What's a Brand Style guide and how to create one

What's a Brand Style guide and how to create one

A guide that explains the style of a brand is a brand style guide. A brand style guide takes you on a walk along with the ideologies of the brand, its vision. It represents an insight of the past as well, about how it came to existence and how it plans to contribute to society. A brand style guide speaks for its creators and their inspiration and intuition behind the brand. The logo used by the brand, the colour and font of it, photographs of the products or services they provide, everything is included in the brand style guide. In layman words, it is a one-stop booklet to know everything about the brand.

Since a brand style guide is a company’s way to maintain its outlook in front of the world, it is imperative to ponder well over what should be included in the book and how it should be included. The authenticity of the brand style guide should be of utmost importance. The brand style guide should be able to translate exactly what the company wants to represent to the outer world, and not information more or less. People who go through the brand style guide should be able to relate to what is mentioned in there and what they see when they are visiting the office or what they feel when they meet the people working on the brand.

Since a brand style guide can decide the fate of a company, it is always better not to experiment with the same. Instead, let someone do it who is better for the job and who can guide you into creating the best brand style guide. There are a lot of digital creators and content creators who can work on the same. Investing in people with experience and knowledge to create a brand style guide is something that no company has regretted ever!

How to make a brand style guide, what to include in it and how it can contribute to change the face of your business:

The basic outline of the brand style guide is as simple as it can get. It is surreal to conceive how a simple task like this can change your brand for good forever. The brand style guide typically includes the following sections

• Brand story
• Logo
• Typography of the logo
• Colour pallet
• Imagery
• Voice
• Website

Let’s have a look at a few things that need a more detailed approach

• A little bit of inspiration will never hurt

A Brand style guide can make your brand inspiration for others if you have used inspirations and success stories from the past to curate your brand style guide. The very first thing you can do is have a check at what few famous brands have included in their brand style guide and how it has been included. Learning from the past will never disappoint you if you have implemented the knowledge well!

• Logo and typography of the same

The typography of the logo used by the brand represents a lot about the brand as well. Alignment, spacing, size, font, colour; everything plays an important role in the company’s outlook. It is crucial to put thought into something that provides an insight into the working of the brand. The logo design should especially be curated, keeping in mind the colour pallet the brand is going for. Keeping a refreshing, relatable yet unique contrast between the background colour and the colour of the font is important when it comes to creating an ever-lasting impression in the mind of a user. The colour of the letter, the font, the size everything should connect the viewer to the mission and vision of the brand. The brand and its aesthetics should be well recognizable by the logo itself. Explaining the typography in the brand style guide is hence essential.

• Story that has built the brand

Explain the mission and the vision of the brand. It is important for the customers, investors to know and connect to your story of why you started and where you are headed. Giving a sneak-peek into your journey that you have covered and the journey that awaits you ahead can play an important role in putting out a good word and good look of your brand. The brand style guide should be able to accomplish that, which is how the design of it should be.

• Imagery and colour pallet

A photograph is worth more than a thousand words. Whosoever said it, said it correctly. Including pictures and photos of the work that your brand has done in the brand style guide can be an excellent way to represent yourself to the world in an organic way. The alignment, size, and nature of the photo will play an important role in representing your brand. Maintaining a colour pallet, that matches the aesthetics of your brand while including photos in your brand style guide is a must. When you are including the colour pallet in your brand style guide, do not forget to mention what each colour represents for your brand. For example, when we take the name of Facebook, the immediate thought in our mind is blue and white. That is the kind of impact your colour pallet should leave in everyone’s mind.

• Voice of the brand

Words that are used in the brand style guide can make or break your brand, quite literally. There are few words that play well with the crowd, and there are few that do not. Playing or experimenting with words is something that comes with a lot of experience. Hence, the best way to get it right is to consult a digital marketer or a content creator for the same. Leave it to them to ensure the best outcome.

• Website

The website mentioned in the brand style guide should be ready for use. The home page, as well as the products or services, should be compiled in a way that it is easy for anyone to use it. This website is the final feather to the hat that requires ultimate care and importance.

The bottom line is that the more we talk about the importance of the brand style guide, the less it will be. Investing in curating a good brand style guide is the first step in setting up a successful business. So, it’s time you do it as well, in case you haven’t yet. Witness your business making a name, setting a benchmark and defining success in a whole new dimension!