Brand Guidelines 101: What to Include and How to Keep Teams Aligned

Imagine your brand is a person. How would they speak? How would they dress? What impression would they leave? A strong brand does this effortlessly, creating a consistent and memorable experience for customers. But this consistency doesn't happen by accident. It’s built on a clear set of rules: your brand guidelines.

For new and growing businesses, creating brand guidelines can feel like a daunting task. However, they are one of the most valuable assets you can create. They are the single source of truth that ensures everyone—from your marketing intern to your sales director—represents your business in a unified way. This article will guide you through what to include in your brand guidelines and how to make sure your team actually uses them.

First, Some Key Terms Explained

Before we dive in, let's clarify a few essential terms. Understanding these concepts is the first step to building a strong brand.

• Brand: This is the overall perception of your company in the minds of your audience. It’s the feeling, the reputation, and the story people associate with you.

• Brand Identity: This is the collection of all tangible elements that a company creates to portray the right image to its consumer. It’s how you express your brand.

• Brand Voice: This is the personality of your brand in written form. Is it expert and authoritative, or friendly and informal? Your brand voice should remain consistent.

• Tone of Voice: This is a subset of your brand voice. While your voice is fixed, your tone can change depending on the context. For example, your tone on social media might be playful, while the tone in a support email is more formal and empathetic.

• Visual Identity: This covers all the visual elements of your brand, from your logo to your website design.

• Logo Lockups: These are the different approved variations of your logo. This could include a version with a tagline, a stacked version for square spaces, or a simplified icon.

• Colour Palette: The specific set of colours that represent your brand. This includes primary colours (used most often) and secondary colours (for accents and highlights).

• Typography: The style and appearance of your printed matter; essentially, your brand’s fonts. This includes typefaces for headlines, body text, and captions.

• Imagery Style: The specific type of photography, illustration, or iconography that aligns with your brand. Are your photos bright and candid, or moody and professional?

• Brand Assets: All the individual files that make up your brand identity—logos, images, icons, video files, and document templates.

• Asset Management: The process of storing, organising, and sharing your brand assets. This is often done using a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system or a well-organised shared drive.

• Brand Governance: The system of rules and processes designed to ensure brand consistency across all touchpoints.

What to Include in Your Brand Guidelines

A comprehensive set of brand guidelines acts as a rulebook for your brand. It should be detailed enough to provide clarity but simple enough for anyone to understand. Here’s what to include.

1. Brand Heart: Story, Purpose, and Values

This section is the foundation. It explains why your brand exists beyond making a profit.

• Brand Story & Purpose: A short narrative explaining your company's origin and its mission.

• Values: Three to five core principles that guide your business decisions and company culture.

• Audience Personas: Simple profiles of your ideal customers. Who are they? What do they care about? This helps your team communicate with empathy.

• Messaging Pillars: Three to four key themes or messages you want to own. These guide all your content creation. For example, a pillar could be: "Empowering Small Businesses with Simple Tech."

2. Verbal Identity: Voice and Tone

This defines how your brand communicates through words.

• Brand Voice Rules: Describe your brand's personality. Use a "We are X, not Y" format. For example: "We are supportive, not patronising. We are clear, not simplistic. We are expert, not arrogant."

• Tone of Voice Examples: Show how the tone adapts to different situations. Provide examples for social media posts, customer emails, and website copy.

3. Visual Identity: The Look and Feel

This is the most tangible part of your guidelines, covering all visual elements.

• Logo Usage:

• Show primary and secondary logos and when to use them.

• Define clear space: a rule for the minimum empty space to leave around the logo. Example: "The clear space is equal to the height of the 'P' in our logo."

• Specify minimum sizes for print and digital use to ensure legibility.

• Include a "don'ts" section showing incorrect usage (e.g., stretching, changing colours, placing on a busy background).

• Colour Palette:

• Display your primary and secondary colour swatches with their values (HEX, RGB, CMYK).

• Define usage ratios (e.g., "60% primary blue, 30% neutral white, 10% accent yellow").

• Add a note on accessibility, reminding users to check colour combinations for sufficient contrast.

• Typography:

• Define your font hierarchy: one font for headlines (H1, H2), one for body text, and maybe one for captions.

• Provide font names, weights (e.g., Bold, Regular), and sizes.

• List permissible alternatives (e.g., "If Montserrat is unavailable, use Arial").

• Imagery and Iconography:

• Describe the style of your photography or illustrations. Include example images.

• Provide a "do/don't" list. Example: "Do use natural light. Don't use obvious stock photos."

• Show your approved icon library and rules for its use.

• Layout and Templates:

• Include basic layout principles, like grid systems and spacing.

• Provide links to ready-made templates for presentations, social media graphics, proposals, and email signatures. Example Email Signature Spec: Name (Bold, 12pt), Title (Regular, 11pt), Company Name, Phone, Website (Regular, 11pt).

• On-Brand vs. Off-Brand Examples:

• Show side-by-side comparisons of correct and incorrect brand application. This is a powerful way to make the rules crystal clear.

How to Keep Your Teams Aligned

Creating guidelines is only half the battle. Getting your team to use them consistently requires a proactive approach.

• Centralised Source of Truth: Store your guidelines and assets in one easy-to-access place. This could be a Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform, or a well-organised Google Drive or SharePoint folder.

• Version Control: Ensure everyone is using the latest version. Name your files clearly (e.g., Brand_Guidelines_v2.1_Oct2025.pdf).

• Governance Owners: Appoint a "brand guardian" or a small committee responsible for approvals and answering questions.

• Onboarding and Training: Include a brand overview in your new starter induction process. Run short, regular training sessions for existing staff.

• Quick-Reference Cheat Sheets: Create a one-page summary of the most important rules (logo, colours, fonts) for quick reference.

• Periodic Audits: Regularly review marketing materials, sales decks, and social channels to check for consistency and identify areas for retraining.

• Process for Exceptions: Define a clear process for teams to request an exception if they feel a rule needs to be bent for a specific campaign.

• Enablement Kits: When working with external partners or agencies, provide them with a packaged kit containing your guidelines and key assets.

• Rolling Out Updates: When you update your guidelines, communicate the changes clearly. Explain what has changed, why it has changed, and where to find the new version.

Practical Tips for Small Teams on a Budget

You don't need a massive budget or a dedicated brand team to create effective guidelines.

• Start Simple: Begin with a one-page guide covering the absolute must-haves: logo usage, colours, and fonts. You can expand it over time.

• Prioritise: Focus on the elements that appear most frequently, like your website and social media profiles.

• Use Free Resources: Use free fonts from Google Fonts, which are web-safe and easy to share. Use free online tools to check the colour contrast for accessibility.

• Establish Naming Conventions: A simple but powerful tip. Organising your asset files with logical names (e.g., Logo_Primary_Blue_RGB.png) saves countless hours.

• Avoid Common Pitfalls: Don't make the guidelines too restrictive, as this can stifle creativity. Also, avoid creating them in isolation; get input from different departments to ensure they are practical.

Your Blueprint for Consistency

Brand guidelines are more than just a document; they are a blueprint for building a strong, recognisable, and trusted brand. They empower your team to communicate with confidence and clarity, ensuring that every interaction a customer has with your business is a consistent one.

Take the time to document your brand's rules, share them widely, and build a culture of brand consistency. Your future self—and your customers—will thank you for it.

If you’re ready to unlock your business’s full potential, our team at Puzzle Creative is here to help you piece it all together.