What’s a style guide?
A style guide encompasses your brand’s DNA – the colours, fonts, inspiration, textures, logos and even voice you want your brand to be known for. Having an official brand style guide means that regardless of who is working with your business, your brand always blooms with consistency. Think of it as the rules of your brand.
Whether you’re a multi-location enterprise or a one woman show, we believe every brand should have its identity documented in an official guide – you’d be surprised by how many businesses we work with that don’t!
Why do I need one?
You’ve heard about the importance of brand consistency before, right? Those magic words are the key to taking your customer’s brand journey from good to game changing.
Having a style guide gives you the peace of mind that whenever you hand your brand over to a graphic designer, illustrator, social media manager or even your own internal marketing teams, your brand experience will be consistent.
It also ensures that us creatives are delivering you the one, sooner! Providing a solid understanding of your brand from the get-go means we can nail your brief quicker and save you the hassle of back-and-forth adjustments. Winning!
This easy to establish but oh so powerful document means that wherever and whenever a customer interacts with your brand, they’re experiencing the same #goodvibes at every touch point. It’s these traits that build the kind of brand awareness that can transform into serious brand loyalty – and with a billion or so users on the web, these things matter!
What goes into my style guide?
A style guide should include all the must-know guidelines for your brand’s identity.
Kick things off with your brand’s mission, values and story. Defining the things your brand values most, supports creative decisions more than you may realise! If the content isn’t aligned with your brand’s story, then brand message and consistency can get lost.
Next, let’s share your logos and all the variations that are permitted. For example, you may have a logo for print and signage but a more refined version for social media profile pictures and watermarks. Be sure to include all variations and where they belong.
Font and typography are ultra-powerful tools for identifying your brand, representing your brand’s tone and creating memorable touchpoints.
Your style guide should feature all your go-fonts, must-know typography such as spacing and casing, where they should be used and what size they should be read at (because let’s face it, there’s nothing worse than seeing small calligraphy font online that can’t even be read on mobile).
Next, we’re moving onto colours. Think about some of the world’s most well-known brands. Their colours allow them to be recognised from a mile away (anyone else thinking of spotting a big M on a family road trip right now?). Beyond your logo, if there are signature colours that breathe life into your brand, they’re a must feature in your style guide. Don’t forget the exact colour codes for our designer pals!
Finally, include imagery that inspires your brand, supports your story and ignites your voice. If you stick to strictly in-house photography, incorporate stock imagery or even experiment with textures, these are images to include in your style guide.
How do I create a style guide?
Created in everyone’s favourite platform, Canva, you can easily upload your brand resources and create your very own style guide. If your brand gets a revamp at any time, you’ve got your go-to resource to update your rules and share with your teams.
We get it. Sometimes diving deep into your brand can make you realise the vibes are all off. If this is you right now then it may be time for a Brand Revamp! Working with the Bloom Fam, discover confidence in your brand and a brand identity that speaks to your dream audience.
