Table of Contents
Why is a design style guide important?
A design style guide is a factor in maintaining a consistent brand identity. It acts like a guide that helps the team who creates brand elements and other materials to maintain a consistent brand image.
It also helps eliminate any problems in the design process while helping save time and resources by following precise guidance and definitions.
• A well-designed style guide will encourage even those who do not have a design background to create on-brand materials, enhancing consistency.
What should you put into a brand style guide?
Add all the standard visual elements that make up your brand to the brand style guide:
- Logo Usage: Give instructions on how to apply logos, such as the placement and color alternatives, while highlighting what not to do.
- Color Palette: Establish primary and secondary brand colors and give the appropriate codes (hex, CMYK, and other variations, if applicable).
- Typography: Determine design styles for fonts and typefaces for headings, text body, and other components.
- Imagery: Provide guidelines for pictures and graphics, including style, tone, and themes.
- Voice and Tone: Provide the guidelines on how your brand communicates, its nature, mood, and language of choice.
Language policies: Is there room to use jargon? Are contractions acceptable? What’s the brand’s tone of voice?
Example phrases or taglines: Give clear examples of how the brand voice is in practice.
• Confirm that everyone who needs the style guide has effortless access to it.
How do you create a brand style guide?
When you work on the creation of a style guide, it is crucial to:
- Collect the existing brand assets;
- Brainstorm and define your brand personality;
- Set the rules that the team must follow.
What are some examples of effective design style guides?
Many famous companies have their style guides available to the public that showcase best practices:
- Apple: Features a clean and uncluttered look. Apple focuses on clarity and simplicity, which reflects its brand values of refinement and user-friendliness.
- Airbnb: Warm and friendly, showcasing people or community and using friendly language, building a sense of belonging.
- Mailchimp: Fun and unconventional, utilizing bright illustrations that showcase the brand’s character.
• Check the style guides of your industry to get insight into how to approach and solve specific problems.
• Clarity, brevity, and ease of usability are the hallmarks of the best style guides.
Conclusion
A design style guide is a vital element of your brand identity that must receive proper attention and dedication. The guide is a passive support where any communication, be it a website, social media posts, marketing materials, or product packaging, must embody the brand essence.
A good style guide is an excellent investment, as it gives your website consistency, provides team autonomy, eases the design process, and builds a uniform brand experience that connects with the target audience.
Embark on creating your style guide right now and enjoy the benefits of a coherent and powerful brand.
