What should you include in your brand guidelines?

Creating brand guidelines sounds straightforward until you actually sit down to do it.

What starts as a simple document can quickly become a sprawling mess of specifications, or worse, a thin pamphlet that nobody refers to because it does not answer the questions people actually have.

Key takeaway: Brand guidelines should include your logo usage rules, colour palette with codes, typography system, tone of voice framework, and real-world application examples across print and digital materials to ensure consistent, professional brand representation.

After 25 years of creating brand guidelines for organisations ranging from the NHS to Sainsbury’s, we have learned what makes the difference between guidelines that gather dust and those that genuinely get used. This article walks you through exactly what to include in your brand guidelines so your brand stays consistent without requiring a design degree to interpret.

Why do comprehensive brand guidelines matter for your business?

Brand guidelines exist to solve a practical problem. Every time someone creates something for your business, whether that is a social media post, a printed flyer, or a PowerPoint presentation, they need to make decisions about logos, colours, fonts, and messaging. Without guidelines, everyone makes those decisions differently.

The result is inconsistency. Your website says one thing, your brochures look different, and your business cards use the wrong shade of blue. This erodes trust with customers who subconsciously notice when something feels off.

Good brand guidelines reduce this friction. They answer questions before they are asked, which means fewer rounds of revisions and less time spent explaining why someone cannot stretch the logo or use that particular shade of green they found online.

For enterprise clients like Gatwick Airport, guidelines need to cover complex scenarios across multiple departments and external suppliers. For smaller businesses, the principles are the same but scaled appropriately. The goal is always the same: make it easy for anyone to represent your brand correctly.

Core visual identity elements every brand guide needs

At minimum, your brand guidelines should document the following visual elements:

• Primary and secondary logo versions
• Clear space requirements around your logo
• Minimum size specifications for print and digital
• Colour palette with exact codes for print and screen
• Primary and secondary typefaces
• Photography style and image treatment
• Graphic elements, patterns, or icons if applicable

Each of these elements needs enough detail to be useful without becoming overwhelming. The test is simple: could someone who has never worked with your brand before create something consistent using only these guidelines?

If you are unsure whether you need brand guidelines at all, our article on what are brand guidelines explains the fundamentals and when they become necessary.

Logo usage rules: specifications that prevent costly mistakes

Logo misuse is the most common brand consistency problem. People stretch logos, place them on busy backgrounds, change colours, or shrink them until they become illegible.

Your guidelines should include:

• The primary logo and any approved variations such as horizontal, stacked, or icon-only versions
• Minimum clear space, usually expressed as a proportion of the logo itself
• Minimum reproduction sizes for print in millimetres and digital in pixels
• Approved colour versions including full colour, single colour, reversed, and monochrome
• Background rules showing what the logo can and cannot sit on
• A clear list of what not to do, with visual examples

The misuse examples are particularly important. Show the logo stretched, rotated, recoloured, and placed on clashing backgrounds. These visual warnings prevent problems far more effectively than written instructions alone.

Typography and colour systems that scale across applications

Colour and typography create the visual consistency that makes your brand recognisable. Both need precise specifications.

For colours, include:

• Pantone references for spot colour printing
• CMYK values for full colour printing
• RGB values for screen applications
• Hex codes for web and digital use
• Primary and secondary palette with usage guidance

The Pantone Matching System remains the industry standard for precise colour communication, particularly when working with external print suppliers.

For typography, specify:

• Primary typeface for headlines
• Secondary typeface for body copy
• Web-safe alternatives if your primary fonts are not available digitally
• Hierarchy examples showing how different weights and sizes work together
• Licensing information so people know where to obtain the fonts

Include practical examples showing your typography in use across different applications. A heading style that looks elegant in a brochure might not work on a small business card, so show how the system flexes.

Tone of voice and messaging frameworks

Visual consistency means nothing if your written communication varies wildly. Tone of voice guidelines ensure your brand sounds like itself whether someone is writing a tweet or a formal proposal.

Document the following:

• Your brand personality traits, typically three to five characteristics
• Words and phrases to use
• Words and phrases to avoid
• Writing style preferences such as active versus passive voice, formality level, and sentence length
• Examples of on-brand and off-brand copy

For a deeper exploration of this topic, our guide to brand tone of voice covers how to define and document it properly.

