{"id":4299,"date":"2022-06-13T11:00:03","date_gmt":"2022-06-13T15:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marketing.dev.logojoy.com\/?p=4299"},"modified":"2023-04-14T14:39:25","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T18:39:25","slug":"what-are-brand-guidelines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-715453-3009179.cloudwaysapps.com\/blog\/what-are-brand-guidelines\/","title":{"rendered":"Brand Guidelines: What They Are and How to Create Them (With Examples!)"},"content":{"rendered":"
When you\u2019re starting a new business and you\u2019re not a designer, the idea of building a brand identity<\/a> and creating brand guidelines can be daunting.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the thing: consistency is the backbone of an authentic, trustworthy, and recognizable brand and customer experience. This means consistency in the way you look, speak to, and service your customers can build trust and ultimately boost your business.<\/p>\n In fact, a\u00a0consistent brand presentation can boost revenue by as much as 23%!<\/a><\/p>\n Staying consistent takes effort. But more importantly, it takes rules.<\/strong><\/p>\n This is where brand guidelines or a brand style guide come in. They outline all of the brand details and put them in a shareable master document.<\/p>\n This way, brand consistency is easier to maintain, whether you\u2019re a company of 1 or 100. And your partners and printers will love you.<\/p>\n In this article, we\u2019ll cover:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/p>\n Brand guidelines, or brand style guides, are a set of rules about how to represent your brand across channels and assets, helping your business build credibility and recognition as you grow.<\/strong><\/p>\n Brand guidelines always include visual guidelines (logo usage, color palette, typography); they can also cover your company\u2019s mission, brand voice,<\/a> imagery, and more.<\/p>\n Choosing a logo is a solid starting point for creating brand guidelines.<\/p>\n After you\u2019ve designed your logo<\/a>, you\u2019ve simultaneously determined the colors and typography your business will use \u2014 two key brand building blocks.<\/p>\n Brand guidelines aren’t the same for every company, nor should they be. While prominent brands require more detailed rules and scenarios, startups and small businesses can get by with a pared-down set of guidelines and add to them over time.<\/p>\n Brand guidelines should always include:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\n They can also include a mission statement, visual rules around images and icons, brand voice guidelines, and specifications for brand marketing<\/a> assets like packaging<\/a>, email campaigns, and more.<\/p>\n Below, we\u2019ll cover the elements you need to gather to create solid brand guidelines that\u2019ll save you time and effort as you grow your business.<\/p>\n Your logo is the face of your brand. If it appears differently across channels and assets, it will lose its recognition and dilute your brand.<\/p>\n Logo guidelines include:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Two color palettes are usually determined based on your logo:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This section of your brand guidelines document will show the main types of fonts<\/a> used in your logo, as well as secondary fonts that can be applied to headlines, body copy, and more. Don\u2019t forget to include the font sizes you want to use!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When possible, it\u2019s helpful to show examples of your logo, colors, and fonts applied to items like business cards, packaging, T-shirt designs<\/a>, and more.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n Brand guidelines usually take the format of a PDF or flippable online booklet.<\/p>\n Google Docs, Microsoft PowerPoint, or Google Slides<\/a> are programs you can use to lay out your brand guidelines. These programs allow you to easily incorporate images, words, screenshots, and more. When you\u2019re ready to share, save it as a PDF.<\/p>\n This way, you\u2019ll have the master file secured and handy as your brand evolves. You can easily tweak the details and re-share it as a PDF whenever you need to.<\/p>\n If you use Looka\u2019s logo maker<\/a> and purchase a Brand Kit<\/a>, we\u2019ll provide you with brand guideline templates that already include your logo fonts, color codes and color variations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once you have a brand guidelines document, here are three ways to make sure it gets used and maintained:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\n Use your brand guidelines when you\u2019re:<\/p>\n <\/div>\n There\u2019s no single \u201cright\u201d way to create brand guidelines, and what they include will largely depend on your company\u2019s size and visual branding needs.<\/p>\n Some businesses create loads of different assets, while others may be fine with a simple website and social media channel setup (especially if most of their communication happens offline).<\/p>\n Slack\u2019s brand guidelines<\/a> are a prime example of simple, stripped-down rules on how to use (and not use) the company\u2019s logo and name. It uses a unique color combination<\/a> to create a one-of-a-kind look. Paired with an abstract logo symbol and a simple sans serif font<\/a>, Slack uses color to differentiate itself.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Uber\u2019s brand guidelines are the result of extremely deliberate, minimalistic choices. Its wordmark logo<\/a> type is modern and direct, with black and white as its main brand colors.<\/p>\n The logo font<\/a> is minimalistic and padded with ample spacing for added emphasis. Uber uses the bare essentials to get their brand across, relying on its imagery and crisp interface to deliver a reliable and futuristic look.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As a sustainable initiative, Arc\u2019teryx released a used clothing line to extend the life of their products. Arc\u2019teryx\u2019s main brand guidelines use sleek black and white brand colors with an abstract symbol and futuristic modern font<\/a>. For its used line, it added a neon green \u201cU\u201d and included circles in its visual branding to represent a full lifecycle. The neon green creates a stark difference between the two, highlighting the pre-loved items and the brand’s commitment to product and planet longevity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
\nWhat are brand guidelines?<\/h2>\n
What do brand guidelines include?<\/h2>\n
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How to create brand guidelines<\/h2>\n
1. Logo guidelines<\/h3>\n
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2. Color palettes<\/h3>\n
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3. Typography<\/h3>\n
4. Usage examples<\/h3>\n
Optional sections to add to your brand guidelines
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What format should brand guidelines be in?<\/h2>\n
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When do I use brand guidelines?<\/h2>\n
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Brand guidelines examples<\/h2>\n
1. Slack<\/h3>\n
2. Uber<\/h3>\n
3. Arc’teryx Used<\/h3>\n