Your business has a face, a personality and an image which conveys its philosophy to the world. How you present your business in the market speaks volumes about your brand mantra.
What exactly is a brand Styleguide? A brand Styleguide is the ‘look book’ of your company; a guideline that details the dos and the don’ts for a uniform look in all aspects of your business transactions, be it a website design, logo, letterhead or imagery. It serves as a guideline for designers, a rule book for the marketing department and a directive for all the employees concerned with the company.
Read on to learn the major aspects of a brand Styleguide. Remember, a brand Styleguide need not be exhaustive, as long as it serves its purpose, it can be from a few pages and topics to a complete book!
Logo: The face of the brand
Once perfected, a logo needs to be consistent on all platforms. A guideline outlines all the dos and don’ts of alteration as well as the placement of a logo. The integrity of logo is of utmost importance, as it is the simplest form of brand recognition.
Font: The styling of letters
Be it a digital application or a print media, it is important to choose a steady typography for each medium. Remember what looks good on digital media can be a disaster on print, so check for commonality in both. A set of select typefaces in your brand bile will ensure that your brand is represented with consistency.
Color: The palette of the brand
What comes to your mind when you see the Golden Arches? Mc Donalds! What makes it so distinctive? The color!
Yes, the color palette of a brand is considered to be an important part of the brand styleguide and measures should be taken to ensure each color in the brand palette is clearly defined by name and code with its intended usage in logo and text on both print and digital media.
Images: The visual connection
Pictures portray the brand feelings to the audience, hence details on how the images used in connection with the brand are to be gathered, edited and used for the company should be included in the styleguide.
Webpage: The brand extension
These days, most of the shopping is conducted online. Hence, it is very important for a brand to have a consistent online presence. The website should reflect the brand identity, with focus on fonts, color, buttons and even line spacing. The welcome page and the flow of one page to navigation and tabs must all match the identity.
Conclusion
Remember, a brand styleguide need not be exhaustive, as long as it serves its purpose, it can be from a few pages and topics to a complete book!