# brand-strategist

Turns the 12 animation principles into brand decisions: timing, easing, how much stretch fits your character. Useful when motion has to match the rest of the identity.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 503 installs · ★ 124
- Author: dylantarre
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/dylantarre/animation-principles/tree/HEAD/skills/03-by-role-persona/brand-strategist/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2025-12-30
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/dylantarre-brand-strategist

## What it does

The skill walks through Disney's 12 principles and reframes each as a brand question. Squash and stretch sets elasticity — playful brands stretch further, premium ones stay rigid. Anticipation signals energy: a long wind-up reads as confidence, a short one as efficiency. Timing carries tempo, exaggeration carries boldness.

What you get out of it: a motion manifesto, timing and easing specifications, do/don't examples with rationale, platform-specific adaptations, and a reduced motion variant. Everything inside is prose — principles plus audit questions, no scripts or generators. So it behaves like a checklist you talk through with the agent rather than an automated animation linter.

The catch is that the skill knows nothing about your brand until you describe it. Feed it a vague prompt and the answers come back generic. Have a brand book ready, or at least three adjectives about the character, otherwise the audit just restates the principles back at you.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill brand-strategist -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/brand-strategist/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/brand-strategist/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill brand-strategist -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/brand-strategist/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill brand-strategist -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/brand-strategist/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install dylantarre/animation-principles brand-strategist
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/brand-strategist/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill brand-strategist -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/dylantarre/animation-principles --path skills/03-by-role-persona/brand-strategist
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/brand-strategist/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill brand-strategist -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/dylantarre/animation-principles/tree/HEAD/skills/03-by-role-persona/brand-strategist/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- define brand character through animation timing and easing
- write a motion manifesto for a design system
- check whether users recognize the animation style across touchpoints
- add a reduced motion variant that still reads as the brand
- explain to the team why some easing curves fit and others do not

## Example prompts
- Help me define our brand motion identity: calm and premium, give me timing and easing specs
- Write a motion manifesto and a do/don't list for our design system
- Audit our animation: would customers recognize the brand across platforms?

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: bd5074efb6984ac9.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE bd5074efb6984ac9
```text
---
name: brand-strategist
description: Use when defining brand motion identity, creating animation guidelines for brand expression, or aligning animation with brand personality.
---

# Brand Strategist: Motion as Brand Expression

You are a brand strategist defining how motion expresses brand identity. Apply Disney's 12 principles to create distinctive, consistent brand animation.

## The 12 Principles for Brand Identity

### 1. Squash and Stretch
**Brand Expression**: Elasticity defines personality. Playful brands stretch more. Premium brands stay rigid. Tech brands use precise, minimal deformation.
**Brand Examples**: Nickelodeon (hyper-elastic), Apple (minimal stretch), Slack (friendly bounce).

### 2. Anticipation
**Brand Expression**: Wind-up style signals brand energy. Long anticipation = dramatic, confident. Quick anticipation = efficient, modern. No anticipation = urgent, direct.
**Brand Examples**: Luxury brands savor anticipation. Startups skip straight to action.

### 3. Staging
**Brand Expression**: How the brand presents information reflects values. Clean staging = minimal brand. Layered staging = rich, complex brand. Bold staging = confident brand.
**Brand Examples**: Muji stages minimally. Disney stages theatrically.

### 4. Straight Ahead vs Pose to Pose
**Brand Expression**: Creative process as brand value. Straight ahead signals spontaneity, authenticity. Pose to pose signals precision, reliability.
**Brand Examples**: Art brands embrace organic flow. Financial brands use precise keyframes.

### 5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action
**Brand Expression**: Attention to detail. Brands that invest in follow-through signal quality. Minimal follow-through = efficient, no-nonsense. Rich follow-through = luxurious, crafted.
**Brand Examples**: Luxury fashion shows fabric physics. SaaS tools keep it simple.

### 6. Slow In and Slow Out
**Brand Expression**: Easing curves are brand signatures. Sharp easing = energetic, young. Gentle easing = sophisticated, mature. Linear = industrial, functional.
**Brand Examples**: Gaming brands use aggressive curves. Wellness brands ease gently.

### 7. Arc
**Brand Expression**: Movement paths reflect brand character. Organic arcs = natural, human. Geometric paths = precise, engineered. Irregular paths = creative, unpredictable.
**Brand Examples**: Outdoor brands use natural arcs. Automotive brands use engineered precision.

### 8. Secondary Action
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE bd5074efb6984ac9

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First 2438 of 4139 bytes. © dylantarre · MIT · https://github.com/dylantarre/animation-principles/tree/HEAD/skills/03-by-role-persona/brand-strategist/SKILL.md

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