Writing a better brand guideline
Everyone has heard of the brand guideline. This thick brand bible defines every aspect of the brand usage and expression. But, few have taken the time to understand what this document is all about. To do that, we need a bit of context.
Brand guidelines are created to maintain and defend the brand identity of a company in the market. They are essential because they provide consistency in communication between marketing agencies and all other stakeholders. Brand guidelines are internal tools for employees who may not know what acceptable usage for your company's brand is.
Too often, brand guidelines focus on rules for formatting the company's communication and not on a fundamental understanding of the brand's purpose. This doesn't mean that rules are unimportant, but they should enhance communication, not get in the way of it.
The first thing we need to do is deconstruct a brand guideline by looking at these 3 elements:
What is it?
What does it do?
How does it work?
What is it?
Brand guidelines are a set of rules that govern brand usage. Design agencies, marketing departments, and internal communications teams use these rules to ensure consistency. They are not used to control creative expression or function as a crutch to communicate a brand idea. Instead, they are about establishing communication standards and effective ways of using the brand guidelines, such as templates for approved usage.
What does it do?
It defines what aspects of your company's image must be consistent across all communication channels (i.e. the full brand mark or just the logo) and who can build on the brand identity (the sub-branding strategy). It is also the best place to store your usage guidelines (how to use colours, typography, etc.), enabling everyone in your organisation to read a document that addresses how they can communicate with your brand identity.
This section of the brand guidelines serves as a guideline for all internal employees and partners who contact your company's communication efforts. It should be used as a training aid to establish proper usage of the brand throughout all company departments. It should also be used as a tool to provide consistency from marketing to every other department.
How does it work?
This is where the brand guidelines document does work. It should contain strict rules for how the brand can be used and change those rules when necessary. This is how your brand can grow, not how it should stay stagnant and only evolve from a word of mouth approach when necessary. It may be nitpicking, but the brand guideline directly affects your brand's overall perception in the market.
By observing the above, you can understand why companies are hesitant to create their brand guidelines. For some, it's a matter of pride and fear of those who might deny them their rightful place in the world. For others, there is no incentive or budget for it.
But a brand with a brand guideline is like trying to write a novel in a foreign language one do not understand. Your goal should be to have an autonomous brand and understood by everyone who comes into contact with it. To do that, you need to understand the brand guidelines and what they represent in your company's big picture. A brand that can speak for itself without being translated by you is already ahead of most in this market. And that's worth a few hours, maybe days, of your time.
Do not underestimate the benefit of well-designed brand guidelines. It will give your organisation better control over its identity and give it a more powerful impact in the market.
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Sudirwan Juhaimi specialises in writing brand guidelines that are usable and easily understandable by you. Our expertise lies in the area of standards for corporate communications, as well as ensuring that your communication is a positive and memorable experience. We can write brand guidelines or help you shape your brand. Contact us for more information on how he can help your business.