Consistency Starts with Documentation
A brand style guide is the rulebook for how your brand looks, sounds, and feels across every touchpoint. Without one, your marketing becomes a mishmash of inconsistent colors, fonts, messaging, and tone that confuses customers and weakens your brand.
Essential Elements of a Brand Style Guide
Logo Usage
Document every acceptable version of your logo: primary, secondary, icon-only, monochrome, and reversed. Specify minimum sizes, clear space requirements, and forbidden treatments (stretching, color changes, etc.). Include downloadable files in all needed formats.
Color Palette
Define primary and secondary colors with exact codes: HEX for digital, RGB for screen, CMYK for print, and Pantone for exact matching. Specify when and how each color should be used.
Typography
Specify primary and secondary typefaces, weights, and sizes for headlines, body text, and captions. Include web fonts and system font fallbacks. Show proper hierarchy examples.
Photography and Imagery
Define your visual style: types of images that represent your brand, photography style (candid vs. posed, light vs. moody), illustration style, and icon style. Include examples of on-brand and off-brand imagery.
Brand Voice
Describe how your brand communicates: formal or casual, technical or accessible, serious or playful. Provide word lists (words we use vs. words we avoid) and example copy for different contexts.
Additional Sections to Consider
- Mission and values — The foundation of everything
- Brand story — Your narrative and positioning
- Social media guidelines — Platform-specific rules
- Email templates — Consistent email design
- Presentation templates — Slide deck standards
Making It Useful
A style guide only works if people use it. Make it easily accessible (not buried in a shared drive), keep it concise and practical, include plenty of visual examples, update it as your brand evolves, and train new team members on it during onboarding.
Build Your Brand System
Brandastic creates comprehensive brand guidelines that ensure consistency across every touchpoint. Get a free branding consultation.
