Once you’ve got your small business’s brand honed and perfected, you may want to strongly consider putting together a Brand Guideline.
Put simply, a brand guideline is a handy document that carefully outlines the parameters of your brand. A brand guideline is useful to have so that when you are required to rely on someone else to handle your brand (such as a web designer, or a T-shirt manufacturer) they have something they can refer to; ensuring that what they create is consistent with your branding.
After all, deviating from your brand taints it, and dilutes its effectiveness and visibility in a sea of competing brands.
Brand guidelines can be as extensive or as simple as they need to be, but here are a few popular staples:
1) Brand Identity
What values, ethics, philosophies and missions are at your brand’s core? What does your brand stand for? What is it trying to change in the world? Why? This is the part of the guide that should inspire people to create something amazing in the name of your brand.
2) Logo
Your logo is sacred: don’t let anyone mess with it! Set boundaries regarding colour(s), orientation, effects such as bevel and engrave, etc. Include a few “allowed” versions of your logo. You should have clear-cut rules about size, proportions, and how much clear space should buffer your logo.
3) Colours
Colours can quickly change and have a life of their own when you convert from one format to another. That is a huge faux-pas when you are striving for brand consistency! So be sure to provide colour model specifications (such as Pantone, RGB, CMYK, and Hex) for several media (such as print, web, video, etc.).
4) Fonts
Even if you haven’t gone through the trouble of commissioning an original made-just-for-you font, you need to set some rules regarding font sizes, proportions, colours, kerning, headings, body text, etc.
This is just a general overview of what can be expected in a brand guideline document, but really, it’s just the beginning. Apple’s brand guide for resellers goes on for 56 pages and includes allowances and restrictions for websites, social media and much more. http://images.apple.com/legal/sales-support/certification/docs/logo_guidelines.pdf
What’s more, you will notice that Apple not only includes what is acceptable, but also what is NOT acceptable as well.
You might feel at this point that creating a brand guide is an arduous task (and it can be, which is why there are professionals that do this) but consider this: at the very least, even if you don’t want to rely on someone else when it comes to your small business brand, creating a brand guide will force you to think hard about your brand… and only good can come of that!
Need a hand with your business’ brand? Call Kim Speed at Purple Moon Creative today!
