{"id":139793,"date":"2021-06-23T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getflywheel.com\/?p=30103"},"modified":"2024-01-01T06:58:56","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T12:58:56","slug":"why-brand-guidelines-important-how-to","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/why-brand-guidelines-important-how-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Brand Guidelines are Important (and How to Create Them)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Brand guidelines are a key part of the final deliverables you should be handing over to a design client. These guidelines help ensure that everyone on the client\u2019s team can maintain consistency as different elements of the brand are used internally or externally. As we all know, consistency is vital to building brand recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brand guidelines are just that\u2014guides for using the brand elements. Any part of a brand that has been codified should come with user guidelines. These guidelines can be used by anyone within your client\u2019s company and should be shared with any vendor who is applying the logo (or any part of the brand) to ensure it\u2019s being used in the right ways. For instance, a vendor can make sure they\u2019re using the right Pantone when they recommend an incentive for sending to customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s say your project was simply creating a logo. In addition to the final logo files you provide, you should provide some basic rules about how to use that logo\u2014and how not to. For instance, you should remind your client not to skew the logo or use it in a context that makes it illegible. Quantify a clear space to be used around the logo, and a minimum size at which it needs to appear. You should spec the colors that are in the logo to help ensure all instances of it\u2014especially anything being printed\u2014are produced consistently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter wp-image-30139 size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/getflywheel-images.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2018\/10\/brand-guidelines-top-view-662.png\" alt=\"two people sitting in color coordinating space two people working on laptop and writing\" class=\"wp-image-30139\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Britt and Rese working at <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hutchmodern.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Hutch<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Creating Brand Guidelines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When Oxide Design Co. completes a corporate identity project, here\u2019s a list of what we typically provide as final deliverables:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The logo<\/strong> (and any variations of lockup) in a variety of formats for print and on-screen usage<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Color palette<\/strong> specification (including RGB, CMYK, Pantone, and hex)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Typeface<\/strong> specification<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Logo iterations<\/strong> in proper colors (e.g. showing how it can be used in reverse and in black and white)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Logo usage restrictions<\/strong> (e.g. don\u2019t skew the logo, rearrange it, or change its colors)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Some examples of well-known companies\u2019 logo guidelines:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brand.netflix.com\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Netflix<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/slack.com\/brand-guidelines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Slack<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/asana.com\/styles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Asana<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, some brands have more assets that have been codified. Again, any of these elements should have guidelines to support them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most complete brand guidelines would cover, at least as far as Oxide is concerned:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Visual Brand Guidelines:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Logo usage (do\u2019s and don\u2019ts)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Colors<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Typefaces<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Icon styles<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Imagery guidelines<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Typography hierarchy examples<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Business cards, letterhead, or other references to the implementation examples of the visual brand<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verbal (or Written) Brand Guidelines:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Brand foundation<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Vision<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mission<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Core values<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Brand expression<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Brand story<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Brand promise<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Brand slogan<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Brand voice<\/strong> (could include attributes, qualities, types of things the brand voice would say)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Messaging or campaign elements<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/getflywheel-images.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2018\/10\/brand-guidelines-pointing-662.png\" alt=\"two people sitting in color coordinating space pointing at laptop\" class=\"wp-image-30138\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When you\u2019re creating brand guidelines, just remember, anything that can be a valuable tool for reinforcing consistency is something you should include.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brand guidelines are a key part of the final deliverables you should be handing over to a design client. These guidelines help ensure that everyone on the client\u2019s team can maintain consistency as different elements of the brand are used internally or externally. As we all know, consistency is vital to building brand recognition. Brand<span class=\"tile__ellipses\">&hellip;<\/span><span class=\"tile__ellipses--animated\"><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","resource-topic":[904],"resource-role":[903],"resource-type":[916],"class_list":["post-139793","resource","type-resource","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Brand Guidelines are Important (and How to Create Them)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Brand guidelines make it easy for anyone who comes into the company to create something that goes with the rest of your branding.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/why-brand-guidelines-important-how-to\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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