The mark gets stretched, recoloured and pasted on clashing backgrounds the moment it leaves the brand team. An automated scan finds misuse in the wild, continuously, so it can be corrected fast.

SCANAutomated FINDSMisuse COVERAGEWeb · social CADENCEContinuous

C01.1 · WHAT IT SCANS

The mark, in the wild.

The scan looks for the WCN mark across the web, partner sites and social, flagging instances that depart from the approved forms. It watches where the team can’t.

C01.2 · WHAT COUNTS

Stretched, recoloured, busy.

Misuse is the catalogue of don’ts — distortion, wrong colour, clutter, low contrast. The scan is tuned to the same rules the mark guidelines define.

C01.3 · COVERAGE

Owned and beyond.

Owned surfaces are scanned exhaustively; partner and third-party use is sampled. Coverage is documented so a clean scan means something.

C01.4 · THE FLOW

Find, flag, fix.

Each finding routes to an owner with the specific rule it breaks and a corrected asset. The scan isn’t a naughty list — it’s a fast path back to on-brand.

Beyond the logo, the whole visual system can drift — a slightly-off colour here, a wrong typeface there. The visual audit checks each surface against the system and scores how on-brand it is.

CHECKSColour · type · layout PERSurface SCOREPer touchpoint OUTScorecard

C02.1 · WHAT’S CHECKED

The four fundamentals.

Each surface is checked on colour accuracy, typography, spacing/grid and imagery style — the four places visual drift hides. The checklist matches the visual identity spec.

C02.2 · PER SURFACE

Site to slide.

Web, product, deck, social, print — each surface is audited on the same criteria. Consistent criteria make scores comparable across very different media.

C02.3 · SCORING

A number per touchpoint.

Each surface gets a consistency score, so drift is visible and trackable over time. A score turns “feels a bit off” into something a team can act on.

C02.4 · THE SCORECARD

One sheet, all surfaces.

Results roll into a scorecard showing every surface’s score and worst offences. It points the brand team straight at what to fix first.

Visual consistency is only half the brand; the words have to sound like WCN too. This audit reviews copy across surfaces against the voice guidelines and flags where the tone drifts.

REVIEWSCopy CHECKSTone · terms DRIFTFlagged OUTExamples

C03.1 · COPY REVIEW

Reading the whole brand.

Copy from the site, product, social and support is sampled and read against the voice principles. Tone is judged by humans — it’s the one audit a scanner can’t fully do.

C03.2 · WHAT’S CHECKED

Tone and terms.

Two layers: tone (does it feel like WCN — clear, confident, plain) and terminology (are we using the agreed words). Both come straight from the verbal identity.

C03.3 · TONE DRIFT

Where it slips.

Common drift — jargon creeping in, hype, inconsistent product names — is flagged with the surface and severity. Drift is usually unintentional, so flagging is enough to correct it.

C03.4 · EXAMPLES

Show, don’t scold.

Findings pair the off-voice copy with an on-voice rewrite. Examples teach the voice better than rules — the audit doubles as training.

You can’t audit what you haven’t listed. The touchpoint inventory is the complete map of every place the brand appears — the foundation every other audit scans against.

LISTSAll surfaces OWNEREach STATUSOn / off-brand USEAudit base

C04.1 · THE INVENTORY

From homepage to invoice.

Every touchpoint — site, app, emails, decks, social, ads, invoices, error pages — is catalogued. The boring surfaces (invoices, receipts) are exactly where brand is forgotten.

C04.2 · OWNERSHIP

A name on each surface.

Every touchpoint has an owning team, so audit findings have somewhere to go. An unowned surface is one that drifts with nobody accountable.

C04.3 · STATUS

On-brand, or not.

Each entry carries its current consistency status from the latest audit. The inventory becomes a live heat-map of where the brand is strong and where it’s slipping.

C04.4 · THE AUDIT BASE

What every scan reads.

The visual and voice audits scan against this list, so nothing is missed. New surfaces are added as they launch — the inventory is maintained, not a one-off.

Audits find problems; the off-brand log makes sure they get fixed. It records every flagged issue with severity and owner, and tracks it to resolution — turning audits into action.

RECORDFlags SEVERITYRated FIXTracked TRENDWatched

C05.1 · THE LOG

One place for issues.

Every off-brand finding — visual, voice, logo — lands in one log with surface, description and date. Scattered findings get forgotten; a single log gets worked.

C05.2 · SEVERITY

Not all equal.

Each issue is rated — a wrong logo on the homepage outranks a spacing slip on an internal deck. Severity sorts the queue so the worst gets fixed first.

C05.3 · FIX TRACKING

Open to closed.

Each entry moves from open to fixed, with the owner and resolution recorded. An audit that doesn’t track fixes just generates the same findings next quarter.

C05.4 · THE TREND

Getting better, or worse?

Over time the log shows whether drift is rising or falling, and which surfaces repeat-offend. That trend is the real measure of whether the system is holding.

Consistency holds when audits are routine, not reactive. This sets the cadence — what gets checked, how often, and how results close the loop — so brand quality is a standing process.

CADENCEQuarterly SCOPERotating REPORTTo owners LOOPClosed

C06.1 · THE RHYTHM

Quarterly, like clockwork.

A full audit runs quarterly, with the logo scan continuous between. A fixed rhythm means consistency never waits for someone to notice a problem.

C06.2 · ROTATING SCOPE

Deep, in rotation.

Each quarter audits everything lightly and one area deeply, rotating focus. Rotation gives depth without making every audit a quarter-long project.

C06.3 · REPORTING

Findings, to the owners.

Results go to each surface’s owner with their specific findings, plus a summary to brand leadership. People fix what lands on their desk, not what sits in a shared doc.

C06.4 · CLOSING THE LOOP

Confirm last time’s fixes.

Each audit opens by confirming the prior quarter’s issues are closed. That single step turns a series of audits into a system that actually improves consistency.