USSOCOM — Identity Systems & Brand Governance
Built an enterprise brand governance system and identity framework for a high-security analytics portfolio—enabling consistent, compliant communication across teams, products, and leadership touchpoints.
Project Overview
Over a multi-year engagement supporting USSOCOM's analytics organization, I led identity and brand governance work that helped unify how teams communicated across internal software, executive briefings, and operational artifacts.
This wasn't a single "logo refresh." The portfolio required repeatable rules, templates, and workflows so teams could move quickly without creating visual drift or rework—especially across multiple groups with different missions, delivery cadences, and stakeholders.
I created the governance approach (standards, review flow, and handoff model), directed the identity system work (including government seals and internal product identities), and ensured deliverables were usable by both leadership and delivery teams.
Primary Goals
- Establish a governable identity system that scales across a multi-product portfolio
- Provide clear standards (usage rules, layout patterns, typography/color guidance) to reduce inconsistency
- Enable self-service creation for common needs (briefing templates, diagrams, badges, product identity usage)
- Reduce rework and "reinventing" visual patterns across teams
Constraints
- High-security / regulated environment and tooling constraints
- Multiple stakeholder groups with different needs and approval expectations
- Outputs must work across digital + print + presentation contexts
- Fast turnaround cycles and frequent leadership communications
Project Details
Role
Product Director / UX Director (Program Lead)
Timeline
Multi-year engagement (9 years across USSOCOM support)
Team
Led delivery across multiple teams; directed designers and partnered with developers
Deliverables
Brand governance model · Identity system + internal product identities · Templates (briefings, diagrams, comms) · Standards + documentation · Asset organization / library structure
Tools
Adobe Creative Suite · Figma · Confluence/Jira (delivery + governance workflows)
What I Led
Areas of Ownership across the enterprise identity and brand governance program.
Program & Stakeholder Leadership
Led alignment with executive stakeholders; ran reviews, approvals, and prioritization.
Identity Architecture
Defined how seals, internal product identities, and visual standards fit together as a scalable system.
Governance & Operating Model
Built the process teams used to create, request, review, and publish branded artifacts.
Design System Foundations
Standardized common UI/visual patterns used across the portfolio to reduce inconsistency.
Enablement & Templates
Produced repeatable templates that accelerated delivery (and reduced one-off design requests).
Quality & Compliance Readiness
Ensured outputs were consistent, defensible, and usable in regulated environments.
Research & Discovery
Foundational research to understand inconsistency patterns, stakeholder needs, and output requirements across the portfolio.
Standards + Artifact Audit
Identified inconsistency patterns across teams and mediums to establish baseline and quantify gaps.
Stakeholder Workshops
Defined decision points, approval flow, and "what must be consistent" across leadership and delivery teams.
Output Testing
Tested across contexts (print, slides, web/UI, diagrams) to ensure legibility and repeatability.
Mental Models → Systematization
Foundational principles that guided how we structured the identity system for scalability and governance.
Usage Rules Matrix
Identity Layers
Command identity → Portfolio identity → Product identity. Clear hierarchy for when to use which level.
Usage Clarity
When to use which mark, which layout pattern, and which tone of communication—eliminating guesswork.
Template-First Scalability
Make the correct thing the easiest thing to do. Templates accelerate delivery while enforcing standards.
Prototypes & Examples
Seal + identity explorations, template families, and governance documentation snapshots demonstrating the system in action.
Seal + Identity Explorations
System-level identity variations
Template Families
Briefing, diagram, and product comms
Governance Docs
Standards and review workflow documentation
Outcomes
Qualitative results from the enterprise identity and brand governance program.
- Established a scalable brand governance model adopted across a multi-team analytics portfolio
- Improved consistency and reduced ad-hoc rework by standardizing templates and identity usage
- Enabled faster creation of leadership-ready communications without sacrificing quality or clarity
- Created a repeatable framework that supported ongoing portfolio growth and product delivery
Artifacts
Key deliverables from the identity systems and brand governance program.
Brand Governance Guide
Complete governance framework (PDF)
Seal + Identity Files
Asset library with all variations
Presentation + Diagram Template Kit
Reusable template families
Internal Product Identity Standards
Product-level identity guidelines
Examples: Comms + Briefing Outputs
Sample deliverables and applications
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