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Governance / v1.3.1Governance

Keep the system trustworthy.

Which source has authority—and for what?

Record the decision, its publication scope, its narrowest current source, and the people responsible for revisiting it. Canonical direction and public permission are separate decisions.

01 / The decision

A decision is only useful when its boundary is visible.

Start with a concrete record. It answers what changed, which source governs new work, who owns the choice, and where the result may be published.

Decision record GOV-07

A realistic training record showing decision status and publication scope as separate fields.

Illustrative

GOV-07 / Color foundation

Use C1 Pure Cool for v1.0.

Training record · not an approval
Decision status
Canonical decision
Publication scope
Approved public
Governing source
/foundations/color
Effective version
Ordering.co Design Guidelines v1.0
Owner
Brand systems
Reviewer
Design systems lead

Decision

Canvas and primary content adapt by theme. Action Blue, operational indicators, and the masterbrand symbol remain fixed.

1234
  1. 1

    Decision axis

    Canonical means this is the current rule for new internal work.

  2. 2

    Publication axis

    Approved public means this guideline may be distributed externally.

  3. 3

    Narrow source

    The current Color route and versioned tokens govern the implementation.

  4. 4

    Stewardship

    Owner, reviewer, effective version, and review trigger keep the rule maintainable.

02 / How it works

Always state both status axes.

Decision status tells builders what to follow. Publication scope tells teams where the material may travel. Neither axis implies the other.

Color foundation

Decision status

Canonical decision

Publication scope

Approved public

Build and publish from the current Color route; downstream claims remain separately proof-gated.

Photography direction

Decision status

Direction pending

Publication scope

Not for publication

Use commissioning guidance only; do not present pending imagery as an approved system.

Warm Substrate study

Decision status

Historical

Publication scope

Not for publication

Read for rationale only; the current Color route replaces it.

03 / Authority

Use the narrowest current source.

Authority changes with the question. A route governs usage, a token or master asset governs implementation, the Proof Ledger governs consequential claims, and the Archive provides history only.

Authority in one concrete case

Question: may a candidate location claim appear in a new landing-page evidence module?

Illustrative
  1. 01

    Current route

    Visual expression

    Decides where an evidence module belongs and how context stays attached.

    Layout guidance

  2. 02

    Token or asset

    Ordering.co tokens

    Decides typography, surface, border, status, and focus implementation.

    Implementation values

  3. 03

    Publication gate

    Proof Ledger C-01

    The candidate location claim is permission-pending, so it cannot ship publicly.

    Blocked for public use

  4. 04

    Historical context

    Archive

    Can explain prior choices but cannot override the route, tokens, or ledger.

    Context only

Result: the module may be designed internally, but the claim remains blocked for public use until its exact Proof Ledger record authorizes it.

04 / Ownership

The decision and its review both need a steward.

Ownership makes a rule maintainable. It does not replace evidence, legal, accessibility, or publication reviews that the change may also require.

Decision record

Who decided what, where, and why.

Illustrative
Accountable owner
Brand systems
Reviewer
Design systems lead
Affected source
Color route + token package
Rationale
One governed semantic system across Light and Dark.

Review record

When the decision must be reconsidered.

Illustrative
Last review
v1.0 release review
Next review
At the recorded governance date
Unresolved gate
Claims, permissions, and customer materials remain approval-gated.
Early trigger
Token, accessibility, asset, or product-scope change.

05 / Lifecycle

Review is part of the release.

The route, token, component, asset, and governance record move together. A change is incomplete while its current source and recorded status disagree.
  1. 01ProposeName the problem, affected channels, source, and accountable owner.
  2. 02ReviewCheck brand fit, implementation impact, accessibility, evidence, and permission.
  3. 03DecideRecord the status, reviewer, rationale, and effective version.
  4. 04PublishUpdate the canonical source and apply its recorded publication scope.
  5. 05RevisitReview on the recorded date or when scope, rights, evidence, or implementation changes.

06 / Technical reference

Use the existing taxonomy exactly.

Open the reference when creating or auditing a governance record. Do not introduce stable, beta, or deprecated as parallel statuses without a formal decision.
Status definitionsThe complete decision and publication taxonomy for governance records.

Decision status

Canonical decision
Current authority for new work.
Direction pending
A bounded area awaiting a decision or authorized asset.
Historical
Context and rationale only; never implementation authority.

Publication scope

Internal preview
Usable only inside the governed review workflow.
Permission gated
Requires exact evidence, rights, scope, owner, and channel approval.
Approved public
Use only when the governing record explicitly grants it.
Not for publication
Working, illustrative, prohibited, or historical material.

Evidence

Claims & Proof

Classify consequential statements and confirm evidence, scope, permission, ownership, and review before publication.

Expression

Voice

Evaluate whether language sounds like Ordering.co before applying a separate publication gate.

Expression

Visual expression

Apply current composition and evidence-module guidance without inventing proof.