Brand Guidelines: 5 Elements to Include in Your Concise Guidelines
Some businesses consciously construct a brand. Some develop it over time. However, regardless of how a brand started, you must be able to maintain its consistency. It helps make yours stand out more from other brands. For those reasons, you need brand guidelines for your business. And as a result, it can establish the business’s unique identity and character.
How to Create Your Brand Guidelines
In preparing your business brand guidelines, you can make it as detailed as possible. You can include the brand mission, vision, and values in examples and visuals. Nevertheless, if you only need a concise one, the elements below should be part of it.
Logo Usage and Misuse
Including logo usage and misuse is non-negotiable since the logo is the most recognizable visual element of the brand. So, ensuring its consistent use, appropriate sizing, and proper clear space is essential to maintain a strong brand presence. Meanwhile, stating what not to do with the logo can safeguard the brand’s visual consistency.
In the logo usage section, include logo variation (if any), sizing, minimum spacing requirements, and acceptable color options. Explain the prohibited alterations, distortions, and color changes in the logo misuse section.
Color Palette
People tend to associate colors with familiar things. So, incorporating colors for your brand can help the brand to be more familiar to people. It also reinforces brand personality. Specify the primary brand colors. Also, provide color codes and guidelines on when and where to use each color. If applicable, you can include secondary colors. Those palettes can be used for accents or supporting elements.
Typography
Typography is not only essential for brand visual identity. It also plays a significant role in defining your brand messaging. The consistent font usage creates a unified and professional look. Just like the color palette, you can divide the font usage into primary and secondary ones. Specify the primary font variations (regular, bold, italic), font size, and line spacing recommendation. It will be useful in various cases, such as headings, subheadings, and body. Secondary fonts will be needed for complementary purposes.
Tone of Voice
Logo, color, and typography may relate to visual identity. When it comes to tone of voice, it is more to how your brand communicates with its audience. Different target audience you have, different tone of voice you use. The tone itself usually resonates with the target audience. You can be friendly, professional, or authoritative. Provide sample sentences or phrases in the brand guidelines that exemplify the desired tone of voice.
Digital and Print Guidelines
In this digital era, we still need and use print media for marketing and promotional materials. Hence, you have to distinguish between digital and print guidelines since each medium has unique requirements. Providing clear instructions for both helps maintain a consistent brand presence, both online and offline contexts. For example, provide separate specifications, including preferred file formats and resolutions.
Brand Guidelines – The Key to Consistency
Whether you’re constructing your brand consciously or it has developed over time, brand guidelines are essential. The guidelines not only establish a unique brand identity but also ensure that your brand stands out among the rest. When crafting your brand guidelines, consider including those fundamental elements. They form the bedrock of brand consistency, making your brand instantly recognizable and memorable.