Building a brand isn’t a one-way street – creating a brand identity and building a solid customer base takes a lifetime of effort. When prospects find a brand that delivers the same messages and top-notch quality, they tend to stick with it over time. However, today’s hyperactive market makes it challenging for businesses to thrive, and if you don’t have a foolproof brand structure, you’re even less likely to succeed.
In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into how to create your specific brand template so that you stand a better chance of attracting the customers you want – maybe for life!
Table of Contents
1. What are brand guidelines?
2. What should brand guidelines include?
3. How to create a brand guidelines template
4. Final thoughts
What are brand guidelines?
According to research by Salsify, 46% of consumers pay more for the brands they can trust. As a result, it’s no surprise that 77% of marketing leaders believe branding to be crucial for their growth.
Brand guidelines, therefore, are the rules that define how a brand should appear to the outside world. They help a business maintain consistency and tell the audience what a specific brand is, what it does, and how it solves problems for the target market. Consider them a “rulebook” for the brand that determines the overall brand identity.
Brand guidelines can come as a soft copy, like a PDF file, or a hard copy, like a booklet or a document. It dictates how a brand will appear everywhere, detailing everything from its logo and specific color palettes to how it should appear in cooperating brands’ content. It even determines the brand voice across multiple platforms.
What should brand guidelines include?
Brand guidelines set the stage for a brand. They define the framework for verbal, visual, and written communication while creating an environment for a company to grow and thrive.
A comprehensive brand guide is a roadmap for consistency across all brand touchpoints. It might seem restrictive, but having clear guidelines can actually enhance creativity by providing a structured design process rather than starting from scratch every time.
A well-crafted brand book typically includes:
- Guidelines on logos, including color variations, file formats, sizing, spacing, and placement
- Font styles, sizes, and line heights for both print and digital media
- Defined brand colors with CMYK and RGB codes
- Approved icons, illustrations, and photography guidelines
- Rules for brand messaging, voice, and writing style
- Templates for business cards, letterheads, and other branded documents
- Use cases include instructions on where and how brand elements should be applied
- Links to additional materials and contact information for brand-related inquiries
Let’s take Alibaba.com as an example. Even though the platform caters to tens of thousands of suppliers, it must adhere to the ground policies and brand guidelines. Therefore, brands must ensure compliance by clearly communicating all their branding requirements to the stakeholders involved.
How to create a brand guidelines template
Specific branding guidelines will vary from one company to another. Factors like size, target market, industry, and potential budget all influence how a brand might present itself to the world. However, some core elements that should be included in a brand guide are universal across all brands. These are:
Determining the brand’s essence
The first part of the plan involves having a clear vision of what your brand should look like. Brand essence defines a company’s primary characteristics, such as its mission, vision, and values. It also guides the concrete elements, such as the visuals, written, and verbal style, that allow your team to refer to something tangible while working on various tasks.
The motive of a brand essence is to leave a lasting positive impact on prospects – and that requires constant effort in terms of aesthetics and quality.
Working on a mood board
A brand style guide starts with a clear vision. A mood board is a great way to bring that vision to life. It doesn’t matter if you’re a solo entrepreneur or working with an agency, using a brand style guide template and collecting visual references can help shape your brand’s look and feel.
Begin by creating two folders: one with images that reflect your ideal brand identity and another with what to avoid. These will act as a creative compass and spark inspiration when designing elements like logos, colors, and typography. A mood board also tells a visual story, showing rather than just describing what your brand stands for. From there, a well-crafted brand style guide ensures consistency, helping your brand express itself clearly and cohesively across all platforms.
Shaping the brand personality
Brand identity or personality demonstrates how you will make decisions for your brand. Pick the one thing that sets you apart from the competition, and emphasize that across all marketing efforts.
For example, Alibaba.com created its brand identity as a global e-commerce platform that helps small businesses grow. Its slogan, “To make it easy to do business anywhere,” reflects this mission. The brand uses a warm orange color, a friendly yet professional tone, and a focus on trust, innovation, and global connections to bring businesses together.
Knowing who you are and why you started in the first place can help you significantly during critical decision-making tasks.
Creating a visual identity
A brand’s visual identity is the first thing people are likely to notice. And as mentioned before, consistency should be the top priority. A strong brand style guide keeps everyone, and everything, on the same page. From logo usage to color selection, it should all work together for a polished, professional look. Let’s look at some specifics:
- Logo usage: Use a primary logo with the company name whenever possible and a secondary version for smaller spaces. Keep proportions, alignment, and spacing precise to maintain a sharp, recognizable brand image.
- Color palette: Choose colors that reflect the brand’s personality. Define primary and secondary shades with hex codes to ensure consistency across print and digital materials.
- Typography: Stick to two or three fonts and outline their size, weight, and spacing for a clean, cohesive design across platforms
- Photography and icons: Photography should match the brand’s style and connect with its audience. Icons should be simple, clear, and aligned with other design elements for a unified feel.
Finally, tools like Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator are all designed to help you create outstanding graphics.
Training the team to use the guide
Once your brand guidelines are ready, don’t just stash them away. Make them a must-have resource for your team. Plan an exciting launch to introduce the updates, explain the changes, and get everyone on board. Regular training sessions and easy access to the guidelines will keep your brand consistent and top of mind.
To take it further, create a brand identity kit tailored to your brand’s unique needs. This should include everything from logos and approved color palettes to typography rules and key visual assets. The team may be across the globe or just down the hall, but this will ensure that they have everything they need in one place.
Investing time in crafting the right resources will pay off in the long run, making brand consistency effortless for both internal teams and external partners.
Final thoughts
Brand guidelines templates work as a protective measure for businesses, helping them assess risk factors and ensure their brand stands a class apart. This requires constant planning, strategic thinking, out-of-the-box ideas, trial phases, and back-to-back revisions. And while it may seem like an uphill struggle, just remember that this is likely how every brand you’ve ever come across has succeeded and gotten their product out there.
