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5 Essential Brand Guidelines Elements (A checklist!)
If you're putting the finishing touches on a new logo, you might be thinking ahead to how you'll present your work.
You'll need to coordinate many people across different teams to use the brand well. To apply it in the same way, and to implement it consistnetly.
That's where Brand Guidlenes come in. These interactive documents can give an overview of the logo, type and colors, and also provide detail about how the brand can work in many settings.
What content is essential to include in your brand guidelines?
Whether you're making a one-page brand guide or a hundred page standards manual, there are some essentials that every set of guidelines should include.
Here's a handy checklist to cover the main elements you'll want to consider:
Goes without saying, but you should include your logo. Remember to make all of the logo variations easily accessible including sub-brands and alternative layouts. Provide guidance on every allowed variation, with easy links to download the working files.
Show people what colors are approved to use, which colors should appear more often, and any specific instructions for channels and accessibility.
Include the fonts your brand uses, but also include the typography styles (sizes, weights, spacing) your brand uses for headings, body copy, etc. Add alternatives for use in different languages, or in limited font environments. Remember to give people an easy way to access these fonts.
Your brand might have a few key graphic elements that are important to include. This could be patterns, textures, or other repeating elements to help create your brand's unique look.
Bring it all together with a few key examples of your brand in action. Use these to show how the brand works in real world examples, demonstrating each element you've described above.
What else can you include?
Your brand might only have the elements above, or it might extend to many sub-brands, products, and services. Each with their own unique elements and directions.
We've built Guidelines, the brand guidelines platform, to help you create every type of brand book you like.