What is a style guide, and why is it important?
A style guide is essential for any brand
A brand style guide is a set of rules and guidelines that outline how a company's brand should be represented visually and verbally. It's like a rulebook that ensures consistency in how the brand looks, feels, and communicates across different platforms and mediums.
Think of a brand style guide as a roadmap for maintaining a consistent and recognisable identity for a company. It includes things like the company logo, colours, fonts, imagery, and even the tone of voice to be used in communication. It also provides instructions on how to use these elements in various contexts, such as on websites, social media, marketing materials, and packaging.
Why is a brand style guide important? Here are a few reasons:
Consistency: A brand style guide helps maintain a consistent look and feel across all brand touchpoints. This consistency helps customers recognise and remember the brand more easily. When people see consistent visual elements and messaging, they develop trust and familiarity with the brand.
Professionalism: A well-defined brand style guide ensures that all brand communications look professional and polished. It sets standards for the usage of colours, fonts, and imagery, making sure that everything aligns with the brand's values and personality.
Efficiency: Having a brand style guide saves time and effort by providing clear instructions on how to create marketing materials, advertisements, and other brand-related content. Designers and marketers can refer to the guide and follow the established guidelines, streamlining the creative process.
Brand Protection: A brand style guide serves as a protective shield for the brand's integrity. It helps prevent unauthorised use or misuse of the brand's visual assets and messaging, ensuring that the brand is represented correctly and consistently by employees, partners, and vendors.
Brand Recognition: Consistency in branding creates recognition. When customers consistently see a well-defined brand identity, they can easily identify the company and its products or services. This recognition builds trust, loyalty, and a strong brand presence in the marketplace.
Overall, a brand style guide is essential for maintaining a strong and cohesive brand identity. It helps a company stand out, build trust, and create a memorable impression on its target audience.
KND are uniquely experienced at both designing and using brand guidelines in our client projects.
If you’d like to up your branding game and add a style guide to your suite of brand documents reach out - we would love to work with you.