Getting Grip with: Brand and Style Guides

A good brand identity is made up of lots of components, so what do you have to put into place to make sure it’s used properly? You need a style guide!

What is a Style Guide?

A style guide is a document that outlines the standards for your brand’s visual and written communication. It includes guidelines for your logo, colour palette, typography, imagery, tone of voice, and more. The purpose of a style guide is to ensure that anyone who represents your brand does so consistently, whether they’re part of your internal team or an external partner.

Consistency in branding translates to both recognition and trust.

The Importance of a Style Guide

Consistency is key in building a strong brand. A style guide helps maintain this consistency, ensuring that your brand looks and sounds the same across all platforms and touch points. This not only enhances your professionalism and credibility but also makes your brand more recognisable and trustworthy to your audience.

Logo Guidelines: Ensuring Consistency

As mentioned in one of my previous articles, visual assets make up your brand’s uniform. And your uniform should be presented well all the time. Style guides typically cover aspects such as:

• Logo Usage Rules: Outline where and how your logo can be used, including spacing, placement, and prohibited alterations.
• Sizes: Define minimum and maximum sizes to maintain legibility.
• Supporting Graphics: Shapes developed to complement the logo and where to implement them.
• Brand Pattern: A pattern created in both positive and negative for use on marketing material.
• Colours: Specify the exact colours of your logo in different colour systems (e.g., RGB, CMYK, Hex).
• Typography: Fonts and samples of how to use them
• Photography: Image topics, examples and filter notes
• Application Samples: Examples of small and large-scale applications

In addition to this, brand guides include a section on your company’s vision, mission values and messaging.

Outsourcing Marketing: Simplifying the Process

When it comes to outsourcing your marketing efforts, having a style guide is essential. It provides external marketers with a clear set of instructions, reducing the chances of miscommunication and ensuring that your brand is represented accurately. This not only saves time but also ensures that your marketing materials are consistent and aligned with your brand identity.

Enhancing Brand Recognition

A well-maintained style guide plays a significant role in building and enhancing brand recognition. Consistent use of visual and messaging elements makes it easier for your audience to identify and remember your brand.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a style guide is an invaluable tool for any business looking to build a strong, consistent, and recognisable brand. It ensures that your brand is presented accurately and professionally, both internally and externally. If you haven’t already, now is the perfect time to create or update your style guide.

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