You invested time and money and gone through the process of defining the company's vision and values. You designed a logo and visual identity. You prepared a targeted message, website, and marketing material. Everything is finally in place.

Now you are ready to roll-out, to involve people and agencies and put the wheels in motion and build your brand. But everything may be in vain if you don't have a brand guide.

What is a brand guide?

A brand guide or brand manual is a collection of definitions, explanations, rules, elements and tools used to build a uniform and consistent brand.

Brand guides typically contain an explanation of the company's philosophy in the form of its vision and values, etc. In addition, it includes the definitions and rules for the logo, choice of colours, and typography . Not all brand guides are the same, but many people also include definitions and rules for tone-of-voice , graphic elements, symbols, word , layout, etc. It is also common to include ready templates that have been developed for printing or digital use. Last but not least, the majority of additional brand guides have examples of the correct and incorrect use of the elements.

"Do you have everything under control or do you spread the logo to everyone involved and cross your fingers that it will be okay?"

Why do you need a brand guide?

Perhaps you were involved in developing the vision and rules and know it inside out, or you want more control over the design elements you create. If anyone needs a logo or is wondering about anything else related to the brand design, they just talk to you so why spend more time and money on developing a brand guide?

Unsure of the difference between brand, identity, branding and logo? Then you should read this.

Consistency

What if the company grows or you get another role? Imagine all the aspects that have been discussed and defined in the development of the new identity. Imagine four years ahead and how much of the details you still remember and control. Imagine how many emails with attachments you have sent in the meantime. Imagine how many versions there have been of the powerpoint template you got made. And when you had to give a brief to the design agency to create some new ads and rollups at the time, it was done in a hurry without giving them a good understanding of the company's values or tone-of-voice. Things tend to float when kicked, or the latest version is used as a template for the next one. It becomes almost impossible to be consistent when you can not go back to the "source" or the conclusion.

Standardisation and availability

The aim of a brand guide is to have the brand's entirety defined and detailed so that you can easily refer to this when you are developing something new. Whether this is a business card, website or the décor of the company car.

By collecting everything in the one place, you make it accessible to several people. You then become less dependent on individuals and ensure that things do not begin to ramble over time. In this way, you save time that would otherwise have been spent on meetings, e-mails, phone calls and follow-ups.

Digital advantages

The classic brand guide was originally a folder or ring binder in which rules, explanations, and elements were presented. A limited number of these would be printed and distributed around. From 1990 to 2010, they would often contain floppy disks, CDs or USB sticks that contained digital files of logos and other elements. This is an out-dated practice, even though it is still in use.

Up to date and available

Today, there are many natural reasons for uploading this to a password-protected website. It will be much easier to keep rules and elements updated here. Uploading new files, rewriting some text or creating new sections are done in a flash and immediately available to everyone. If the website is responsive, it will also be available on your mobile and tablet.

Sharing

Sharing is also much easier. You can send links into the "key" to clarify rules and regulations or send correct files directly out from the solution without needing to download, copy or navigate on your own device.

Access level

With a password and adapted user account, it is also easy to control who has access to what. For example, there may be some elements that everyone needs access to, such as the logo, while templates and suchlike may just be available to selected users.

Digital tools

In large companies, you can easily invest in photographs or illustrations that can be easily sorted and searched for in the online image bank. You can also establish an archive on a website where you gather documents that have already been developed, for both an overview and potential re-use.

Advanced solutions also offer calendars, marketing planners, and functionality where you can generate marketing material in the solution that is sent directly to the printers or distributed in the correct channels. With new technology, smarter solutions are constantly evolving to save time and increase control over the brand.

In summary

In other words, there is not much to be said for not developing a brand guide. Keeping all of your brand elements, tools, and guidelines in one place ensures efficiency and consistency in everything you create, even when several people are involved at once. With a digital system, you also have the opportunity to start on a small scale and develop more content gradually as it is put into place. Then you will get the maximum benefits from your investments in developing the brand's tools.