We are confident in making an assumption that you have spent a lot of time investing in your business and the branding of your business as well. We coin all of those diligent efforts as brand identity work. Brand identity work helps to increase what your customers perceive as value in your company and in essence feel a connection to what you offer to them as a brand. So how do you get customers to connect with your brand? YOU connect with your customers emotionally. You HAVE to win their hearts. Let’s be transparent for a moment and analytical, consumers shop based on emotions and how products and even brands make them feel.
There is an art to developing a consistent and cohesive visual message that translates into trust and expertise in your business. In the world of branding and marketing, that work of art is a brand style guide. SO, WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOUR BRAND TO HAVE A STYLE GUIDE?Style guides can support marketing initiatives by ensuring that all messaging is relevant and related to your brand’s goals. Keep this in mind—Marketing promotes, branding reinforces. As you launch a new marketing campaign, referencing your company’s brand style guide ensures that content and all of the visual components distinguishes your brand from its competitors, and it is cohesive. This cohesion is important because it helps establish a strong brand voice that resonates with the audience, which is essential for building brand awareness. Over time, that awareness and consistency builds trust.
Here’s a brief look at a brand style guide and the essential components that should be included to create brand uniformity and consistency. A brand identity and standards guide tells users exactly how to use your company’s visual elements such as logos, fonts, colors, etc. in order to retain equity and maintain consistent branding on all company documents and in all marketing channels. Over time, the consumer should begin to identify and recognize symbolic attributes of the client’s brand and directly relate them to the client. Style guides don’t just magically appear. They take time and effort to create, and time is a precious thing.
Here are the essential elements of a style guide:
- Written overview of the company
- Purpose, mission statement, and values
- Target audience and customer demographics (if appropriate)
- Logo guide – sizing, colors and placement. That includes what to do and what not to do
- Color palette – specific colors for the brand (primary and secondary) and color combinations that are permitted
- Font guide – explanation of typographical choices and the names of the approved fonts
- Collateral – letterhead, business card layout, press releases, email signature format, etc.
- Photography guide – style and aesthetic
- Digital and web guidelines – may include social media policies
- Voice and tone of the company – for both internal and external communication
Our creative agency would be more than happy to work with you to bring your brand to life and work with you on brand identity work.
