When creating a brand identity, we often are asked to supply brand guidelines too. These documents provide guidance on how a brand should appear – essentially a ‘dos and don’ts’ of brand usage.

A brand guide is more than just what your brand looks like; a large focus is on how your brand sounds and feels, so it’s a much bigger picture than you might think. The ultimate goal is to ensure a brand is consistent regardless of how someone may encounter it, through advertising, social media, print collateral, or even an email signature.

While many people working for a brand will already be familiar with the basics, brand guides are still essential. For example, if you outsource design or marketing to an agency, providing them with a clear brand guide will ensure they use your brand and its assets correctly.

They are often extremely detailed, especially for large brands like Burger King or Coca Cola, but can be a bit overwhelming. Some brands are now turning to more creative ways to showcase them. A great example of this is the Dropbox brand guidelines – they designed a fully interactive website that lets users dive deep into the brand identity in use.

What’s important to remember when designing brand guides is to make them visually coherent and simple for anyone to use. The biggest and most detailed guides can be incredibly difficult to actually use if you’re flicking through 120+ pages of information. Sit back and go through your design often and think if you’ve displayed or worded the information as simply as you can.

With so many examples out there, what do you actually need to include? Swipe through to see what our designers think, and get in touch today if you need brand guidelines for your company.