You’ve thought of an amazing brand name, come up with a spectacular logo, you’ve paid top dollar and built a gorgeous website. Every piece of material that goes out of your company is meticulously detailed. But people still don’t seem to remember your company name, or what your company sells, or even what your logo looks like. Have you ever wondered why that is?

The answer is simple. Your branding lacks consistency and direction.

Your Brand is more than just a name or a logo or a website. It is an experience.

And you can (to a certain degree) craft this experience for your target audience. How?

By Means of a Brand Guidelines (Brand Book)

What are Brand Guidelines?

A Brand Guideline (also referred to as a ‘brand book‘ or ‘brand style guide‘) is a set of rules that details how your brand works and how your brand should be represented. These guidelines include the Identity elements and Visual elements of your brand.

The Brand Identity Elements are:

Your Brand Story
Your Brand Philosophy (Mission, Vision, and Values)
Your Brand Personality / Brand Voice
Boilerplate etc.

The Brand Visual Elements include:

Logo and tagline
Proper and Improper usage of Logo and Tagline (With visual examples)
Your colour palette
Your typography
Stationary / Merchandise design
Brand Do’s and Don’t’s etc.

Does your Brand need Brand Guidelines?

The Short Answer is YES. Here’s why:

Ensures Continuity

Your brand is bound to be represented by more than one person/agency. Your Brand guidelines ensure that whoever is representing your brand, follows a set of rules and regulations so that the target audience is familiar with the voice and image of the brand.

Ensures Correct Usage

Stretched Logos, mixed up colours, terrible backgrounds, blurry images, these are a brand custodians worst nightmare. And this is precisely what will be avoided with a clear, specific and concise listing of how to use a brands marks.

Avoids Confusion

Multiple people represent a brand, using brand guidelines ensures that anyone who represents your brand is familiar with the messaging, look and feel of the brand. This way, the target audience will always receive an undeviating constant communique.

Sets Standards

A brand guideline clearly specifies the colour palette, font types/font combinations, background colour, logo usage etc. So all your collaterals will be consistent, the brand recall will be optimum.

Increases Brand Recall

Consistency will aid people in remembering your company name, the logo, what your company sells etc. It firmly plants the brand in the audience’s mind, and how it is perceived will be in your hands.

Making your brand identity clear will go a long way in how people perceive your brand and how it’s short term and long term brand image shapes up.

Brand Guidelines is the difference between your brand being a bus headed nowhere and a bus headed to a destination.

Does your Brand need Brand Guidelines (Brand Book)