diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index aca67ec2c..ef4ea6524 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -3,10 +3,11 @@
 S3method(as.tags,bslib_sidebar)
 S3method(bind_task_button,ExtendedTask)
 S3method(bind_task_button,default)
-S3method(brand_resolve_preset,"NULL")
-S3method(brand_resolve_preset,brand_yml)
-S3method(brand_resolve_preset,character)
-S3method(brand_resolve_preset,list)
+S3method(brand_resolve,"NULL")
+S3method(brand_resolve,brand_yml)
+S3method(brand_resolve,character)
+S3method(brand_resolve,list)
+S3method(brand_resolve,logical)
 S3method(is_fill_item,default)
 S3method(is_fill_item,htmlwidget)
 S3method(is_fillable_container,default)
diff --git a/R/bs-theme-preset-brand.R b/R/bs-theme-preset-brand.R
index 4bd8a64e1..7dd8e7d32 100644
--- a/R/bs-theme-preset-brand.R
+++ b/R/bs-theme-preset-brand.R
@@ -1,18 +1,47 @@
-bs_preset_brand_bundle <- function(brand_preset = NULL) {
-  if (is.null(brand_preset)) {
-    brand_preset <- brand_resolve_preset()
-  }
-
-  brand_fonts <- brand_sass_fonts(brand_preset$brand)
-  brand_color_palette <- brand_sass_color_palette(brand_preset$brand)
-  brand_color <- brand_sass_color(brand_preset$brand)
-  brand_defaults <- brand_sass_defaults_bootstrap(brand_preset$brand)
-  brand_typography <- brand_sass_typography(brand_preset$brand)
+# "brand" and "preset" interact in a few ways that need to be reconciled.
+# Ultimately, we want three layers:
+#
+# 1. The base Bootstrap styles, by version. E.g. Bootstrap 5
+# 2. The `preset` styles, which are one layer above and adjust the base
+#    Bootstrap with the preset defaults E.g. "shiny" (bslib) or "flatly" (Bootswatch)
+# 3. The `brand` styles, which can be seen as the final layer of default styles.
+#    These styles set Bootstrap variables to adjust the `preset` theme in the
+#    direction of the brand's color palette and typography.
+#
+# The `preset` and `version` can be specified in two ways with `brand`:
+#
+# 1. Directly via `bs_theme()`:
+#    `bs_theme(preset = "shiny", version = 5, brand = TRUE)`.
+#
+# 2. As part of the `brand` definition:
+#    `bs_theme(brand = list(defaults = list(shiny = list(theme = list(preset = "flatly")))))`
+#
+# So the order of operations is:
+#
+# 1. Read `brand`, if necessary.
+# 2. If `bs_theme()` provides guidance for `version` and `theme`, use those preferences.
+# 3. If not, inspect `brand` for guidance.
+# 4. Finally, use our own defaults.
+#
+# Importantly we need to separately read `brand` and then resolve the preset and
+# then resolve the brand bundle.
+
+bs_brand_bundle <- function(brand, version = version_default()) {
+  brand <- brand_resolve(brand)
+  
+  if (is.null(brand)) {
+    return()
+  }
+
+  brand_fonts <- brand_sass_fonts(brand)
+  brand_color_palette <- brand_sass_color_palette(brand)
+  brand_color <- brand_sass_color(brand)
+  brand_defaults <- brand_sass_defaults_bootstrap(brand)
+  brand_typography <- brand_sass_typography(brand)
 
   sass_bundle(
-    "base" = bs_preset_bundle(brand_preset$preset),
     "brand_base" = switch_version(
-      brand_preset$version,
+      version,
       five = sass_layer_file(
         system_file("brand", "bs5", "_brand-yml.scss", package = "bslib")
       ),
@@ -39,54 +68,54 @@ bs_preset_brand_bundle <- function(brand_preset = NULL) {
   )
 }
 
-brand_resolve_preset <- function(brand, ..., version = NULL) {
-  UseMethod("brand_resolve_preset")
+brand_resolve <- function(brand, ...) {
+  UseMethod("brand_resolve")
 }
 
 #' @export
-brand_resolve_preset.list <- function(brand, ..., version = NULL) {
+brand_resolve.list <- function(brand, ...) {
   brand <- as_brand_yml(brand)
-  brand_resolve_preset(brand, ..., version = version)
+  brand_resolve(brand, ...)
 }
 
