Transform your brand identity approach - a good brand guideline is a giant step to success
When was the last time you study your brand guidelines?
If you work in brand marketing, the brand guidelines serve as your bible, ensuring that the entire organization, not just the sales and marketing teams, but also colleagues from Human Resources (nowadays referred to as Talent Rewards, Colleague Experience, etc.), present the brand consistently and appropriately to the outside world.
A brand guideline is a document that establishes the rules and standards for communicating your brand identity. While it does encompass elements like the logo, color palette, and typography for design purposes, it is essential to not overlook other crucial aspects that marketers often neglect, such as imagery, voice, and tone. In the earlier section, I mentioned treating a brand as a person. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a complete package that encompasses the person's appearance, thoughts, voice, and character.
A brand guideline helps create a consistent and recognizable brand image across all platforms and media, also known as touch points. It should encompass all five senses in how your brand imagery is delivered.
How to develop a brand identity guideline?
There are numerous templates available for developing your own brand guidelines. Regardless of your industry, target audience, or the types of products/services you sell, here are some basic considerations:
Create a simple and elegant brand guideline that explains the meaning and usage of the logo, colors, fonts, and illustrations.
Develop a playful and colorful brand guideline that showcases the logo, icons, typography, photography, and tone of voice.
Design a sleek and modern brand guideline that demonstrates the logo, color system, typography, motion, and sound.
When creating your own brand guideline, remember to delve deeper and:
Define your brand vision, values, and personality, utilizing the brand pyramid you should have developed while setting up your brand strategy.
Conduct research on your target audience, competitors, and industry trends. Use commonly understood language and avoid creating overly fancy terms that may sound sophisticated but confuse your audience.
Design your brand elements, including the logo, color palette, typography, and imagery.
Test your brand elements and materials with your audience and stakeholders.
Document your brand guidelines and share them with your team and partners.
Monitor and measure your brand performance and reputation, making adjustments as necessary.
MR EARL’s recommendations
One tip when developing your brand guideline is to avoid overdoing the examples. Marketing is all about creativity, so it's important to leave room for marketers to innovate within certain boundaries. Additionally, if your guideline is global and will be applied to different markets, consult with the local market teams first regarding the official language. This applies not only to the look and feel of your brand elements but also to sensitivity checks on topics like politics.
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