The Importance of Brand Guidelines
Consistency is key when it comes to building a brand.
All of my branding clients receive a PDF booklet at the end of our branding project called Brand Guidelines Document. Sometimes this document is also referred to as a Brand Bible or Brand Standards. So what is this magical document and why do you need it?
A brand guidelines document houses everything you need to keep your branding consistent.
Why is brand consistency so key? To put it simply, if you are changing our colours, fonts or brand voice all of the time, your ideal client isn’t going to remember you or trust you. It becomes very confusing to your customer, and frankly for you as a brand to keep track of all of the changes you’ve been making. Branding shouldn’t be trendy. It should be specifically curated to your target audience. You don’t need (or want!) to look just like your competitors. There’s no need to create new ads with similar fonts because you simply like the way their ads look and feel like you ned to keep up. You and your business are unique and your own branding will help you stand out.
The overall goal is to stay consistent and intentional as your business grows and a brand guidelines document can help you achieve that. This document defines your brand identity and tone to ensure you stay cohesive through each and every brand touchpoint. You’ll have a clearly defined foundation to follow, strong graphics and visuals to create curated brand collateral. When you do this, it helps build trust with your audience. And once you gain that trust, the more likely you are to make the sale.
All of my brand guidelines documents include:
A section about your brand, who you are and how you help your ideal client
Your vision, mission and brand values (these help keep you on track, especially when making big decisions in your business)
Your approved mood board for overall look and feel
Brand photography guidelines and examples (this will help guide you and your photographer through your branding shoot)
Brand voice (how you sound)
All logo types (primary logos, secondary logos, and logo marks)
How-to use logo file types guide
Logo dos and don’ts guide
Brand patterns
Example branded collateral (to give you a better idea of how your branding will look in real-world situations)
Colour palette (for print and web)
How-to-use guide on print and web colours
Primary font (headline copy)
Secondary font (body copy)
Brand Archetypes (if requested)
If you’re currently feeling lost with your businesses branding and feel like you could use a solid foundation to keep you consistent, we might be a good fit to work together to revamp your branding. If you’re unsure if your current branding is making the best impact, send me a message and I am always happy to record a quick brand audit video for you at no charge.
Happy branding, friends!
