To get the most out of Lingo, it's important to understand how the platform is structured. At a high level, Lingo is built on two layers of functionality: the back-end Library where admins store and manage assets, and the front-end Kits and Portals where those assets are displayed, organized, and shared with others. Together, these three components form a connected system that makes it easy to manage your brand assets at scale and distribute them seamlessly.
Library - backend
Only Admins and Content Managers can access the Library.
The Library is your central database of assets that sits behind the scenes. This is where all your files live - the Library is optimized for asset management.
What you can do in the Library:
Upload assets of all types including documents, images, videos, and colors
Access assets across all of your kits from a single location
Manage tags and custom fields for organization
Create saved views to filter and find specific groups of assets
Manage metadata like names, descriptions, and notes
Perform bulk actions like adding assets to kits or removing them
The Library is where you prepare and organize assets before presenting them to your team. Only admins and content managers can access the Library - regular members won't see it at all.
Want to learn more? Read Understanding the library interface.
Kits - front end
Kits are curated visual containers where you showcase your assets and documentation. Assets from the Library can be displayed in a kit alongside contextual information like notes, guidelines, and usage instructions to help tell a complete story around your assets.
Kits have a flexible canvas so you can control the layout, order, and presentation of your assets, making them easy to browse and understand. You can create an unlimited number of kits in your space, and each kit can have its own access settings.
Common use cases for kits:
Brand guidelines
Press kits
Product catalogs
Photo libraries
Icon libraries
Sales activation kits
Want to learn more? Read What are kits and when to use them.
Portals - front end
Portals are customizable landing pages that bring multiple kits together in a single, branded experience. They make it easy to share collections of kits with just a single link, and let you create tailored experiences for different audiences.
Portals also power Lingo's user management - you can invite specific team members or external partners into dedicated portals, creating customized brand environments for each audience. Whether it's internal teams, agencies, press, or regional groups, portals help you organize kits by audience.
Want to learn more? Read What are portals and when to use them.
How they work together
The power of Lingo comes from how these three pieces connect:
Manage once, present many times
You upload and organize assets in the Library once. Then you can add those same assets to multiple kits without duplicating them. Update an asset in the Library, and it updates everywhere it appears.
Assets vs. context
The Library manages assets only - files, tags, and metadata. Contextual information like notes, guidelines, and documentation live in kits. This separation keeps your Library focused on asset management while kits focus on storytelling.
Flexible access control
Library: Only admins and content managers
Kits: Shared via portals or directly when public
Portals: Group kits for specific audiences
This layered approach gives you control over who sees what.
Key principles
Understanding these principles will help you work more effectively in Lingo:
An asset can exist in the Library without being in a kit
This is useful for archiving assets or preparing files before sharing them.
A single asset can be in multiple kits
Add the same logo or photo to different kits without duplicating it. It's still just one file in your Library.
Assets can be uploaded to kits or the Library
Upload directly to a kit and it automatically goes into the Library too. Or upload to the Library first to tag and organize before adding to kits. This includes assets that are added to guides and gallery covers. Essentially, any image you see in a kit is stored in the Library.
Only admins and content managers see the Library
Regular members only see the kits and portals they have access to. The Library stays hidden from them.
Learn more
Ready to dive deeper into each component?