WRITTEN BY HAZEL IMOGEN, CO-FOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR

As a business owner, establishing a set of brand guidelines is a crucial aspect of building and maintaining a strong brand identity. Your brand guidelines define who you are as a company, what you stand for, and how you want to be perceived by your customers. While this document is something that typically remains internal (you’re not showing your customers/audience your guidelines) it helps make sure that every person on your team is on the same page when it comes to your business.

A well-established set of guidelines helps to keep consistency in your branding across all channels, from your website and social media to your packaging and advertising. This consistency plays a huge part in building trust with your customers and creating a memorable brand that stands out in a crowded marketplace.

Brandguides also makes it easier for your team to make decisions about your brand and its representation. Whether it’s choosing the right colors and fonts for your website or creating new marketing materials, having a set of guidelines to refer to can save time and ensure that your brand stays on-message. This can be especially helpful as you grow your business and want to start onboarding external agencies to work with you. Passing them over a set of brand guides is the quickest way to get the new members up to speed and producing items that align with what you already have.

When creating brand guidelines, it’s important to translate the following:

Your brand’s mission and values:

Your brand guidelines should reflect your company’s values and what you stand for. This helps to create a connection with your customers and sets you apart from your competitors.

Visual identity:

This is what most people think of when they hear the word “brand”. This includes elements such as your various logo lockups, color palette, typography, and imagery. Your visual identity should be consistent across all channels and reflect the essence of your brand.

Tone of voice:

Your brand’s tone of voice should sound like it’s coming from the same entitiy in all communications- from your website copy to your social media posts. This includes the specific words you use, the tone of your messaging, and the personality you want to convey.

Audience:

You should identify your target audiences and segment them out creating customer profiles. It’s important to understand who your audience is so you can find better ways to connect with them through creative messaging, and design. Understanding your audience better will help identify the problem you are trying to solve for with your product or service.

Guidelines for use:

Your brand guidelines should include specific instructions on how your logo should be used, what colors and fonts should be used, and how your brand should be represented in different contexts.

By creating a set of brand guidelines, you can ensure that your brand stays on-message and consistent, no matter who is representing or what external teams you hire to help with your business. This can have a major impact on your success as a business, helping you to build a strong, recognizable brand that resonates with your customers.

WRITTEN BY HAZEL IMOGEN, CO-FOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR