Brand Guidelines
What are they good for? Absolutely everything. Say it again. One of your brand’s most useful tools. Here’s why.
In this article we’ll cover off:
• What are brand guidelines?
• Who are they for?
• Why brand guidelines are essential
• What brand guidelines typically consist of
• What makes a good set of guidelines?
Brand Guidelines, often also referred to as brand guides or brand books, are an integral part of any business or organisation's brand identity. They’re essentially a set of guides for anyone producing communications on behalf of your business, enabling them to do so in a consistent way every time, be that visual or verbal or more often both. Think of them as the guardrails on a bowling alley, making sure the ball stays on the right course.
While they’re used most frequently by designers, web developers, marketers and copywriters, they can also be a useful tool in unifying teams internally.
And why is consistency important?
Consistency is key in building trust and therefore a following for your company over time. Showing up in a way that doesn’t confuse people, and producing communications that people begin to recognise and, if done well, warm too, helps build your tribe. A strong brand is a memorable one, and what helps make a brand memorable is consistency.
Another reason is brand recognition. Building consistency allows your brand to become recognisable - the stronger and more consistent your brand image is, the more easily identifiable and therefore memorable it becomes. And in today’s crowded marketplace, this is key.
They also allow you to present yourself in a professionally every time. And that professional appearance can go a long way in establishing yourself as a credible option for your audience when the time comes for them to consider the service or product you’re offering.
Finally, they’re great for onboarding. Employees have a very clear idea of what your company stands for and how to communicate on behalf of the business from day one. There are no grey areas and everyone can pull in the same direction, which is can make all the difference in building a positive and thriving workplace culture.
Producing brand guidelines is usually the culmination of a branding (or rebranding/brand refresh) project, once all the brand strategy, design and copy work has been finalised. The brand guidelines take all of this content and pull it all together into one convenient document for teams and external suppliers to use.
These documents will typically consist of the following:
- Brand strategy: Often a proposition, positioning, values, vision and mission.
- ToV (tone of voice): How you speak as a brand.
- Logo/s and usage
- Strapline
- Colour palette
- Typography
- Illustration
- Graphic assets
- Photography style
- Motion graphics
A good set of brand guidelines strikes a balance between giving enough direction that they can be implemented with relative ease and accuracy while simultaneously not restricting creativity. Too few pages and they may risk leaving too much autonomy to the designer or marketing manager. Too many pages and rules and they risk inhibiting any creativity around the implementation of the brand identity. A good brand design agency will know where that balance lies with each project.
If you’re looking to create a brand for your business, or thinking of a brand refresh and want to know more, we’ll happily talk you through the process in more detail.
