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Writing rules that people can follow

Lesson 5 of 18 in The brand book.

Lesson

A rule is followable when it is specific, testable, and has a stated reason. Miss any of the three and it degrades: without specificity it gets interpreted, without testability it gets argued, and without a reason it gets overridden by the first person with an opinion and a deadline.

A logo rule shown correct once and wrong three times, without red or green.

At one table two checkers argue over a poster's emblem, and at another two checkers lay a paper tab the height of the emblem's circle into the gap beside it and nod. — Judging by eye, two checkers argue over the space around an emblem. Two others lay a tab cut to the emblem's own height in the gap and agree at once, because the rule can be measured.

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Question 1, locked
Why attach a one-clause reason to every rule instead of just giving the instruction?
- It makes the page read as considered, which lends the document authority.
- It gives you a record to point at when a supplier ships the wrong thing.
- It lets a reader extend the rule to a case the document never anticipated.
- It lets the rule be shorter, since the reason replaces the measurement.
Question 2, locked
Which of these words means this? “One where two people looking at the same artwork reach the same verdict.”
- PDF
- Misuse page
- Testable rule
- Tiered documentation
Question 3, locked
Which of these words means this? “The permitted range. A rule without one gets interpreted as zero or as anything.”
- Icon page
- Living document
- Reference set
- Tolerance

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