Co-branding

Co-branding

When the federal brand appears alongside another brand — a Flemish or Walloon partner, a European institution, a private campaign partner — the rules below apply.

Hierarchy

The federal brand is always on the left or above in a lockup. The system thereby confirms that federal responsibility carries the communication, even when executed with a partner.

Visual separation

Between the two brands runs a thin separator line:

• digital: 1 px in color.border.default
• print: 0.5 pt
• audiovisual: 2 px in the final frame

The line prevents visual merging of the two brands.

Optical height

The two logos are not aligned to the same physical height, but to their optical height. A logo dominated by a round shape (circle) appears visually smaller than a rectangular wordmark of the same height. The governance layer provides a visual templating tool for this.

Colour interference

When the partner has a strong colour palette, the federal brand is shown in black or white to avoid conflict. The tricolour accent disappears in co-branded compositions — otherwise a cacophony of brands emerges.

Specific cases

Some institutions operate in sensitive sectors (justice, finance, security) or have a long visual tradition (defence). For them, the full co-brand rule is not enforced; an affiliation kit is provided instead (see Defence). The governance cell decides case by case — always motivated, always documented.