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Brand Book
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A brand book is best used for corporate branding or organisational branding. It helps in setting up guidelines as to how the imagery will be translated. Also eases implementation on collaterals and further web developments.
Timeline: 5 - 10 weeks
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Client / brand brief : 3 days - 1 week
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First draft ( Brand Styling) : 3 days - 1 week
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Second draft: 2 - 3 weeks
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Client review: 3 days - 1 week
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Final handover: 1 week
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Number of pages: 30 - 25
Estimated price: on assessment
Includes:
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Design story in visual elements based on the outline of the brand story, ethos and purpose/mission. Design guidelines and brand tone setting and implementation guidelines. Should your brand always be speaking in a lively, fun, and energetic way? What about sophisticated, elegant, and stylish? Or perhaps bold, creative and rambunctious?
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Brand logos and tag-lines with versions or variations and guidelines of use such as logo space requirements: will you require padding around your logo for certain uses? For instance, if the logo should always be surrounded by one inch of clear space on the packaging or other collaterals
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Typography and font pairing, meaning hierarchy and context. Including a list of the main fonts or typefaces associated with your brand as well as any secondary fonts that can be used for headlines and body copy. This will include detailed meaning and descriptions of the font. Also, how it will impact their use and variations if required and direction on if or when you use all caps or only lowercase
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Colour palette including primary, secondary, tertiary, accent and background colours and if and where required textures. Exact colours used in your logo including colour names and codes for different uses such as CMYK, HEX, and RGB. Supporting colours that can be used to add variety or interest for other components like text, lines, or other assets and collaterals.
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Guidelines of image use and their coordination with design elements and examples of images to be used.
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Brand language and communication style (for example, formal or informal, appealing the emotions of the audience, or cool and withdrawn). Grammar: will you require an oxford comma in your content? Should bullet points always have punctuation? We get specifics about what you expect from your copywriters.
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Icons and charts, basic style guide.
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Communication guidelines for post, emails, flyers and newsletters. Social media guidelines and rules.
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Unacceptable uses: It's important to show examples of what not to do with your logo and other design elements including what colours not to use.
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Examples of use: show instances of your logo, colours, and fonts applied to 15 collaterals like business cards, advertising, packaging, T-shirts, and anything specific to your brand.
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Any other requested ad-on.
So, now you’ve heard about brand books, but still not sure where to begin in creating yours? Or maybe you’re wondering whether it’s worth having one at all and whether it can truly bring value to your company?
Don't worry, we’ll cover all the essential components of a successful brand manual and discuss how to create and design your brand book, including features such as the colour palette and logo, as well as communicational and informational elements, which are centred around the brand identity and voice.
In order to give you the best illustration of how these should be executed, in our strategy we’ve incorporated the most notable examples from giant global companies, as well as smaller-scale brands that have done it best.
What Is a Brand Book?
Put simply, a brand book (or brand guide) is an outline of your brand’s mission, image and core values. Above all else, it is the brand’s very identity, a DNA blueprint with layers upon layers of details, from the more general – such as brand purpose – to the more intricate nuances, such as specifics regarding the colour scheme and fonts.
With all of these elements combined, a comprehensive brand manual is born, providing staff and customers with a clear vision of the company and its product. Every big-name brand has a brand book, from Apple, to Google, to Coca-Cola, but even smaller-scale brands benefit from having one.
Classic
Elegant
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Does Your Brand Need a
Brand Book?
Absolutely! No matter how big or small your company, a brand book will help to keep things structured for colleagues, and portray the most complete and personal image of the brand to the client.
The brand book keeps things clear for designers, whether they’ve just joined the company or have worked there for years, and allows them to refer to the nitty-gritty of the fonts, colours, logos when designing the website or creating any extra style elements.
Furthermore, It helps the marketing team understand what language needs to be used, when and how, as well as the story that the brand needs to tell.
Finally, it creates a connection with the customer, creating the most detailed and coherent image of the brand, reminding them that it is living, dynamic, developing entity, with its own personality and voice.
Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks expressed this idea most succinctly:
“If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand”
Your brand book is the best way to reach out to customers and show them that they do, in fact, hold the same values and principles dear. It is also a way to establish a common visual and verbal language for everyone that comes into contact with your brand – in their 2017 brand guidelines, Unicef highlight that their brand book is an essential tool, an inextricable component of all communication.
How much time does it take to create a brand book?
An elaborate brand book will take a minimum of three to four week for the first draft and additional changes take a couple of weeks more. Rest assured that with the establishment of this brand book you can create any collaterals thoroughly and in a coherent and comprehensive manner.
A brand book with future projections and guidelines will make it easier for you and your co-workers to manage your brand hassle-free for years to come.