Develop a Brand Style Guide
Create comprehensive brand guidelines that ensure visual and verbal consistency across every touchpoint.
A brand style guide is the single source of truth for how your brand looks, sounds, and feels. Without one, your brand becomes fragmented—each designer, marketer, and agency interprets your identity differently. Logos get stretched, colors shift, and messaging becomes inconsistent. A proper style guide prevents this chaos.
More than just a logo usage document, a modern brand style guide encompasses visual identity, verbal identity, and brand behavior guidelines. It defines not just what your brand looks like, but how it speaks, the emotions it evokes, and how it interacts with the world.
This guide walks you through creating a comprehensive brand style guide from scratch. Whether you're documenting an existing brand or building guidelines for a new one, you'll learn how to capture every element that makes your brand distinctive and ensure consistency across all channels.
What You'll Learn
- Define your brand's core identity and values
- Document logo usage rules and variations
- Establish a color palette with specific codes
- Set typography standards for all applications
- Create voice and tone guidelines
- Build image and photography standards
- Develop templates and application examples
Before You Start
- Existing brand assets (logo files, any current guidelines)
- Understanding of your brand's mission and values
- Input from key stakeholders on brand perception
- Design software for creating visual examples
Step-by-Step Guide
Define Your Brand Foundation
Start with the strategic foundation: your brand's mission, vision, values, and positioning. These aren't just corporate statements—they're the principles that guide every brand decision. Document what your brand stands for, who it serves, what makes it different, and the emotional connection it aims to create.
Include your brand story: the origin, evolution, and purpose that give your brand meaning. Add brand attributes—the personality traits your brand embodies. Is it innovative or traditional? Playful or serious? Approachable or exclusive? These attributes inform visual and verbal choices throughout the guide.
Interview key stakeholders and customers about how they perceive your brand. Their language often reveals authentic attributes you should capture in your guidelines.
Document Your Logo System
Your logo section should be comprehensive. Include the primary logo, secondary versions, logomarks (icon only), wordmarks (text only), and any approved variations. For each version, specify when and where to use it. Define minimum size requirements, clear space rules (how much empty space must surround the logo), and backgrounds the logo can appear on.
Equally important is showing what not to do. Include examples of logo misuse: stretching, rotating, changing colors, adding effects, placing on busy backgrounds, or crowding with other elements. Provide high-resolution logo files in all necessary formats: vector (SVG, AI, EPS) for print and large applications, raster (PNG with transparency) for digital use.
Create logo lockups for common co-branding scenarios—partnerships, certifications, and social profiles. Predefined lockups prevent improvised combinations.
Establish Your Color Palette
Document your color palette with precise specifications. For each color, provide hex codes (web), RGB values (digital), CMYK values (print), and Pantone numbers (if applicable). Define primary colors (your main brand colors), secondary colors (supporting palette), and accent colors (for highlights and calls-to-action).
Specify color proportions—how much of each color should typically appear. Many brands use a 60-30-10 rule: 60% primary, 30% secondary, 10% accent. Include accessible color combinations that meet WCAG contrast requirements for text. Show colors in context: on white backgrounds, dark backgrounds, and in various applications.
Test your colors across different screens and print methods. Colors can shift dramatically between monitors, mobile devices, and printed materials. Document any necessary adjustments.
Set Typography Standards
Define your typeface families: primary (headlines), secondary (body copy), and any special-use fonts. For each typeface, specify the font family, weights available, and licensing information. If using custom or premium fonts, include where to obtain them and any licensing restrictions.
Create a typographic hierarchy showing how different text elements relate: headlines, subheads, body copy, captions, and calls-to-action. Specify sizes, line heights, letter spacing, and paragraph spacing for both print and digital applications. Include web-safe fallback fonts for when primary fonts aren't available.
Create type specimens showing your fonts in actual use—paragraphs of text, pull quotes, and UI elements. Abstract specifications become clearer with realistic examples.
Develop Voice and Tone Guidelines
Brand voice is your brand's consistent personality in written communication. Define your voice attributes: Are you formal or casual? Authoritative or friendly? Technical or accessible? Create a voice chart that describes each attribute with do's and don'ts. Include example sentences showing the voice in action.
Tone varies based on context while voice stays consistent. Create a tone spectrum showing how your voice adapts across situations: marketing (enthusiastic), support (empathetic), legal (formal), social media (conversational). Include word lists—terms you embrace and terms you avoid—and any specific grammar or style preferences.
