The case for brand guidelines: clarity, consistency and confidence

Why are brand guidelines important? And why should a business spend money creating them?

Brand consistency is really important for recognition, trust and customer loyalty…. think about brand that looks a little different each time you see it, and how that represents the business.

A brand guideline document is something that sets out the fundamentals of a brand and how to use them… some parts are rock solid rules (eg. logo structure or clear space) and some parts act as a guide that allow some flexibility within the core brand identity for specific campaigns or a brand evolution.

Not all brands need a full 20-30 page guideline document, a simple version that demonstrates logo use, colour palette and typefaces is sufficient if there’s a small number of people or suppliers working with your brand. 

A more comprehensive guide is beneficial if you regularly engage with a lot of different suppliers, eg, advertising or media agencies, marketers, developers or sponsorships and event managers, or if you have multiple brands that sit within a parent structure. Setting out guidance around things like preferred logo placement, image treatment, advertising standards or a partner logo lock up is key for that all important brand consistency. 

If you think you might need some guidelines, big or small, get in touch…

Also, how many times can a person say brand in one blog post…. turns out it’s about 12. FYI.