IDENTITY

Brand Guidelines

We document the rules that define how your brand identity should be used, so your team, collaborators and suppliers can create new materials without reinventing how the brand should look every time.

Unified Systems

Brand Guidelines

brand style guidebrand guidelines designbrand identity guidelinesbrand standardsbrand standards guide

EUR 50 / hour

Request a brand guidelines estimate

Complementary products

Brand Strategy Logo Design Visual Identity Brand Messaging & Voice Website Design & Development Social Media Content Content Creation

brand guidelines / brand style guide / brand standards

It does not try to own the primary intent for:

Those are separate products with their own pages and search ownership.

01PRODUCT READER

First screen

Logo variants, colour, typography, imagery, composition and the other approved elements are organised into a clear system for practical use.

Once we review the existing identity and understand how detailed the guidelines need to be, we estimate the amount of work required.

CTA support text:

Show us the existing identity and tell us where it needs to be used. We define what needs to be documented and estimate the work required.

02PRODUCT READER

What problem does it solve?

A brand can have a good logo, colours and typography and still become inconsistent once several people, teams or suppliers start using it.

Without clear rules:

the logo may be resized or modified incorrectly;

colours may vary from one material to another;

typography may lose its hierarchy;

layouts may look completely different;

photography and graphic styles may become inconsistent;

every designer or supplier may interpret the identity differently;

new materials may stop looking like they belong to the same brand.

Brand Guidelines remove unnecessary interpretation.

They establish what is approved, how it should be used and what should be avoided.

03PRODUCT READER

What does the product do?

Brand Guidelines turn an already defined identity into a clear and usable set of rules.

We document:

which logo variants exist;

when each version should be used;

how the logo should be protected and sized;

which colours are approved;

how typography works;

how composition should be handled;

how imagery should be used;

which graphic elements belong to the system;

how the identity should adapt to different contexts;

which uses should be avoided.

The objective is simple:

The identity should still be used correctly even when the person creating the material is not the person who originally designed it.

04PRODUCT READER

What you receive

Depending on the complexity of the identity, the guidelines may include:

overview of the core identity elements;

approved logo versions;

logo usage rules;

clear space;

minimum sizes;

use on light and dark backgrounds;

incorrect logo usage;

colour palette;

relevant colour codes for digital and print;

typography system;

typographic roles and hierarchy;

composition principles;

imagery and photography rules;

supporting graphic-element rules;

iconography rules where applicable;

application examples;

digital-use examples;

social media examples;

document and presentation examples;

print examples where relevant;

correct / incorrect use examples;

final guidelines document organised for practical use.

If the identity contains specialised elements, their usage rules are included where necessary.

05PRODUCT READER

How we build the Brand Guidelines

1. We inventory the existing identity

We review the approved logos, colours, typography, graphic elements and other assets.

2. We understand where the brand will be used

We establish who will use the identity and in which environments: website, social media, advertising, presentations, documents, print or other materials.

3. We identify the decisions that need to be documented

We determine which rules are required to remove ambiguity and prevent recurring mistakes.

4. We document each component

We turn the existing identity into clear instructions for practical use.

5. We create relevant examples

We demonstrate how the rules apply in contexts that matter to the brand.

6. We define correct and incorrect use

We show both what should be done and what modifications or combinations should be avoided.

7. We organise the document for everyday use

The guidelines are structured so people can quickly find the rule they need.

06PRODUCT READER

What we need from you

To build the guidelines, we need the elements that must be documented.

These may include:

logo and all approved variants;

relevant source files;

colour palette;

typography and existing type rules;

existing visual identity;

graphic elements;

iconography;

photography direction;

examples of existing materials;

information about where the brand will be used;

any rules that have already been established.

If we created the identity, these elements already exist within the project and do not need to be prepared again by you.

If essential identity components are missing, we identify them before documenting the guidelines.

07PRODUCT READER

Frequently asked questions

How much do Brand Guidelines cost?

The service costs EUR 50 / hour.

The number of hours depends on the complexity of the identity and the level of documentation required.

Are Brand Guidelines, a Brand Style Guide and a Brand Manual the same thing?

These terms are frequently used for closely related documents that define how a brand identity should be applied consistently.

We use the product name Brand Guidelines.

Do Brand Guidelines include logo design?

No.

The guidelines document the existing logo and its usage rules.

If a new logo is required, it is created through the separate Logo Design product.

Do Brand Guidelines include Visual Identity?

No.

The Visual Identity must exist before it can be fully documented.

If it is missing, it can be developed through the separate Visual Identity product.

Which logo rules can be included?

Depending on the logo, the guidelines may document:

approved variants;

clear space;

minimum size;

permitted backgrounds;

monochrome versions;

proportions;

incorrect use.

