Navigating the World of Style Guides

Let’s talk about something that might not be as flashy as the latest design trends but is equally, if not more, crucial – Business Style Guides, also known as brand guidelines. I know you’re busy so this will be a short, quick and concise tick list for the next time you need it.

Whether you’re a professional or just dipping your toes into creative waters, having a well-crafted business style guide can make all the difference in maintaining consistency and cohesion across your projects. It will also be of benefit when it comes to helping your audience to understand your brand’s story. 

What Are Business Style Guides, anyway?

Business style guides are like the North Star for your brand or project, providing a set of rules and guidelines to ensure a consistent visual and written identity. They serve as a roadmap for designers, writers, and anyone involved in creating content to keep a unified look, feel, and voice.

Why do Business Style Guides Matter?

• Consistency: Ensures a recognisable brand presence.
• Efficiency: Streamlines the creative process for designers and writers.
• Clarity: Eliminates guesswork and misinterpretation.

What to Include in Your Style Guide

Your guide should be just that, a guide that informs readers of the how, what, and where, when it comes to anything related to your business’s branding. It should be easy enough for Barry in the accounts department to understand, should he want to make a LinkedIn Profile Header and include your logo.

1. Brand Identity:

• Logo Usage: Specify the correct proportions, colours, positioning and spacing around it.
• Colour Palette: Define the primary and secondary colours along with their hex, CYMK and RGB codes.
• Typography: Specify the fonts to be used for headings, subheadings, and body text and if they’re free or paid.

2. Visual Elements:

• Image Guidelines: Describe what kinds of images and graphics fit your brand.
• Icon Style: Define how icons should look and when to use them for a consistent visual style.
• Layout Rules: Give directions for how pages should be structured, including grids and spacing.

3. Writing Style:

• Tone and Voice: Define the personality of your brand through a consistent tone.
• Grammar and Punctuation: Establish rules for writing style and punctuation preferences.
• Word Usage: Include a glossary of preferred terms and phrases and the ones that shouldn’t be used

4. Digital Presence:

• Website Elements: Guidelines for buttons, calls to action, forms, and other interactive elements.
• Social Media Guidelines: Specify image sizes, posting frequency, and brand voice.

5. Accessibility:

• Colour-Contrast Guidelines: Ensure readability for users with visual impairments or W3C compliance.
• Alt Text Standards: Provide instructions for adding alternative text to images.

6. File Access:

• Where your logo is stored and accessed by the company. (TIP – save the correct file sizes in relevant named folders e.g. ‘Logo>Social Media>Instagram>’Business name LinkedIn Company Page Banner’).
• If you need to include example logos for people to use, make sure you save them with a watermark.

Examples of Outstanding Style Guides

You’re probably thinking ‘Great, but what does this actually look like’ and you’re in luck. We’ve found three great examples that showcase a fantastic business style guide, (or brand-guiding document) to inspire you:

1. Google Material Design:

A comprehensive guide covering everything from layout principles to animation.

2. Mailchimp content Style Guide:

An excellent example of a writing-focused guide, emphasising tone and clarity.

3. NASA Graphics Standards Manual:

A historic example that showcases the meticulous guidelines for NASA’s visual identity.

Click here for even more examples of brilliant style guides, or simply bookmark this blog to come back to it at a later date for reference.

So, whether you’re a solo creator or part of a creative team, investing time in crafting a robust business style guide is like giving your project a roadmap to success. Remember, it’s not about restricting creativity, but about channelling it in a way that resonates cohesively with your audience and keeps anyone within the business on the same business style guide page (excuse the pun).

If you do not have the time or even the headspace to craft this yourself, then get in touch and our team can help you.

Happy styling, everyone!