Branding by the Book: What Is a Brand Book and Why Do Companies Need One?

A brand book (also known as a brand guide or brand style guide) is a comprehensive document detailing your company’s corporate identity: the visual elements and style of your brand, as well as your purpose, personality, and values. This guidebook can be shared with employees, partners, and contractors to maintain brand consistency across all communication channels.

What is included in a brand book?

1. Brand story

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This introduction to and foundation for the rest of the brand book provides a short, meaningful summary of your company's unique history.

2. Mission, vision & values

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This section establishes your company's purpose and long-term goals, as well as what you stand for.

3. Company tagline

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A company tagline positions your company in the market with a short, memorable line representing your brand as a whole and showcasing what makes it unique.

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4. Tone of voice

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Defining your tone of voice will help you reach your desired target audience. Think about how you want customers to feel when interacting with your company. This must reflect your brand’s personality.

5. Logo guidelines

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This part of your brand book contains all the different logo variations as well as when and how to use them. This can include size, placement, clear space, and correct colour usage instructions.

6. Brand colour palette

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Here, the CMYK, RGB, HEX and pantone colour codes for each use case, whether print or digital, are listed.

7. Brand typography

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The different typefaces used by your brand must be communicated. This often includes the logo, primary, and secondary typeface.

8. Imagery

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This section presents the overall look and feel of your brand through imagery. This would include examples of the type of photographs and graphics that should be used, specifying the unique style and mood. This helps to create a more cohesive visual identity for your brand.

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Why your company needs a brand book

1. Consistency

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A brand book serves as a professional, comprehensive document that all company stakeholders can refer to, ensuring that your brand maintains a cohesive visual and language style across all communication channels.

2. Efficiency

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Having a brand book with clear guidelines improves collaboration. It will save your company time to have everything in one place and many of the vital branding decisions already made.

3. Establishing trust

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Inconsistent branding may confuse customers, making them sceptical of your company. Conversely, if the guidelines in your brand book are followed, it ensures a professional, consistent brand image that customers feel they can trust.

4. Building brand recognition

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Maintaining a consistent brand identity with a brand book will ensure that customers can immediately recognise your brand in any form of communication – and being visible is the point of marketing.

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And there you have it: the brand book – your brand’s trusted style guru, keeping everything from your logo to your lingo in sync. Next time you see a brand looking effortlessly cool and cohesive, remember that there is probably a brand book working its magic behind the scenes.

At Pathfind Media, we can write a book on branding. Literally. Contact us today to create your brand book and keep your company’s identity consistent, clear, and beautiful across all platforms.