Think of it as a cookbook, with recipes that portray your brand

What do you like about your favorite cookbook? Do all the recipes and ingredients work well together? Does it give you room to experiment? Is it helpful in explaining what’ll happen if you use too much or not enough of the ingredients a recipe calls for?

A brand’s style guide is like a cookbook. It’s there to help others make creative choices that won’t compromise the identity of your product or service. If you don’t have a style guide, you should make one. Here are some suggestions:

Thou shalt not …

Whoa! Stop right there. Look at what you’re creating. The word is “guide.” The document you want to own and use should be helpful, so keep it true to the descriptive word in its title.

And while you’re proud of the brand and you don’t want to see it mucked up, nobody wants be made to feel like an idiot. So don’t lecture when composing the guide. Words such as “must,” “required,” or “prohibited,” should give you cause for concern.

What to include

This is a reference tool. Some style guides are exhaustive in the information they include. The decision is up to you. At minimum, your guide should have sections that touch on:

• An overview: Keep it short and clear. It’s a vision of what people should keep in mind as they design communications.

• Logos: This is your visual identity. Include instructions on its usage. Show examples of the right way and the wrong way to employ it.

• Spacing: Not everybody intuitively gets the importance of white space, and your logo needs the right amount of it to look its best.

• Colors: Yes, you want the palettes for a guide. Be sure to include online and print formats. For the digital side of things, you need RGB and the HEX information. On the print side, include the CMYK values and Pantone numbers.

• Fonts: The typefaces you select are an integral part of brand identity. Include the preferred sizes, line height, and spacing. Provide information about Web alternatives for non-Web fonts.

• Tone of voice and copywriting: The choice of words creates your brand’s personality. Give guidance, and make it concise. Are there specific action words or phrases you want used? Include them.

• Imagery: Photographs and illustrations can help underscore your brand identity and the wrong ones can cause confusion. Include examples of what works, and explain why.

• Web guidelines: You want consistency online. Provide help with using button hierarchy, icons, and navigation.

Edit yourself

Successful style guides follow the “less is more” philosophy. Information overload, such as including a rule for every element of your brand’s style usage, is confusing.

Stay focused on the core of what makes your brand identity unique. Short, practical pieces of advice keep everyone who needs guidance in the right direction.

Be generous with examples

The preferred way to use your branding makes sense to you but others might not get it, at least right away. The most helpful thing for them is a collection of visual examples. What makes this work is the inclusion of why these guidelines should be used.

Assumptions can be dangerous. Let’s say you have a dark logo that gets lost when used on dark backgrounds. Shouldn’t it be obvious to avoid this combination? Not to everyone.

Here’s a critical dangerous assumption to avoid: that everyone knows to confirm that they’re using current style guide usage. Date your guide and remind people to check for style usage updates.

The final product

Most style guidelines today live online. That makes them easy to share, and even easier to update. Practical style guidelines often are formatted as PDF documents so they can be printed or saved on mobile devices.

Format your final document so it’s easy to print on either A4 or US letter-size paper. Your style guide users will appreciate it if you avoid white text on a color background. That gobbles up ink cartridges.

People love wikis and quick start guides. Feed their hunger for top-level information with a mini version of your style guide. Have it reference the full version so users know they can get more information if it’s needed.

Don’t be afraid to over-communicate contact details. Make people feel comfortable about reaching out to you if they have questions. It’s an effective way to maintain brand identity.

Length

Is there such thing as too much information? An argument can be made both ways. Many companies have found success with a basic one-page style guide. You’ll come across 100-page guides, too. Those are indicative of complex brand identities, and the length might be necessary.

What’s the right length? Give it a cookbook test. Do all the recipes you’ve included work together? Then the style guide is just as long as it needs to be. Bon appetit!

If you’re looking for tips on developing a style guide to boost your brand identity, or need additional services related to online design , contact the professionals at Creative Technology Partners. We have the expertise to meet all of your content needs, providing expert software engineering, strategic user experience, and design services.