A Brand Guide Can Be the Catalyst to Your Business

by Emily Kindl, Assistant Designer & Content Creator

Consistency matters. Whether it’s the barista making your tried-and-true coffee order perfect every visit, your trusted employee that always shows up on time, or the local mechanic that never overcharges you—we look for and we crave consistency. The value holds the same when it comes to your business.

Undoubtedly, there are multiple aspects of your business in which consistency holds great importance—such as product quality, customer service, and integrity within your mission and values. Consistency serves as the fuel to your business; no good business runs without it.

But what sometimes happens to be overlooked is the significance of a cohesive and consistent brand identity and visuals. And we’re not just talking logos here…but the entire package: color palette, fonts and typography, illustrations, photography, videography, tone and voice, and logo design/suite. Visual branding elevates your business, and better establishes a space for your business in the minds and worlds of your consumers.

Visual branding is best executed with a brand guide. A brand guide is the bible of your business’ brand identity. Let’s go more in-depth on what this means and entails:

• Who needs one? From a design standpoint, every business needs a brand guide. Any business that operates with inconsistent visuals have a more difficult time remaining memorable and present because people are unable to associate any one particular “look and feel” to the business’ brand. A brand guide helps you run with your brand identity and OWN it. You’ll remain memorable and your business can operate with more confidence. Everyone can benefit from a brand guide.
  • Regarding the length of a brand guide, it can often depend on the size of your business. If you’re a smaller business, you likely won’t need one that goes into extreme depths (some brand guides can be up to 50 pages). Regardless, it is good to at least have set colors, fonts, patterns, and photographic styles that define the “look and feel” of your brand.
    
    

• What is it? A brand guide is a multi-page document that defines and outlines…
  • how to use your logos (dos and don’ts)
  • fonts and their designations (headings, subheadings, and body text)
  • the brand’s color palettes, photographic style, and custom patterns
  • a clear mission statement
  • …and so much more.
    
    

• When do you use it? When you’re creating any visual content for your company, you should always refer to your brand guide.
  • If you’re planning a photoshoot, refer to your brand colors to match outfits and props, and check out the mood board and photography guidelines to achieve your brand’s photographic style.
  • If you’re hiring a graphic designer to help build things for your brand, share your brand guide with them so they can match your look and feel.
  • When you’re creating things on your own, such as social media graphics or flyers, stick to your set brand colors and fonts found in your brand guide.
  • This is an important one: share it with your employees! Because it communicates your design standards and gives your employees a solid framework to work from, it helps ensure everyone always stays “on brand” (Forbes).
    
    

• Why is it important?
  • The brand guide acts as the backbone for your business’ visuals and once again reinforces consistency. It serves to support you. Visibility is 3.5 times higher for businesses with a consistent and professional brand presentation than those without…and greater visibility leads to greater brand awareness (Brandly).
  • As your company expands, so will your marketing. In the beginning you may be the only one creating everything for your company. But if you start hiring designers and employees and don’t have a brand guide, you’ll start to see some inconsistencies in the content that’s being created. Having a guideline that everyone can follow enforces your brand identity.
  • It makes the design and creative process easier! Having examples in your brand guide and a mood board to reference skips the initial steps of having to find fonts, colors, and a specific “look.” This means you can produce work much quicker (and save hours when hiring a freelancer or design company).
    
    

• What does it include? At Carroll Design Co., our brand guides include all or some of the following: a logo suite (logo mark, logo type, and full logo), custom patterns, illustrations, icons, photography style guide, mood board, social media style guidelines, and stationary guidelines.

We at Carroll Design Co. could not more strongly recommend a better thing for your business than a brand guide. Your business exists for a purpose, and your brand identity and visuals play a significant role in communicating and establishing your purpose…so you can thrive.