rules belong in the tool
If a guideline matters, the template enforces it. If it only lives in a document, it’s a suggestion.
The cost — someone has to decide the rules once, properly. Cork won’t invent your brand for you.
About Cork
a brand guide that can’t be enforced is just a nice pdf.
Cork exists because the rules were never the hard part. Every company writes them down. The hard part is making the next post, ad and flyer follow them when nobody is looking. So we built the rules into the templates.
The problem we were built for
the guidelines were fine. the handoff killed them.
Nobody ignores a brand guide out of spite. They ignore it because the logo pack is in an email from March, the hex code is in a slide, and the deadline is in an hour.
- Day one
the pdf gets signed off
A designer spends weeks on it. Everyone nods. It goes into a shared folder next to
Final_v7Final_v7_REAL. - Week three
someone needs a story ad by five
They don’t open the PDF. They find the logo in an old deck, eyeball the red, and pick a font that looks close enough.
- Month two
the designer becomes a gatekeeper
Every post goes through one person, who spends the week fixing kerning instead of designing anything new. The team learns to wait, or to skip her.
- Month six
the brand drifts anyway
Three slightly different reds, two logo spacings, one very confident intern. Cork is our answer to that one afternoon in particular.
What we’ll defend
four principles, and what each one costs you
freedom where it’s safe
Photos, copy and captions stay open. We lock the logo, palette and headline type so people spend their time on the part that’s actually theirs.
The cost — some people will want to “just nudge” the logo. The answer is no, and an admin has the key.
say what the product doesn’t do
Exports are PNG and JPG. The mockup surface list is fixed. Sketch doesn’t publish to channels. It’s all written on the pricing page, in plain words.
The cost — fewer people sign up on a hunch. We’re fine with that.
designers review exceptions
A designer’s week shouldn’t be fixing posts that already follow the rules. Cork routes the odd ones to them and lets the rest ship.
The cost — approvals add a step. That’s deliberate; it just stops being a meeting.
How it’s built and supported
one kit is the source. everything else just reads from it.
Templates don’t keep their own copy of your red. They point at the kit, which is why changing a color once reaches every design, and why version history can roll it back.
- Source of truthColors, fonts and logos live in the kit. Templates reference them, never duplicate them.
- Change controlLocks are set by admins. Kit edits are versioned, with a preview before anything republishes.
- SupportEmail support@corkofficial.com. A person who uses Cork answers it.
- StatusIncidents and uptime notes go on the Status page. Product changes go in the Changelog.
Where it’s going
more guardrails, not more buttons
We’re not racing to be a everything-suite. The roadmap is about making the kit stricter, clearer and easier to hand over. Dates are intentions, not promises, so we don’t print them.
clearer rule checks
Plainer wording on the on-kit checks, so “headline 3pt under minimum” tells you what to change, not just that something’s wrong.
faster kit handover
Smoother ways to bring an existing brand folder into a new kit, because setup is the part everyone dreads.
sharper approvals
More control over who signs off what, for teams where compliance gets a say.
things we’re not building
- A freeform design canvas with no locks
- Stock photo marketplace
- Ad buying
- An AI that invents your brand
pick a plan. pin the kit.
Three plans, billed yearly, one price each. Choose by how many brands you run and who gets a say.
Choose your plan