If you insist on branding your Microsoft SharePoint installation, be sure to create a set of standards before the first site is branded. These standards must include the UI design, requiring that the core SharePoint UI not be broken. The standards should make it clear that a customized site must be able to be maintained by a typical site owner, without needing to call a vendor for each change. Your standards should also define a common site architecture and UI so that users can predict where to find what in each site that they visit. Also consider including review and approval processes, to confirm that a newly branded site meets your standards. You might want to provide a short list of approved vendors that site owners can use for branding projects. These vendors should be selected according to their UI design skills, SharePoint knowledge, and willingness to follow your design standards.
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