5 Things That Make Up A Brand Guide
Today we are going to talk about branding! A brand is defined as, “a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers” (American Marketing Association). Brand guidelines sometimes referred to as brand identity guidelines, are a document that you can use to help identify, build, and grow your brand. A brand for us is the base of what we do. Everything extends from your brand like your social media, email campaigns, and advertisements all follow the same brand guidelines.
Developing an appropriate brand guide is vital to your companies success. The brand guide should accurately convey your business, services, and personality all in one easy place. You should take your time crafting a brand guide as it is an important document you want to accurately represent you or your company. Your new brand guidelines can then be used both internally and externally to ensure consistency and continuity with your brand’s visual identity and overall strategy.
How do you make a brand guide, you might ask? Well, brand guides can look different but they all include logos, typefaces, color palettes, imagery, and the voice or tone of your brand.
The 5 Things You Need in Your Brand Guide
✔️ Logos
Logos are an important part of a brand guide. Logos are the visual representation of your company. We recommend you include multiple variations of your logo to fit the different sizes and places it may be used. You should include a main logo, a smaller logo, a circular logo (for apps and profile images), and a logo on a different background.
✔️ Typefaces
Typefaces are one of my favorite parts of putting a brand guide together! Typefaces are another visual element of your brand that alludes to the personality. For example, if you’re a cutesy bakery you can use decorative, more playful, cursive typefaces. However, if you are a bank or a more professional business you will probably choose a more traditional, easy-to-read, serif typeface. We recommend you have 3 typefaces included in your brand guide; a header, subheading, and a legible paragraph typeface that most of your copy will utilize.
✔️ Color Palette
A color palette should also be included in your brand guide. Colors are a very distinguishable visual element of brands. Every color has a meaning and psychologically induces feelings and emotions from your audience. For example, studies have shown that the color red makes the majority of people hungry, feel passionate, and emotional which is why most fast-food restaurants include red in their color palette. Whereas, the color blue has been shown to elicit trust, calm feelings, and reflects intellect and that is why you see it used by most banks and companies in the medical field. You could have 2 to 100 colors included in your color palette, but we recommend having two signature colors, some secondary colors, and a lighter background color included in your brand guide.
✔️ Imagery
Imagery is another important component of a brand guide. There are certain images that will have the look and feel your company is trying to convey through their brand. We recommend creating a mood board of the brand aesthetic you are hoping to portray through your imagery. Include a variety of photos such as textures, close-ups, and landscape imagery so that people using the brand guide will understand the type of imagery that aligns with your brand.
✔️ Voice and Tone
Lastly, voice and tone should be included in your brand guide. Your tone of voice describes how your brand communicates with the audience and therefore influences how people perceive your messaging. For example, when you go to Disneyland and you hop on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride the announcer's tone reflects that of a pirate, expressing “Ahoy mateys, welcome aboard.” However, if you walk over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad there greeting is more southern like, “Howdy partners!.” The tone of voice your brand uses can help accentuate the brand you want to communicate. To document this we suggest you include a tone of voice table. This shows you the characteristics, description, do’s, and don’ts of how your brand communicates.
Altogether logos, typefaces, color palette, imagery, voice, and tone make up a brand guide. Brand guidelines are a useful tool for communicating your brand to a marketing team or anyone outside your company and ensuring consistency.
For further questions about brand guides please contact us through the link in our bio!
SKIM
Logos, typefaces, color palette, imagery, voice, and tone make up a brand guide. A brand guide is a useful tool to communicate your brand and stay consistent across marketing platforms. Please contact us for any branding or marketing needs through the link in our bio.
