How to Write Cursor Rules That Actually Understand Your Brand

Most people write Cursor rules for syntax and structure. I needed rules that understood a brand.

I built The Laila Majnu—a fashion ecommerce site—with Cursor. Before a single component was written, I wrote a hidden skill file. Not for the code. For the voice.

The first version was wrong. The AI gave me clean layouts and correct React. It also gave me copy that could have been for any store. Nothing in the tone said "this brand."

I knew because I read the output and thought: that's not Laila Majnu. That's generic ecommerce.

So I rewrote the rules. Not more of them. Different ones.

What I Changed

I stopped describing what to build. I started describing who the brand is.

In the rules I put: audience, vocabulary, what we never say, and 3–5 example phrases that sound right. I added one real block of UI copy from the brand and said: match this tone, not this sentence.

The next run felt different. The AI wasn't just following instructions. It was making choices that matched the brand because the rules had given it a lens, not a checklist.

That's the shift. Rules that understand your brand don't list more constraints. They give the model a clear picture of the person speaking.

One Clear Take

Cursor rules for "brand" usually mean colors and type. They rarely touch voice. If you're building a site that has to sound like your brand—not just look like it—your rules need to define how it talks. One real example and a short list of "we say this / we never say this" beats a long style guide every time.

I don't have the Laila Majnu project on the portfolio yet. When I do, the case study will sit under work. The same thinking applies to any brand: brand identity starts with strategy and voice, not only visuals. How I run that process is on my process page.

If you're about to vibe-code a branded site, write the rules for the voice first. Then let the code follow.