A clear and consistent brand style is essential for the image of your organization. It ensures that every message you send out is immediately recognizable as coming from your company. A corporate identity manual lays out all the guidelines for your company’s visual identity. This ensures that both internal employees and external parties know exactly how to apply the brand style correctly. In this blog, we’ll discuss all the important elements that should be included in a brand style guide.
Why a brand style guide?
A brand style guide is crucial for consistently applying the visual identity of your company, both internally and externally. This strengthens your brand and makes it easier for customers and other stakeholders to recognize your company. Furthermore, it provides clarity and guidance for everyone working with the brand style, preventing errors and deviations. It ensures that your organization continues to present itself professionally to the outside world, because all well-intentioned creations from colleagues cannot be shared externally without first being checked against the brand style guide.
What exactly should be included in a brand style guide?
We’ve listed the essential elements that are indispensable in a brand style guide for you
#1 Background information 🔍
Somebody who is going to use your brand style guide may not be familiar with the organization at all, for example, an external agency that you’re working with for the first time. Therefore it’s a good idea to briefly outline the history, mission, and vision of your company. This provides context and ensures that everyone understands where the brand style is based.
#2 Brand personality 👤
For extra context, you can also give your brand story or brand personality a place in your brand style guide. This helps the reader understand which position you want to take in the market and in creating an emotional connection with the target audience.
#3 Pay-off 🏆
State the slogan or tagline of your company and provide guidelines for its use in various communication channels.
#4 Logo 🌟
Show the different versions of your logo and provide guidelines for its proper use, such as minimum size, space around the logo, and whether it’s allowed to make the logo white or black when placed on an image or on certain colors.
#5 Logo symbol 🖼️
Explain how the logo symbol (if it’s separate from the logo) can be used. This can be, for example, an icon or symbol that represents your brand.
#6 Color usage 🎨
Specify the colors that must be used, including the exact color codes in CMYK, RGB, and HEX.
#7 Typografie 🔤
Specify which fonts should be used for different applications, such as headings, subheadings, and body text. Provide common alternative fonts for environments where your standard fonts are not available.
#8 Photography 📸
Describe what type of photos fit your brand. Also provide examples and guidelines for the use of these images.
#9 Style elements ✨
Are there any other style elements that belong to your brand? Think of graphic elements such as lines, shapes, patterns, and icons. Show these and also explain how each element should be applied.
#10 Tone-of-voice 🗣️
Describe the tone and style of language that should be used in communication, in other words, the tone of voice. This helps to convey a uniform message and strengthen the brand personality.
#11 Communication tools 📡
Provide guidelines for the application of the corporate identity on various communication channels, such as business cards, letterhead, website, and social media. Show a few examples of these expressions, so that the reader can get a good idea.
Use of a brand style guide
To ensure that a brand style guide is used, it’s important that the brand style guide is accessible on a central digital location where everyone within the organization can find it. This can, for example, be done via an intranet, shared folder, or a special section on the company website. Besides the digital version, a printed version can be useful, especially for presentations and training sessions. This ensures that everyone always has access to the guidelines, even without an internet connection.
Stay updated
It’s important to regularly update the brand style guide. Brands evolve and change over time, and your brand style guide must reflect these changes. New logos, adjusted colors, changed slogans, and new communication channels must all be updated in the guidebook. This prevents outdated information and ensures that your brand’s visual identity always remains current.
Do you want to roll out a full rebrand? Then, of course, your brand style guide must be completely rewritten. Read here the 8 steps for a successful rebranding >
Common mistakes 🙅
These are three common mistakes when it comes to brand style guides, which can lead to the brand style not being applied correctly. Make sure to avoid these, so you won’t have to optimize content afterwards.
Too many details
Try not to include too many details, as it can make the guide unnecessarily complex. Keep it concise and clear. Focus on the essential elements that are truly important for the consistency of your brand.
Inconsistent updates
Create a plan for regular reviews and updates of the brand style guide, so that the guide remains current.
Lack of accessibility
Ensure that everyone who needs the guide can easily access it. A non-accessible brand style guide can lead to inconsistent brand expressions.