 #' @export
-`brand_resolve_preset.NULL` <- function(brand, ..., version = NULL) {
-  brand <- read_brand_yml(brand)
-  brand_resolve_preset(brand, ..., version = version)
+`brand_resolve.NULL` <- function(brand, ...) {
+  NULL
+}
+
+#' @export
+brand_resolve.logical <- function(brand, ...) {
+  if (identical(brand, FALSE)) {
+    return()
+  }
+  brand <- read_brand_yml(NULL)
+  brand_resolve(brand, ...) # future compat if we add anything to the ...
 }
 
 #' @export
-brand_resolve_preset.character <- function(brand, ..., version = NULL) {
+brand_resolve.character <- function(brand, ...) {
   brand <- read_brand_yml(brand)
-  brand_resolve_preset(brand, ..., version = version)
+  brand_resolve(brand, ...)
 }
 
 #' @export
-brand_resolve_preset.brand_yml <- function(brand = NULL, ..., version = NULL) {
-  base_version <- 
+brand_resolve.brand_yml <- function(brand, ...) {
+  brand
+}
+
+brand_resolve_preset <- function(brand, preset = NULL, version = NULL) {
+  version_resolved <- 
     version %||%
     b_get(brand, "defaults", "shiny", "theme", "version") %||%
     b_get(brand, "defaults", "bootstrap", "version") %||%
     version_default()
 
-  base_theme_preset <- b_get(brand, "defaults", "shiny", "theme", "preset") %||%
+  preset_resolved <- 
+    preset %||%
+    b_get(brand, "defaults", "shiny", "theme", "preset") %||%
     switch_version(base_version, five = "shiny", default = "bootstrap")
 
-  if (!rlang::is_string(base_theme_preset) || base_theme_preset == "brand") {
-    abort(
-      "brand.defaults.shiny.theme.preset must be a string and cannot be 'brand'."
-    )
-  }
-
-  base_preset <- resolve_bs_preset(base_theme_preset, version = base_version)
-
-  new_bs_preset(
-    type = "brand",
-    name = b_get(brand, "meta", "name", "short"),
-    version = base_preset$version,
-    brand = brand,
-    preset = base_preset
-  )
+  resolve_bs_preset(preset_resolved, version = version_resolved)
 }
 
 # Brand Sass -------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/R/bs-theme-preset-builtin.R b/R/bs-theme-preset-builtin.R
index c1265437f..65b018dd1 100644
--- a/R/bs-theme-preset-builtin.R
+++ b/R/bs-theme-preset-builtin.R
@@ -12,8 +12,7 @@ builtin_themes <- function(version = version_default(), full_path = FALSE) {
   path_builtins <- path_builtin_theme(version = version)
   if (is.null(path_builtins)) return(NULL)
 
-  packaged <- list.dirs(path_builtins, full.names = full_path, recursive = FALSE)
-  c(packaged, "brand")
+  list.dirs(path_builtins, full.names = full_path, recursive = FALSE)
 }
 
 builtin_bundle <- function(name = "shiny", version = version_default()) {
diff --git a/R/bs-theme-preset.R b/R/bs-theme-preset.R
index 5960e3990..5d92d9046 100644
--- a/R/bs-theme-preset.R
+++ b/R/bs-theme-preset.R
@@ -11,19 +11,7 @@ resolve_bs_preset <- function(
   if (!is.null(version)) {
     version <- switch_version(version, five = "5", four = "4", three = "3")
   }
-  
-  if (is.list(preset)) {
-    if (!"brand" %in% names(preset)) {
-      abort("If `preset` is a list, it may only contain a single `brand` key.")
-    }
-    if (!is.character(preset$brand) && !is.list(preset$brand)) {
-      abort("`preset$brand` must be a path to a brand.yml file or a brand definition as a list.")
-    }
-    return(
-      brand_resolve_preset(preset$brand, version = version)
-    )
-  }
-
+    
   assert_preset_scalar_string(preset)
   assert_preset_scalar_string(bootswatch)
   assert_preset_only_one_name_arg(preset, bootswatch)
@@ -33,11 +21,6 @@ resolve_bs_preset <- function(
   if (preset_name %in% c("default", "bootstrap")) {
     # "bootstrap" means no preset bundle, just bare default Bootstrap
     return(new_bs_preset("bootstrap", version %||% version_default()))
-  } else if (preset_name == "brand") {
-    # "brand" means we go find `_brand.yml` to create the preset bundle
-    return(
-      brand_resolve_preset(brand = NULL, version = version)
-    )
   }
 
