WRITING A BEST SELLER

Branding - Brand Guidelines

Brand guidelines are useless unless they are written with thought and are clear to all, not just the marketing team or a once used branding or web design agency. Brand guidelines gathering dust in a cupboard or thought to only be for the use of the marketing team are equally as useless.

Brand guidelines or a style guide should be the ‘best seller’ within your business. Everyone should know how to access the document and use the rules, but equally as important, is understanding why the rules are in place.

The guide should begin with the brand’s message and vision, to give an insight into the reasoning behind the rules and a tone for any messages the company delivers, whether verbal or written. The guide should include the sizing, colours and allowed use of the logo or trademarks, as well as what fonts and colour palettes are the standard for the business. (For more information on Logos click here)

Examples of layouts for items such as business cards or web elements can assist current and future staff to adhere to the companies preferred way of working. Another important element is the use of images, what can be used and for what purpose. Web must also be covered, especially social media, the overall appearance, who can post under the company’s name and the tone and look of posts.

Always allow a little flexibility to keep things fresh but ensure that the flexibility does not exceed the expectations of the brand.

Please note that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to any other group or individual. To ensure you are fully compliant with all current legislation, please take legal/professional advice and do not rely solely on the information provided in these articles.