 05

    Logos in context

    Each logo variant is recorded with the background it was designed for.

  6. 06

    Font licences respected

    The brand decides which fonts can be downloaded. The others are listed by name only.

  7. 07

    Guidelines with a preview

    Brand documents carry a cover image, a page count and a size.

  8. 08

    Approved assets with rights

    Collections carry a credit line, allowed channels and an end date.

  9. 09

    Expiry by default

    Expired assets leave the page and the package without manual work.

  10. 10

    One source of truth

    A change to the kit reaches the page, the package and every reader.

4.Approved assets and rights

Version 1.1 adds approved assets: collections of photos and video that a brand allows others to use. Each collection states its credit line, the channels it may appear on, and the last day it may be used. The rights travel with the files, in the page, the manifest and the collection’s own download.

When a collection or a single file passes its end date, it leaves the page and the package. Nobody has to remember to remove it.

jamcontent.com/brand
Figure 2. An approved collection with its credit, channels and end date.

5.Reading by AI

An AI tool given a brand page finds the brief and the manifest from the page alone. It reads the rules before it makes anything, and takes colours, fonts and logos from exact values instead of an image. It uses approved assets only within their rights.

6.Openness and versioning

The format is documented and free for any brand or tool to read and write. Versions are numbered major and minor. A minor version only adds; readers ignore what they do not know. A change that would break a reader starts a new major version.

Read the full specification See Jam’s brand page Publish yours with Jam

Questions

What is Open Brand Format?

Open Brand Format is an open standard for sharing a brand. It packs your logos, colours, fonts, guidelines and approved assets into one link and one download that people and AI tools understand the same way. Read the open standard.

Do I need Jam to use Open Brand Format?

No. Open Brand Format is an open standard, so any tool can read or write it. Jam builds yours for you from your brand kit, keeps it current when the kit changes, and publishes it on your brand page.

How do AI agents use Open Brand Format?

Share your brand page link with an AI tool. It reads your colours, logos, fonts and brand rules straight from the page, so what it makes stays on brand instead of guessing from a screenshot.