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01. Logo
Every version of the logo (main, horizontal, icon), the minimum size, the clear space around it, and the backgrounds it can sit on.
Brand guidelines: what to include, with examples
Rated 5/5 on Google, Morges
Brand
guidelines.
with examples
In short
- Brand guidelines are the document that sets how a brand looks and sounds, wherever it appears.
- They cover the logo, colours, typefaces, imagery, tone of voice, applications, and the do and don't.
- A brand manual and brand guidelines are the same thing; corporate identity is the system they describe.
What are
brand guidelines?
Brand guidelines are the rulebook of a brand. They tell your team, your printer and your web developer how to use the logo, which colours and typefaces to pick, and what the brand should never look like. Without them, every new document is a guess, and the brand slowly stops looking like itself.
What to include
The seven sections of brand guidelines.
A small brand can keep each section short, but it should answer all seven.
02. Colours
The palette with its HEX, RGB and CMYK codes, plus the proportion of each colour, so the brand does not drift from one printer to the next.
03. Typefaces
The fonts for headings and text, their sizes and weights, and the fallback fonts for email and office documents.
04. Imagery
The photo style, the illustrations, the icons and, if the brand has one, the mascot and its poses.
05. Tone of voice
How the brand speaks: formal or direct, the words it uses and the ones it avoids.
06. Applications
Business card, letterhead, slides, social posts, signage, website: the real documents, shown finished.
07. Do and don't
The common mistakes shown visually: stretched logo, wrong colour, busy background. One example is worth a paragraph.
Examples
Brand guidelines in practice.
Two identities designed by Ferr Studio, with the guidelines and the brandboard that keep them consistent.
Red Drop Lab
A women's health startup. The guidelines carry the identity from the logo to digital design, collateral and 3D. See the project.
Toma Home brandboard
The one-page summary of the guidelines: logo, palette, typefaces and imagery, for suppliers who need the essentials fast.
Brand manual
Another name for the same document. Brand book and style guide too.
Corporate identity
The whole visual system of a company. The guidelines are where it is written down.
How to create
brand guidelines.
Start from the positioning. Write down who the brand speaks to and what it must signal. Fix the logo, then the colours and typefaces. Show every rule on a real document, add the mistakes to avoid, date the file and share it with everyone who produces material for the brand.
Frequently asked
questions.
The questions that come up when a company writes its first brand guidelines.
What are brand guidelines?
Brand guidelines are the document that sets how a brand looks and sounds: logo use, colours, typefaces, imagery, tone of voice and applications. Anyone producing material for the brand follows them.
Are brand guidelines and a brand manual the same thing?
In practice, yes. Brand guidelines, brand manual, brand book and style guide all name the same document. Corporate identity is wider: it is the whole system the guidelines describe.
How many pages should brand guidelines have?
As many as your team needs to apply the brand without asking. A small company can work with a short document and a one-page brandboard. A brand with many suppliers needs more applications and more do and don't examples.
Who should receive the brand guidelines?
Everyone who produces material for the brand: your team, your printer, your web developer, your agency and your partners.
When should brand guidelines be updated?
Each time the brand changes: a new logo variant, a new product line, a new medium. Put a version number and a date on the document so everyone knows they use the latest one.
How much does it cost to have brand guidelines designed?
At Ferr Studio, the guidelines are part of every brand identity, which starts at CHF 1,800 depending on complexity.
Brand guidelines
Need guidelines your team will actually use?
Ferr Studio designs the identity and its guidelines together. One call, then a detailed quote within 24 hours.