I feel pretty foolish now when I think back to my previous thoughts about branding. It seemed to me then, that applying branding to intranets was a waste of time, because I reasoned no one needed reminding where it was they worked. Also, I wouldn't have minded, but 'pixel-perfect' branding demanded by creative-types on Modern SharePoint sites is next to impossible. So why foolish? It's true that Communications Sites aren't the designer's playground that any self-respecting UI or branding expert would want. Branding is back for the apparent reason that users within your organisation now more than ever need the certainty that branding can provide. And when we say branding we are talking more than skin deep, we aren't talking wholly of fonts, colour schemes and choice of imagery. However, this, I think, is important in a way that it wasn't before. Anything that can help communicate safety, consistency and trustworthiness should be considered. But more than all this - in our 'remote age' we can not assume or leave things unsaid, video technologies and the phone especially now are poor communicators of nuance. It is as if everyone remote is drunk or overtired. They will be prone to tears, likely to leap to negative conclusions and probably more concerned with not appearing drunk/overtired that taking on new ideas. With this in mind, speak kindly, but don't patronise, be patient - let your branding reflect this.