Brand Style Guide and Examples

Whether you’re a startup and need a simple guide to make your own brand style or simply want to browse through examples for some inspiration, this article indicates everything you need to know!

• Why Branding Design Depends on Graphic Design so Much

First of all…

What is the Brand Style Guide?

Experts highly consider the brand style guide as an important element to the success of a developing business. It has also alluded to the brand manual, brand guidelines, or brand standards. It is usually a document being shared with the rest of the association – describing the overall sound and look of a particular brand. It allows you to tell a dominant story about who you are and where you are headed. The mission and vision, brand logo, email signature, color palette, and typography are among the components of a brand style guide.

How to Make an Attractive Brand Style Guide

Consistency is your root word when it comes to branding. A well-organized brand guide promotes an identifiable, refined, more enjoyable, and consistently published contents as well as prioritizes your readers. It establishes an engaging, detectible personality and voice that they can build a more personal connection with.

Here are some ways to get you started:

Brand Story 

Your mission and vision statement, as well as your core values, are what propel your brand. Establishing them in your brand style could make a huge difference in how consumers recognize your brand. Put your core values, vision statement, and mission statement directly above your guide. This will also continuously remind your employees about your company’s guiding principles and purpose. Your mission statement specifically guides your slogan or tagline, blog content, ad copy, visual media, and paid/sponsored content. 

Logo Guidelines 

Considered as your brand’s topmost recognizer, so ensure it is placed appropriately and consistently. Here, specify the amount of breathing space you need to give your logo. Allow some spacing on whichever side of your logo. A suitable color variation is important too. 

Color Palette 

You can stick with the traditional one or two colors, but opting for multiple color schemes will surely add vivacity to your brand communications. Make the color entirely clear, though, and make sure to include the CMYK color codes, hex codes, and RGB values. Note the optional color usage for your brand if you have tons of colors in your palette. The same goes for your secondary palette. This will guide your web design, logo, event collateral, and print ads. 

Typography 

Another crucial aspect of your brand guide, though it doesn’t refer to the font used in your logo. Either keep it simple by choosing only one font to use for nearly everything or use various fonts for various platforms. The decision depends on your business or product and what you think is most fitting for the public eyes.

Buyer Persona

It acts as your target audience that includes details affiliated to the gender, age, job title, etc. of your customers. It tends to guide your ad copy, visual media, and blog content. Your buyer persona should specify the right people you intend to publish the content for. 

Editorial Style Guide

It is deemed as the backbone of a reliable brand – with a powerful impact not only for the PR team, but for those who write blog posts, web copy, articles, and scripts. It can also guide your landing page copy and public relations talking points.

10 Examples of Classic Brand Style Guides

So, which companies perfectly nailed the brand style guide? Here are some epic examples highly adored!

1. Medium

The style guide of this online publishing platform stunningly highlights all its elements in excellent detail – from remarking the different logo sizes to the logo’s appearance on various backgrounds. It combines color and typography with information about its product principles and purpose.

2. Jamie Oliver

Talking about an extremely systematic brand style guide, Jamie Oliver doesn’t know how to disappoint. It covers logo setting across each of the kitchenware products coupled with a huge, attractive color palette. It digs deep into the application of imagery as well.  

3. Skype

Boasting a delicate, quirky, and clever style guide, our ever-favorite video chat platform chiefly focuses on logo placement, imagery, and product phrasing. The flummery and fribble contained in Skype’s clip art greatly improve its layouts without compromising the overall information.

4. Spotify

If you want to go a footstep further in congealing your brand, take inspiration from Spotify. It makes use of the green color as its primary color. Though, there’s more from its lime green loop. It has a total of three-color palette codes while focusing deeply on album artwork and logo disparity.

5. Instagram

This popular social media platform doesn’t only boast millions of users and creative designs and photos, but an inspiring brand style guide as well. Instagram ensures to follow an unobtrusive, vibrant, and consistent style.

6. Netflix

While it is one of the most basic brand guides available, Netflix is notable for its essential elements, including colors, symbols, and visual identity, such as logo versions. Turning into basics promotes a unique identity that your visitors would easily learn by rote.

7. Barre & Soul

When it comes to parting no pebble unturned, Barre & Soul is one of the best style guidelines you should start looking for. It has a variation of the logo, secondary logo, logo spacing, five palette colors, and supporting images.

8. Red Cross

“Bigger is better” seems like the motto of the Red Cross in terms of style guidelines. The general layout maintains a simple and minimal look with lots of space to breathe. The key points are seamlessly summarized for quick reference.

9. Ollo

Balancing informative and visual content must be properly done when creating a style guide, and Ollo can help you regarding this matter. Each page is loaded with useful information and is being supplemented with visual examples.

10. Cisco

Its brand style guideline is more on the interactive brand book. Visitors are taken page by page through Cisco’s mission, vision, strategy, etc. It has an enormous collection of approved videos, pictures, and audio that can be used with no costs. Font type and color palettes are available too.