The best tone of voice guidelines include before and after examples. Show a piece of generic copy transformed into on-brand messaging so people understand not just the rules but the intent behind them.

Application examples: from stationery to digital assets

Rules without context are hard to follow. Your guidelines should show your brand elements in real applications.

Common examples include:

• Business stationery such as letterheads, business cards, and compliment slips
• Pocket folders and presentation materials
• Social media templates and profile images
• Email signatures
• Signage and wayfinding
• Packaging if applicable
• Vehicle livery
• Exhibition and event materials

These examples serve a dual purpose. They show how the brand system works in practice and they provide templates that people can reference or adapt for new projects.

The level of detail here depends on your organisation. A multinational needs separate sections for each application. A small business might cover everything essential in a few pages.

How we structure brand guidelines after 25 years of projects

Working directly with designers rather than through account managers means details do not get lost in translation. When we create brand guidelines, the same people who designed your identity also document it. This matters because brand guidelines require nuanced judgment about what to include and how to explain it.

Our typical structure follows this order:

• Introduction and brand story
• Logo and visual identity
• Colour system
• Typography
• Photography and imagery
• Tone of voice
• Application examples
• Contact information for brand queries

For clients undergoing a rebrand, the guidelines document becomes a critical deliverable. It captures every decision made during the project so nothing is lost when the creative team moves on.

We also consider environmental factors. Where possible, we include sustainable print specifications and digital-first approaches that align with our Ecologi membership and commitment to environmental responsibility. This might mean specifying recycled paper stocks or recommending digital alternatives to printed materials.

Keeping your guidelines practical and usable

The most comprehensive brand guidelines in the world are useless if nobody reads them. We have seen organisations with 200-page brand bibles that nobody consults because finding anything takes too long.

Make your guidelines practical by:

• Keeping the core document concise and adding appendices for specialist applications
• Using clear visual examples rather than long text explanations
• Providing downloadable assets including logo files, colour swatches, and templates
• Creating a quick reference version for everyday use
• Making the document searchable if delivered digitally
• Updating the guidelines when your brand evolves rather than letting them become outdated

The silent value of a strong style guide lies in its everyday usefulness. When people can find what they need quickly, they use the guidelines. When they cannot, they guess.

For organisations that need ongoing design support, our branding workshops can help teams understand and apply guidelines effectively. This is particularly valuable during a brand launch or when onboarding new team members.

What gets missed in most brand guidelines?

Based on projects where we have inherited incomplete guidelines, these are the most commonly overlooked elements:

• Co-branding rules for partnerships and sponsorships
• Social media specific guidance
• PowerPoint and presentation templates
• Email signature standards
• Merchandise applications
• Video and animation guidelines
• Accessibility requirements such as colour contrast ratios

Think about every situation where your brand appears and ensure your guidelines address it. If you find yourself repeatedly answering the same questions from colleagues or suppliers, that is a sign your guidelines need expanding.

Frequently asked questions about what to include in your brand guidelines

How many pages should brand guidelines be?

There is no correct length. A small business might need 10 to 15 pages covering essentials. Enterprise organisations often require 50 pages or more with detailed specifications for complex applications. Focus on completeness rather than hitting a page count.

Should brand guidelines be printed or digital?

Digital formats work best for most organisations because they can include downloadable assets, are searchable, and are easy to update. However, a printed summary version can be useful for quick reference during meetings or for suppliers who prefer physical documents.

How often should brand guidelines be updated?

Review your guidelines annually at minimum. Update them whenever you add new brand elements, enter new markets, or find that existing specifications no longer work. Outdated guidelines are worse than no guidelines because they create confusion.

Who should have access to brand guidelines?

Anyone who creates materials for your brand needs access. This includes internal teams, external agencies, freelancers, print suppliers, and partners. Some organisations create a public-facing summary with a more detailed internal version.

Can I create brand guidelines myself?

If you have design knowledge and understand your brand thoroughly, you can create basic guidelines. However, working with a professional designer ensures nothing important is missed and that specifications are technically accurate for print and digital production.

What file formats should logo assets be provided in?

Provide vector formats such as AI, EPS, and SVG for scalable use, plus high resolution PNG files with transparent backgrounds for digital applications. Include both RGB versions for screen and CMYK versions for print. A PDF master file is also useful for viewing.