Write sample copy for common scenarios: email subject lines, social posts, error messages, and calls-to-action. Concrete examples are more useful than abstract descriptions.
Create Photography and Image Guidelines
Define the visual style of photography and imagery that represents your brand. Describe the mood, lighting, composition, and subject matter. Is your imagery bright and optimistic or moody and sophisticated? Do you show people, products, abstract concepts? Are images staged or candid, minimal or busy?
Include image treatment standards: filters, overlays, cropping rules, and how images interact with other brand elements. Specify icon style if you use custom icons. Address illustration guidelines if illustrations are part of your visual language. Provide example images that exemplify your style and examples of what to avoid.
Create a mood board that serves as a visual reference for photographers and designers. Sometimes showing the aesthetic is more effective than describing it.
Build Layout and Composition Rules
Establish grid systems and layout principles that create visual consistency. Define margins, gutters, and spacing units. Show how elements should be aligned and proportioned. Create rules for white space—how much breathing room your brand needs. Some brands are clean and minimal; others are dense and energetic.
Document how brand elements combine: logo placement on different formats, how type and imagery interact, and standard content hierarchies. Include templates for common applications: presentations, documents, social media posts, and advertisements. Templates accelerate production and ensure consistency.
Develop a modular design system with reusable components. This speeds up production and makes consistency easier to maintain as your brand scales.
Address Digital and Print Applications
Show your brand in real-world applications. Create mockups demonstrating proper brand usage across touchpoints: website, mobile app, email templates, social media profiles, business cards, letterhead, packaging, signage, and advertisements. These examples help users visualize correct implementation.
Provide specific guidance for digital platforms: social media image dimensions, email header specifications, website UI patterns, and app interface standards. For print, include bleed requirements, paper recommendations, and finish options. Address any platform-specific adaptations needed while maintaining brand consistency.
Create a downloadable asset kit with templates, logos, and approved imagery. Making assets easily accessible dramatically improves brand compliance.
Organize and Format the Guide
Structure your style guide for usability. Group related content logically: brand foundation, visual identity, verbal identity, and applications. Create a table of contents for easy navigation. Consider both PDF format for distribution and a web-based version for easy updates and searchability.
Make the guide itself an expression of your brand. Design it using your own guidelines—proper colors, typography, and layouts. This serves as an additional example of the brand in action. Keep language clear and actionable; style guides should instruct, not just describe.
Create both a comprehensive guide and a quick-reference summary. Different users need different levels of detail. Executives want an overview; designers want specifications.
Distribute, Train, and Maintain
A style guide only works if people use it. Distribute it to everyone who touches your brand: internal teams, agencies, freelancers, and partners. Host a training session explaining the guidelines and why they matter. Make the guide easily accessible—ideally online with a memorable URL.
Plan for maintenance. Brands evolve, and your guide should too. Establish a review process and update schedule. Track common violations to identify areas needing clarification. Collect feedback from users to improve future versions. A living document stays relevant; a static PDF becomes outdated.
Create a brand guardian role—someone responsible for answering questions, reviewing usage, and maintaining the guide. Consistent enforcement requires consistent ownership.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Creating a guide that nobody can find or access
Make your style guide easily accessible online with a memorable URL. Proactively share it with anyone who might need it. A guide that isn't used is wasted effort.
Being too rigid or too vague
Balance prescription with flexibility. Provide clear rules for critical elements (logo, colors) but guidance rather than restrictions for creative applications. Overly strict guides get ignored.
Omitting voice and tone guidelines
Visual consistency is incomplete without verbal consistency. How your brand speaks is as distinctive as how it looks. Include comprehensive voice and tone documentation.
Not providing downloadable assets
Include links to logo files, fonts, templates, and approved imagery. If users can't easily access correct assets, they'll improvise with incorrect ones.
Writing for designers only
Style guides serve diverse audiences: marketers, salespeople, partners, and executives. Write clearly for non-designers and explain why rules exist, not just what they are.
Never updating the guide
Brands evolve. Schedule regular reviews—annually at minimum—to add new applications, clarify common questions, and retire outdated guidance. Version your guide so users know they have the latest.
Related Resources
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a brand style guide?
Who needs a brand style guide?
How long should a brand style guide be?
Should I include voice and tone in my style guide?
What file formats should I include for logos?
How often should I update my brand style guide?
Should my style guide be a PDF or a website?
What color codes should I include?
How do I get people to actually use the style guide?
Should I hire an agency to create my style guide?
What's the difference between a brand style guide and a brand book?
How do I handle brand consistency with external partners?
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