Style Guides and why you can't navigate without one
Apr 2024
Branding
overview

Your style guide or brand guideline serves as your brand's compass, detailing the dos and don'ts of your brand elements—their usage and placement—instilling consistency that fosters trust with your audience. It's a must-have for internal teams and external collaborators like web and graphic designers, ensuring everyone's on the same page.

So, what's inside?

  • Logomark Guidelines: Define which version to use where for proper application. Your primary logo might not fit as a social media profile image, cue the submark or icon.
  • Colour Palette Decoded: Colours vary across devices and platforms. Having precise breakdowns (like HEX for Canva graphics or CMYK for print) saves guesswork and ensures consistency.
  • Font Rules & Hierarchy: Establish a typography hierarchy, guiding headline and body text usage with clarity. Direct your audience's attention effectively and specify where to acquire the fonts legally.
  • Design Collateral Examples: Showcase how your branding translates to both digital and print materials, and how it meshes with images or illustrations.

Additional Considerations:

  • Photography Style: Set the tone for your brand's imagery—is it dark and moody or bright and cheerful?
  • Graphic Elements: If you incorporate illustrations or patterns, illustrate their synergy with your branding elements.

With these components, your style guide becomes not just a manual, but a roadmap to maintaining your brand's identity across all touch-points.