Why Every Brand Needs a Style Guide (And How to Get It Right)
Any genuinely ambitious and self-respecting brand should have a style guide. And yes, it should be beautiful, unique and powerful, and true to you.
But it also has to be practical.
If it’s not articulated well, is tricky to apply consistently across your channels and platforms, or is simply too intricate or nuanced for anyone but the originator to grasp, it could be more of an ass than an asset.
Your style guide shouldn’t simply document what you, your design team or an individual has developed — however brilliant that might be. It also needs a context-driven, user-friendly explanation and rationale, plus a clear process for applying it. It should help everyone who designs “as you” to make the right decisions without grinding their teeth, and ensure brand continuity without firing questions at you every five minutes.
After all, it’s arguably your most important channel of communication, or at least the one to which all other roads lead.
It needs to be a semi-intuitive working tool, not a coffee-table book.
So how do you ensure that?
Start with what makes you, you
Before you get into logo sizes and colour codes, your guidelines should explain the character and approach that sits behind the brand and defines it.
That starts with a few “simple” questions:
- Who are you?
- Who are you trying to connect with?
- What do you want to be known for?
- What makes you different?
You likely know the answers in your own head, but externalising them — and articulating them clearly to whoever designs alongside you and on your behalf — can be tricky. Nonetheless, it’s crucial. A brand isn’t just a collection of visual assets. Your identity needs to not only express something unique and compelling about your business, but also remain consistent wherever people encounter it.
Stylistic Design’s own approach reflects this. We put our understanding of ourselves and the business, and our objectives and audiences, at the heart of how we position and present ourselves. The very same applies to all our client projects, because we know it works.
As we see it, branding is creating an identity that belongs uniquely and identifiably to each client.
Then, make the guidance practical
Your guide should cover the obvious things: your logo, colour palette, typography, imagery and graphic elements. But to make it true to you, enduring and powerful, it should go further.
State which logo variations to use, how much space to leave around them, and so on. Then give brief, relatable reasons why. Also, state what not to do.
Give colour specifications for digital and print. Show your typefaces in context, and illustrate how they work together. Explain hierarchies and sizes, and clarify the alternatives for when the preferred font isn’t available.
Explore photography and illustration. Articulate what imagery should feel like, as much as look like. State what kind of imagery you don’t use, and why.
These are the kinds of practical details found in established brand systems such as Airbnb, Apple, Mailchimp, even GOV.UK. All cover logo, colour and typography — but importantly, they explain and give rationale for how they apply across different channels and contexts.
You might look absolutely marvellous. But how do you sound?
It’s still amazing how often this is overlooked or undervalued. A visual identity can be beautifully consistent and powerful, but what if the words are letting you down? When your messaging is disjointed and your brand tone of voice (TOV) is inconsistent from one communication to the next, or on different channels for the same campaign, people pick up on it. Not necessarily consciously, but something jars with them. And if they then disengage, you’ll never know why.
Your style guide should therefore explain how you sound, as well as how you look. Not just three or four throwaway adjectives such as friendly, professional and approachable, though — this is the least any reader will expect, and it won’t differentiate you.
Think about who you are as a brand. What qualities collectively define you? Write them down, and then ask: “what would that sound like if it was one of us talking openly about what we do?” Write that down, too.
Give examples. Explain the sort of language you use naturally, both internally and when talking to customers. Then you’ll sound more consistently “like you” when you write on your brand’s behalf, on every channel. It puts people at ease, connects them more naturally — and you become identifiable and relatable, which is priceless.
Good style guides don’t just tell. They show
This is perhaps the most important bit.
“Use the logo correctly” isn’t particularly helpful. Neither is “Write with empathy.” What do they mean?
Showing the correct version alongside examples of stretching, recolouring or crowding is much clearer to in-house, contract or freelance designers. The same applies to tone of voice, layouts, photography and social media. Give before-and-after illustrations, and rationale.
Ask “what does good look like?” Your guidelines should illustrate and answer that very question. They should make it clear and intuitive for someone who didn’t build the brand to work with it as if they did.
That, ultimately, is what makes a style guide really powerful and effective. It turns a brand from a great idea into a system that other people can understand, relate to and apply. And when that happens, it engages far more readily with your target audience.
Don’t stop there
Your business will change, and so will your market. The channels you communicate on will evolve. So your strategy should include monitoring things closely and adapting to change. If you can pre-empt it, even better.
In short, your style guide shouldn’t become a monument to the day your rebrand launched; it should accurately reflect who you are today.
Keep it accessible. Keep it current. Answer the questions new personnel and freelancers will ask.
The best brand style guides aren’t necessarily the longest, bravest or most creative. They’re the ones that stop people guessing.