   version <- version %||% version_default()
diff --git a/R/bs-theme.R b/R/bs-theme.R
index dc57df907..16b563e88 100644
--- a/R/bs-theme.R
+++ b/R/bs-theme.R
@@ -86,6 +86,20 @@
 #'   higher, `preset` defaults to `"shiny"`. To remove the `"shiny"` preset,
 #'   provide a value of `"bootstrap"` (this value will also work in
 #'   `bs_theme_update()` to remove a `preset` or `bootswatch` theme).
+#' @param brand Specifies how to apply branding to your theme using
+#'   [brand.yml](https://posit-dev.github.io/brand-yml), a simple YAML file that
+#'   defines key brand elements like colors, fonts, and logos. Valid options:
+#' 
+#'   - `TRUE` (default): Automatically looks for a `_brand.yml` file in the
+#'     current or app directory.
+#'   - `FALSE`: Disables any brand.yml usage.
+#'   - A file path that directly points to a specific brand.yml file you want to
+#'     use.
+#'   - Use a list to directly provide brand settings directly in R, following
+#'     the brand.yml structure.
+#'   
+#'   Learn more about creating and using brand.yml files at the
+#'   [brand.yml homepage](https://posit-dev.github.io/brand-yml).
 #' @param bootswatch The name of a bootswatch theme (see [bootswatch_themes()]
 #'   for possible values). When provided to `bs_theme_update()`, any previous
 #'   Bootswatch theme is first removed before the new one is applied (use
@@ -140,6 +154,7 @@ bs_theme <- function(
   version = version_default(),
   preset = NULL,
   ...,
+  brand = TRUE,
   bg = NULL,
   fg = NULL,
   primary = NULL,
@@ -154,27 +169,30 @@ bs_theme <- function(
   font_scale = NULL,
   bootswatch = NULL
 ) {
-  is_default_version <- missing(version)
+  is_version_from_user <- !missing(version)
 
-  if (is.null(preset) && is.null(bootswatch) && version >= 5) {
-    preset <- "shiny"
-  }
+  brand <- brand_resolve(brand)
+
+  preset <- 
+    if (!is.null(brand)) {
+      brand_resolve_preset(
+        brand = brand,
+        preset = preset,
+        version = if (is_version_from_user) version
+      )
+    } else {
+      if (is.null(preset) && is.null(bootswatch) && version >= 5) {
+        preset <- "shiny"
+      }  
+      resolve_bs_preset(preset, bootswatch, version = version)
+    }
 
-  preset <- resolve_bs_preset(
-    preset,
-    bootswatch,
-    version = if (!is_default_version) version
-  )
-  
-  use_brand_version <- is_default_version && identical(preset$type, "brand")
-  if (is.null(version) || use_brand_version) {
-    version <- preset$version
-  }
 
   bundle <- bs_bundle(
-    bs_theme_init(version),
-    bootstrap_bundle(version),
-    bs_preset_bundle(preset)
+    bs_theme_init(preset$version),
+    bootstrap_bundle(preset$version),
+    bs_preset_bundle(preset),
+    bs_brand_bundle(brand, version = preset$version)
   )
 
   if (!is.null(preset$type)) {
@@ -196,9 +214,9 @@ bs_theme <- function(
     font_scale = font_scale
   )
 
-  if (identical(preset$type, "brand")) {
+  if (!is.null(brand)) {
     bundle <- add_class(bundle, "bs_theme_brand")
-    attr(bundle, "brand") <- preset$brand
+    attr(bundle, "brand") <- brand
   }
 
   bundle
diff --git a/inst/examples-shiny/brand/app.R b/inst/examples-shiny/brand/app.R
index 8d07811fa..fb5dc4c23 100644
--- a/inst/examples-shiny/brand/app.R
+++ b/inst/examples-shiny/brand/app.R
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 library(shiny)
-# pkgload::load_all()
-library(bslib)
+pkgload::load_all()
+# library(bslib)
 library(ggplot2)
 
 options(bslib.color_contrast_warnings = FALSE)
@@ -16,13 +16,18 @@ if (!file.exists("Monda.ttf")) {
 	)
 }
 
-theme_brand <- bs_theme(preset = "brand")
+theme_brand <- bs_theme(brand = TRUE)
+
 brand <- attr(theme_brand, "brand")
 
 theme_set(theme_minimal())
 
 if (requireNamespace("thematic", quietly = TRUE)) {
-  thematic::thematic_shiny(font = brand$typography$base$family)
+	if (!is.null(brand)) {
+		thematic::thematic_shiny(font = bslib:::b_get(brand, "typography", "base", "family"))
+	} else {
+		thematic::thematic_shiny()
+	}
 }
 
 ui <- page_navbar(