Brand Guidelines
Brand Guidelines, otherwise known as a Brand Book or Brand Communication Guidelines, is a document that communicates how the brand presents itself to the world. It can be useful for employees to understand the tone of brand and how to execute any communications, and also for hired creatives to understand how to use all the assets. Without a set of guidelines to follow, there will be inconsistencies in the output and potentially errors that are damaging to the brand.
Do I need a Brand Guidelines book?
Having a brand guidelines document is vital for teams, partners, and anyone involved in representing the brand. It helps prevent individual interpretations that could dilute the brand’s message and ensures that every piece of communication is aligned with the brand’s vision and values. Consistency builds trust and recognition, which are crucial for establishing a strong brand presence.
Fundamentals
I begin my Brand Guidelines document with an overview of the brand and the strategy, so readers can fully understand the reason the customer exists and what they long to achieve in the world. The values highlight what is really important to the company and influences how employees act in order to prove those particular values.
Tone of voice
Following a true understand of the brand fundamentals and personality, this leads nicely into how to communicate this verbally. The tone of voice section expands on the brand personality and goes into detail in how to communicate in a particular way to particular audiences. Sometimes the communication style may vary across different channels or audiences within the same brand, for example an Instagram post will have a slightly different tone to the website copy.
Visual identity
This section is key for creatives, as it explains in detail how to use all the company assets, including the logo, the colours, the fonts, any additional assets like patterns, shapes or specific layouts, and also areas like photography, video style, sounds, animations etc.
How much detail should there be?
It is important to allow guidelines and brands to evolve over time. There are some elements that must adapt, and the brand guidelines can be tweaked over time. If guidelines on how to use the assets are too restrictive, you take away any creativity or new ideas that a designer may have.
