How to create a brand style guide
A brand style guide is a crucial step to ensure consistency and clarity of your brand across all communications and touchpoints with your potential customers. A key tool in your branding kit, it acts as a central reference document for your team or third parties creating content on your behalf for your brand.
Laying the foundations for your brand identity
A house's strength depends on the durability of its foundations. Before exploring the specifics, we should revisit the essence of your brand to reinforce your identity elements. Firstly, think about:
Brand mission and vision
What is your brand's purpose and long-term goals?
Target audience
Who are you trying to reach? What are their preferences and expectations?
Brand voice and personality
What is the overall tone, character and vibe that represents your brand? How does your brand communicate?
We recommend taking your time to gather the materials needed for your brand’s foundation. This could include your wider team memebers. A business is far more than a single person or department; it is a team that works in harmony, and gaining insight into your brand should reflect this as well.
What does into a brand style guide
While you can include anything you like in your brand style guide, typically it will have the following. We recommend using the list below as a checklist while you develop your brand style guide.
Logo
Primary & secondary logo
Showcase the main version of your logo and any alternatives (stacked icon only, etc)Clear space & minimum size
Define the minimum amount of empty space acceptable around the logos to ensure consistency in its visibility and impact.Colour variations
Show your logo in their approved colour version and provide specific colour codes.Incorrect usage
Easy way to clearly illustrate what NOT to do. Anything from stretching, skewing, changing the colours or anything else that could affect how your logo appears.
Colour pallet
Primary & secondary colours
Both your main brand colours and secondary colours, along with their Pantone, CMYK, RGB and Hex codes, should be available for reference.Accent colours (if applicable)
The same goes for accent colours. However, we also recommend adding circumstances in which you would use an accent colour for clarity.Acceptable considerations
Often overlooked, it can give great clarity when your logo is being used in a third party's campaign. Ensure sufficient colour contrast and readability for anyone's campaign.
Typography
Primary & secondary font
Similar to your brand’s colour palette, the type of font to use and where is great of clarity and maintains consistency, specifically font name, weight and any specific rules used.Font pairing guide
Explain how different fonts should be used together to create visual harmony.Hierarchy & spacing
Give specifics on font size, line height, letter spacing and paragraph spacing for different types of content.Web fonts
Again, often overlooked but very useful when the use of web-safe fonts or services is needed online.
Imagery & photography
Image style
What overall aesthetic does your brand’s imagery have? While this can be achieved by using buzzwords like modern, stylish, and corporate, it can also be done by describing the types of images that align with your brand.Composition & framing
Describe preferred angles, perspectives and cropping. You can also include specifics on desired mood, colour grading and filters (if relevant).
Voice & tone
Brand voice
The description of the overall personality of your brand’s communication style (professional, humorous, informational, etc)Tone of voice
Explain how your brand would adapt to different contexts and audiences (legal documents, social media, customer emails)Word choice & terminology
Define any brand-specific terms, phrases or guides on grammar that ensure your brand remains consistent.Dos and don’ts
Provide clear examples of language and phrases that are both consistent and convey your brand’s voice.
The creation process
Depending on your schooling experience, the idea of a group project might turn your blood cold. However, collaboration is key if you aim for a successful brand style guide.
Your business consists of more than one department, and collaborating with all major stakeholders across different departments (marketing, sales, accounting, customer service, etc) ensures your style guide reflects your brand accurately and meets your team's needs. While it can be easy to get overwhelmed with information and go down a rabbit hole of describing every scenario, it is crucial that your guide is simple, clear, and easy to read. Begin with the most crucial elements (logo, typography, colour palette) and gently expand.
Top tip: avoid as much jargon as possible.
Implementation
Now that you have created your brand style guide, it is time to get it out there! Ensure all employees who create content or have contact with your customers receive training on how to use the guide effectively so they can maximise its benefits. It is important that all key employees involved in making content feel confident in the guide and its contents.
By following these steps, you can create a robust and effective style guide that will help you and your team maintain brand consistency across all your communications.
