Hey there, starting entrepreneurs and small business superstars! I feel you: starting your own business is an exhilarating adventure, but it can also feel like you’re juggling a million things at once. Amidst crafting your services and pricing, finding your audience, and launching your brand, there’s one crucial piece you shouldn’t overlook early on in the process: your brand guide.

Not sure what exactly a brand guide is and why it’s so important? I’ll explain it to you, so keep on reading :) And if you’re not sure how to get started at all, my FREE 12-step guide on how to build a brand might just be the right thing for you.

What Is a Brand Guide?

Imagine your brand guide as your brand’s ultimate rulebook. It’s a comprehensive guide that captures the essence of your business, making sure everyone who works with or for you knows exactly how to represent your brand. From logos to colour schemes and typography pairings, your brand guide ensures consistency and clarity in every aspect of your brand’s identity. Following your brand guide, you’ll have a consistent brand image across all platforms and will build a strong brand recognition. Take a look at the Branding Style Guides website to see how other brands have crafted their brand guides.

Why Your Brand Needs a Brand Guide

1. Consistency is Key

Consistency is the magic ingredient that makes a brand memorable. With a brand guide, you’re setting the stage for how your brand should look and feel across all touchpoints. Whether you’re designing a new website, creating social media posts, or printing marketing materials, your brand guide acts as your North Star, guiding every design decision.

2. Streamline Your Team’s Efforts

If you’re working with designers, marketers, or anyone else who represents your brand, a brand guide ensures they’re all on the same page. It provides clear guidelines on everything from your logo’s usage to the exact shades of your brand colours. This way, everyone involved knows how to maintain the integrity of your brand, saving you time and avoiding potential headaches.

3. Make a Strong First Impression

Your brand guide helps you make a powerful first impression, which is especially crucial when just starting. Imagine a potential client or partner coming across your brand for the first time—they’ll see a cohesive, professional image that instantly communicates who you are and what you stand for. A well-crafted guideline helps you hit the ground running and showcases your brand’s personality with confidence.

4. A Solid Foundation for Growth

Starting strong is just the beginning. As your business grows, your brand guide serves as a solid foundation for future developments. It’s a living document that evolves with your brand, helping you stay consistent while adapting to new trends and opportunities.

What’s Inside a Brand Guide?

If you choose to work with Studio OAX, the Comprehensive Brand Design Package will be your best friend. It equips you with an all-encompassing brand identity, designed to steer all your brand communication. 

But first: The Groundwork

We’ll begin by identifying what sets your brand apart and then explore how we can enhance that uniqueness, all through a streamlined process:

• 60-Minute Brand Discovery Session: We start with a deep dive into your brand’s vision and goals. This session helps us understand what makes your brand unique and how to capture that essence in your brand identity.
• In-Depth Brand Questionnaire: This is where YOU get to work and share all the details about your brand—your values, target audience, and design preferences. How do you want your brand to be seen? Who is your ideal client? The answers help us shape the foundation of your brand identity.
• Creative Direction + Moodboard: Based on our call and the answers of the questionnaire, I craft a moodboard to visually represent your brand’s style and personality. This helps us align on the aesthetic direction and sets the tone for your brand’s visual identity.

Building your Brand Identity

Once the groundwork is done, we’ll move on to the creative part: building your brand identity and summarising all its elements in a comprehensive brand guide, including:

• Logo Suite: Your brand guide will include a primary and secondary logo, along with a wordmark and logomark. These elements are designed to be versatile and recognisable, making sure your brand stands out in any context. 
• Colour Palette: We select a cohesive colour palette that reflects your brand’s personality. Consistent use of colours across all platforms reinforces your brand identity. Consider how iconic brands use colour—would you recognise the Netflix logo as easily if it suddenly changed to blue?
• Typography: Choosing the right fonts is crucial for brand recognition. Your brand guide includes recommended typography that complements your logo and overall aesthetic and adds to the overall visual impression. Fonts are often underestimated but they are part of the design just as much as everything else.
• Brand Pattern: We create a unique brand pattern that adds an extra layer of visual interest to your materials, reinforcing your brand’s distinctiveness.
• On-Brand Texture: Textures help convey your brand’s tactile qualities. Whether it’s a subtle background effect or a bold pattern, on-brand textures enhance your overall look.

Additionally, you’ll receive presentation and social media templates that perfectly align with your visual identity.

Red or blue? – What a difference a colour can make.

Ready to Create Your Brand Guide?

As you might have sensed, a brand guide is more than just a document; it’s the blueprint for your brand’s success. It ensures consistency, guides your team, and helps you make a stellar first impression. So if you’re ready to build a brand that stands out and stays true to your vision, let’s work together!

Lots of love,  

Lara