Brand guidelines
Brand guidelines that a new hire, a sign shop or a freelance designer can follow without calling you. Short, visual, full of right-and-wrong examples, and available both as a PDF and as a simple web page that is always up to date.
Free: a 30-minute call, an action plan and a price range in writing.
What goes into your
brand guidelines
Logo rules
Versions, minimum sizes, clear space, backgrounds, and a page of things never to do.
Colors
Exact values for screen, print and paint, with combinations that are safe for readable text.
Typography
Fonts, sizes and hierarchy for headings, body text, buttons and small print.
Imagery
Photo style, what to shoot, what to avoid, and how to use icons and illustrations.
Tone of voice
How the brand sounds, words to use and avoid, sample replies, headlines and email openings.
Applications
Real examples: signs, vehicles, uniforms, social posts, ads, documents, packaging.
One brand
from logo to ads
Logo, colors and typeface come together into a system that works on your website, in ads and on your sign.
- Logo in several versions
- Palette and typography
- Social media templates
How the guidelines
are put together
Review
Your current brand assets and the places they are used, plus who will use the guide: staff, franchisees, suppliers.
Outline
The sections and examples the guide needs, approved before writing begins.
Writing and design
Rules written plainly and illustrated with your own materials.
Revisions
Up to three rounds, including a check by someone who will actually use it.
Launch
PDF and web version delivered, plus a short Zoom session for your team.
Brand guidelines
pricing
In US dollars. Brand guidelines are delivered with a trusted design partner and quoted individually by size and number of applications.
Visual rules and tone of voice, as a PDF and a web page.
- Real examples from your business
- Tone of voice section
- 3 rounds of revisions
A live session walking staff or franchisees through the guide.
See team training→Guidelines that don't
end up in a drawer
What brand guidelines are for
Brand guidelines exist so your brand looks and sounds the same whoever is making the next thing: you, a new marketing hire, a franchisee in another state, a sign shop, a freelance designer on a tight deadline. Without them, every person reinterprets the logo, picks a slightly different blue and writes in a different voice. Within a year the brand you paid for has drifted into something else.
Good guidelines stop that drift with as little reading as possible.
Short, visual, specific
The guides that get used share a few traits. Each page starts with the rule, then shows a correct example and a wrong one. Real materials from your business replace abstract mockups. Exact values are given for every color in every medium: screen, print and, for vehicles and storefronts, paint or vinyl. Nothing is vague: "use plenty of white space" becomes "keep at least the height of the icon clear around the logo".
The most useful page in most guides is the "please don't" page: stretched logos, low-contrast text, random fonts, the logo on a busy photo. One glance prevents most mistakes.
Specs suppliers actually need
A sign shop, an embroidery company and a vehicle wrap installer each ask for different things. The guide answers them in advance: vector logo files and which version to use on dark vinyl, Pantone and CMYK values for print, thread color suggestions for shirts and caps, minimum logo height on a yard sign read from across the street. Including a short "for suppliers" page with those specs saves a round of emails on every order, and keeps the colors on your trucks from slowly shifting from one batch to the next.
Tone of voice is part of the brand
How you write is as recognizable as how you look. The tone of voice section describes how the brand sounds, with examples: a reply to a complaint, an ad headline, the first line of an email, a social caption. It lists words to use and words to avoid, how formal to be and whether jokes are welcome. This is the part most small businesses skip, and the part that makes the biggest difference when several people answer customers. Writing that section well is close to copywriting work, and I treat it that way.
When guidelines matter most
- Several locations or franchisees. Each site makes local materials; without rules, the brand fragments. The franchise marketing page goes deeper on this.
- Outside suppliers. Printers, sign makers, packaging firms and web developers need exact specs.
- A growing team. New hires make posts, quotes and presentations from day one.
- After a rebranding. A guide makes sure the new brand is applied consistently from the switch-over on.
PDF plus a living web page
The guide is delivered as a PDF for suppliers who expect one, and as a simple web page with the current rules and downloadable logo files. When something changes, the web version is updated in one place and everyone always has the latest. For franchise systems, the same approach works well alongside franchise websites, where each location's pages follow the brand automatically.
Building on the identity
Guidelines document an existing visual identity. If yours is incomplete, for example there is a logo but no defined fonts or photo style, those gaps get filled as part of the project. If the identity itself is weak, I will recommend fixing that first rather than carefully documenting a problem.
How it is delivered
Brand guidelines are delivered with a trusted design partner. I run the review, write the rules and the tone of voice section with you, check the examples against your real marketing, and remain your contact. You receive the PDF, the web version, all source files and, if you want it, a live walkthrough for your team or franchisees through team training.
Pages that go with guidelines
Brand guidelines FAQ
Does a small business really need brand guidelines?
A one-person business can manage with a one-page usage sheet. Once several people, a second location, franchisees or outside suppliers touch the brand, guidelines pay for themselves quickly. They prevent the slow drift where every new flyer, sign and post looks a little different.
How long should the guide be?
As short as possible. For most small and mid-sized businesses, 15 to 30 pages with lots of examples is enough. A guide nobody finishes reading does nothing. Rules go at the top of each page, examples underneath, and detail only where people actually make mistakes.
Why a web version too?
Because PDFs get outdated and lost in email. A simple web page with the current rules and downloadable files means everyone, from a new hire to a print shop, always finds the latest version at one link. When something changes, you update one page instead of resending files.
Can you write guidelines for a brand that already exists?
Yes, that is common. Many businesses have a decent logo and colors but nothing written down. I document what works, fix inconsistencies and fill gaps such as photo style or tone of voice, without forcing a redesign.
Does tone of voice cover other languages?
The tone of voice section is written in English. If you also communicate in Spanish or another language, your translator or bilingual staff can adapt the principles and examples. I can leave space in the guide for that section and lay it out once they provide it.
Get your brand
written down
Tell me who uses your brand today and where it goes wrong. I reply within one business day.