How to Create a Visual Style Guide for Your Brand
When it comes to branding, consistency is key! Developing a solid brand identity and infusing it into every aspect of your marketing will aid in creating brand awareness and building trust. It’s really helpful to have a Brand Style Guide for this purpose. Whether you’re representing your business online (website, social media, newsletters, ads) or in print (business cards, brochures, signs, swag), a visual style guide will help you portray a cohesive and dependable brand.
Think about any of the major brands you’re familiar with. What comes to mind first? You’re probably envisioning logos, color palettes and fonts. These are the building blocks for creating a visual identity, and the uniformity of these elements is what generates familiarity.
For my branding clients, I always create a Brand Style Guide like the one I designed for Harper Rose Studio pictured below. It’s essentially a rulebook that you, and anyone else who works with you, can use to ensure your business shows up consistently across all platforms. It’s especially useful if you have a team or outsource any of your work (to a web designer, marketing company, etc.). But even if you’re a solopreneur like me, it’s helpful to have a visual guide to reference.
There are lots of helpful tools you can use to create a Brand Style Guide. If you don’t have experience with design programs (or even if you do), I highly recommend trying Canva. It’s user-friendly, has tons of templates you can personalize, and you can use it right on your phone.
I suggest starting with your logo at the top, followed by any variations (alternative logos, black and white logos, and logo marks). Below that you’ll want to add your color palette, complete with hex codes for easy reference. For inspiration, check out the color combinations here, explore ideas on Pinterest, or use the free Eye Dropper Chrome extension to grab color codes from anywhere on the web.
Next, I like to add header and body fonts with examples of each (more on choosing fonts here), and then moodboard images beneath that. I prefer to keep all of these design details on one page, but of course, you can do whatever works best for you. On the following pages you may choose to include iconography, illustrations or graphics if applicable, your mission statement, brand voice and tone, buyer personas, or anything else that’s important to your brand.
Use your Brand Style Guide to solidify your brand’s identity. Doing so will create a professional appearance, help set you apart from your competitors, and build credibility. Keep it handy for your own reference, and be sure to share it with anyone who will be designing for or representing your business.
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Written by Tabitha Stevenson, Squarespace Web Designer & Founder of Mindful Design Solutions
I’m passionate about helping entrepreneurs and small businesses stand out online with engaging and effective Squarespace websites. You can learn more about me here.
