Good brand guidelines are an essential for every brand. Having worked in the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) packaging industry for 12 years, I have not started a project without having them to guide me through a brand’s design. Now in my role creating brands, I know that good brand guidelines can make or break the success of a brand’s implementation and therefore, I ensure every brand I work on is released with a strong set of brand guidelines.
Brand Guidelines are crucial to communicate with others, both inside and outside the company, the brand’s values and the design rules to ensure consistency across the brand’s applications. But a good brand guidelines is more than a set of rules that one must follow. A good brand guidelines should inspire and allow room for creativity - allowing the brand to grow.
Here I will explain what should be in a good brand guidelines document, and what you can do as a brand manager or brand designer to ensure that the rules you set to ensure consistency don’t become too restrictive to creativity, or impede the successful implementation of the brand.
Logo Restrictions
Logos should be consistent. This is essential to them becoming recognised over time. Logos should be used in the supplied format and should not be edited, and when using them, one should follow a set of non-negotiable rules. As a brand manager or a brand designer you can set these rules. These can include an exclusion zone, an ideal location of placement, minimum sizing, colours as well as a list of do not’s.
In the case of the do not’s it is important to think that anything is possible, so saying that it shouldn’t be done there in the guidelines document is important. When it comes to the logo it is important that boundaries are set.
Outlining the unique brand assets
Unique brand assets are important to aid brand story telling in a unique way outside of the logo. This allows the brand to stand out against its competitors. It is therefore important that these unique brand assets be used consistently, and they therefore can be subject to a similar set of rigid rules as the logo. In creating rules, however, it is important that enough flexibility be allowed that the design doesn’t become boring and expected. This is something that can be tested by showing the design on a variety of brand applications.
Typography
Beyond the logo it is important to define which typefaces should be used in the brand design. In picking typefaces it is crucial to define a pairing of two diverse typefaces, which can be used together to further aid recognition of the brand, ensuring pace and interest. Both headings and body copy should be considered to ensure maximised legibility. Typefaces that have a variety of weights can be very useful. If working on a global brand, using typefaces that have different alphabets and a good amount of glyphs, such as accents, is also beneficial. Whatever the typefaces are they should be outlined clearly along with any potential license need-to-knows. It can also be beneficial to show how the typefaces can be bought together in a way that is most in line with the brand.
It is important to note that not all typefaces are suitable for websites, or can be used in powerpoint for example. With this to consider, it is important to define what alternative typefaces, if any, can and should be used, along with in what circumstance. This takes any guesswork out when the inevitable situation arises.
Colour Palette
A restrictive colour palette is necessary to aid brand recognition. It is in limited colour combinations that we recall brands. Think about McDonald’s and their iconic yellow and red, IKEA’s blue and yellow and EasyJet orange and white. These colour combinations do well alone to represent a brand, but these brands don’t exclusively stick to these colours. It is important that along with a restrictive set of primary colours, a secondary colour palette should be defined in order to give designers the tools to break out of the primary colour palette in a way that feels aligned to the brand, with confidence and consistency.
When it comes to colours it is important to define them in all possible ways: both for screen and for print, and when it comes to print a Pantone or similar colour reference is recommended to be supplied in order to ensure consistency when the colour is printed. This is particularly important with large global brands where numerous printers, print processes and substrates are used.
Photography Styling and Illustration
The brand look and feel extends to photography and illustration, and can be a strong indicator of the brand and the brand values if done well. That said, many brands don’t have the budget for unique brand photography and bespoke illustration so it is also important to outline what the style should be like, should they use stock imagery.
To conclude: Inspire don’t restrict
Throughout the guidelines it is important to show examples of the brand in action. This can be anything from signage, to advertising, to social media posts. And within those purposes it is important to show a variety of layouts to really show how the brand can feel consistent across different formats without feeling too restrictive. In showing lots of examples, it can become clear quite quickly if a brand doesn’t have room to grow, if for example everything looks similar; a good brand can still maintain consistency with variety.
Comments