Do the guidelines include colours and typography?

Yes, when these are part of the approved identity.

We document how they should be used.

Do they include tone of voice?

Not as a standard part of this product.

Tone of voice and brand messaging are defined through the separate Brand Messaging & Voice product.

If approved verbal rules already exist, the guidelines may reference them where useful.

Can I give the guidelines to another designer or supplier?

Yes.

That is one of their main purposes.

Another person should be able to understand quickly how the identity needs to be applied without recreating the rules.

08PRODUCT READER

Brand Guidelines do not create the identity

Brand Guidelines document elements that have already been defined and approved.

They do not replace:

Brand Strategy

Defines positioning, audience, value proposition and strategic direction.

Logo Design

Creates the primary visual mark.

Visual Identity

Creates the colour, typography, imagery and graphic system.

Brand Messaging & Voice

Defines the verbal system through which the brand communicates.

If these elements do not yet exist, they need to be created before or alongside the guidelines.

The guidelines should not quietly invent an incomplete identity while pretending only to document it.

09PRODUCT READER

Built for the people who will use the brand

Brand Guidelines are not created for the final branding presentation.

They are built for the people who need to use the identity afterwards.

Internal teams

They can quickly check how logos, colours, typography and other elements should be used.

Designers

They can create new materials without redefining the basic visual rules every time.

Marketing teams

They can apply the identity consistently across campaigns, presentations and content.

Social media teams

Recurring materials can remain coherent even when they are produced at different times.

Printers and production suppliers

They receive clear specifications and assets for production.

External partners

They can understand how the brand should be represented without unnecessary interpretation.

Good guidelines reduce repeated explanations and decisions made from scratch.

10PRODUCT READER

What should Brand Guidelines explain?

Useful guidelines answer practical questions.

Which logo should I use?

They document the primary version and all approved alternatives.

How much space should surround the logo?

They define the clear space required to preserve visibility and recognition.

How small can the logo be?

They establish the minimum size at which the logo remains usable.

Which backgrounds are allowed?

They show which versions should be used on light, dark or visually complex backgrounds.

Which colours should I use?

They define the approved palette and the relevant digital and print values.

Which fonts should I use?

They document approved typefaces, roles, weights and hierarchy.

How should a page or material be composed?

Composition principles can define relationships between space, text, imagery and graphic elements.

Which types of images fit the brand?

Imagery guidelines reduce inconsistency between materials created by different people.

What should never be changed?

Incorrect-use examples make it clear which transformations damage the identity.

11PRODUCT READER

Brand Guidelines vs Visual Identity

Visual Identity

Creates the system.

It defines colour, typography, imagery, graphic language and how these elements work together.

Brand Guidelines

Document the system.

They explain how the approved elements should be applied afterwards.

In simple terms:

Visual Identity creates the rules. Brand Guidelines make those rules easy to use.

12PRODUCT READER

Brand Guidelines vs Brand Messaging & Voice

This product focuses on the use of the visual identity.

If approved verbal rules already exist, they may be referenced where useful.

The actual definition of:

tone of voice;

writing style;

key messages;

vocabulary;

verbal communication rules

belongs to the separate Brand Messaging & Voice product.

This keeps two different services from being blended into one unclear deliverable.

13PRODUCT READER

How much do Brand Guidelines cost?

EUR 50 / hour

The total cost depends on the complexity of the identity and the level of documentation required.

The amount of work may be influenced by:

the number of logo variants;

complexity of the visual system;

the number of colours and associated rules;

typography complexity;

specialised graphic elements;

the number of contexts that need documentation;

the number of application examples;

multiple products, sub-brands or business lines;

the level of detail required by internal teams and external suppliers.

Once we review the existing identity, we estimate the required number of hours.

14PRODUCT READER

Brand Guidelines as an individual product or part of a System

Brand Guidelines can be purchased independently when the identity already exists and needs to be documented.

They can also be part of a wider System, for example:

Brand Strategy;

Logo Design;

Visual Identity;

Brand Guidelines;

Website Design & Development;

Content;

Social Media.

When the identity and guidelines are developed together, many of the rules that need documenting have already been defined during the same process.

Because of this, the cost of the component inside a System may differ from purchasing it completely independently.

The exact cost is established once the System configuration is defined.

15PRODUCT READER

How long does it take?

The timeframe depends on how complex the system is and how much documentation is required.

A brand with one logo, a simple palette and a small number of rules requires less time than a system with multiple variants, graphic components, applications and usage contexts.

The timeframe is estimated together with the required number of hours after we review the existing assets and documentation requirements.

Brand Guidelines

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