A logo on its own doesn’t make a brand consistent. As soon as different people start creating social posts, brochures and web pages, colours drift, fonts change and the logo gets stretched. Brand guidelines prevent that by giving everyone the same rules.

A good guide doesn’t need to be long. It needs to be clear enough that someone new can follow it without asking questions.

1. Brand basics

Start with a short summary of who you are:

  • What your business does and who it serves
  • Your mission or the main promise you make to customers
  • Three to five words that describe your personality, such as “clear, confident, approachable”

This helps designers and writers make decisions the rules don’t cover.

2. Logo usage

Show every approved version of your logo and when to use each:

  • Primary logo, plus horizontal and stacked versions if you have them
  • Versions for light and dark backgrounds
  • Minimum size and the clear space to leave around it
  • Common mistakes to avoid: stretching, recolouring, adding effects or placing it on busy images

3. Colour palette

List each brand colour with its codes for screens and print: HEX and RGB for digital, CMYK for print. Explain how to use them, for example which colour is the main one and which are accents.

Tip: Check that text colours have enough contrast against their backgrounds so everyone can read them, including people with low vision.

4. Typography

Name your fonts and how to use them:

  • Heading and body fonts, with the weights you use
  • Sizes for headings, body text and captions
  • Fallback fonts for situations where yours aren’t available, such as email

5. Imagery and graphics

Describe the kind of photos and illustrations that fit your brand. Include a few examples of what to use and what to avoid. If you use icons, specify the style (line or filled, rounded or sharp).

6. Tone of voice

How you write matters as much as how you look. Include:

  • How formal or casual you are
  • Words and phrases you use, and ones you avoid
  • A short before-and-after example of a sentence rewritten in your voice

7. Templates and examples

The most useful part of many guides is real examples: a social media post, a business card, an email signature and a presentation slide, all using the rules above. Templates save time and make it easy to stay consistent.

Keep it accessible

Store your guidelines and logo files somewhere everyone can find them, such as a shared drive. Update the guide when something changes, so old versions don’t keep circulating.

If you’d like help creating brand guidelines, or a full identity to go with them, we’d be glad to talk about it.

Want help putting this into practice? Tell us about your business and we'll suggest a sensible first step.

Plan My Brand Identity