Guides ยท Anatomy
What goes into brand guidelines, and who actually reads them
The instruction manual for your identity, taken apart section by section. Plus the four kinds of people who will actually open it.
Brand guidelines are the instruction manual for your identity. They exist for the moments you're not in the room, like when a printer sets up your business cards, a freelancer designs a post or a new branch orders its signage.
Ours come as a digital booklet of up to 12 slides. This is what goes into it, section by section.
The logo
The primary version, alternate versions and the small-size mark, each with a note on when to use it.
Clear space and minimum size
How much empty space surrounds the logo, and the smallest size it can appear at before details disappear.
Misuse
Stretching, recolouring, adding shadows, placing it on busy photos. Showing the mistakes prevents them faster than describing the rules.
Colour palette
Every brand colour with HEX, RGB and CMYK values, plus proportions, meaning which colour leads and which supports.
Typography
Typefaces for headlines and body text, in Arabic and English where relevant, with sizes and weights for common uses.
Iconography and patterns
The supporting graphics that keep the brand recognisable with the logo out of frame.
Usage examples
The identity applied to real items, so people can see the system working before they add to it.
Who actually reads them
- Printers and signage suppliers, who need colour codes and file formats.
- Freelancers and agencies, who need the rules before designing anything new.
- Your own team, who mostly need the templates and the logo files.
- Future you, opening a new branch in three years and trying to remember which green it was.
A guidelines file nobody opens protects nothing. Keep it short, visual and easy to share.
How long a guide should be
Long enough to answer the common questions, short enough that people read it. For most small and medium businesses, a focused booklet covers everything. Larger organisations with many products, sub-brands or franchise partners usually need a fuller manual.
Questions people ask
What is included in brand guidelines?
Usually the logo and its variations, clear space and minimum sizes, misuse examples, the colour palette with codes, typography, supporting graphics and examples of the brand in use.
Does a small business need brand guidelines?
Yes, if anyone other than you will ever design, print or post for the brand. Guidelines keep everything consistent as more people get involved.
What format should brand guidelines be in?
A PDF is the most practical, because anyone can open it. Ours come as a digital booklet of up to 12 slides.
Written by Brandtastic Design Studio.