Brand guidelines

What brand guidelines are for

Brand guidelines, sometimes called a brand book, are the instructions that come with your brand. They answer the questions people ask every time they make something with your logo on it: which version do I use here, what is the exact blue, which font goes in the headline, can I put the logo on a photo, how do we sign off emails. Without written answers, each person guesses differently, and over a year or two the brand drifts into a dozen slightly different versions.

For a small business, the goal is not a glossy book for the shelf. It is a practical tool that a new employee, a print shop or a freelance designer can use in ten minutes and get right.

Short, visual, specific

The guidelines I prepare follow three principles:

1. Short. Only what people need for the materials they actually create.
2. Visual. Every rule has an example, and the most common mistakes are shown next to the correct version.
3. Specific. Exact colour codes, exact font sizes, exact clear space, not "use generous spacing".

A useful test: could someone who has never met you make an on-brand Instagram post and a price list using only this guide and the templates? If yes, the guide works.

Tone of voice is part of the brand

How you write matters as much as how you look. Do you say "Hi" or "Dear customer"? Do you use humour? How do you answer a complaint? I include a tone of voice section with a few principles and many examples: a social post, a reply to a review, a quote email, a website heading. This is especially helpful when several people answer messages or post on your behalf. If you want the same voice carried into your website and ads, it ties directly into copywriting.

When guidelines matter most

• Multiple locations or franchises. Each location makes its own posts and signs; the guide keeps them aligned. A multi-location website benefits from the same rules.
• Growing teams. New staff learn the brand in an afternoon instead of by trial and error.
• Outside suppliers. Printers, sign makers, vehicle wrappers and freelancers get one reference.
• After a rebrand. The guide is how a rebranding actually sticks.
• Quebec signage and packaging. French versions are required there. The guide I write is in English, so the French text and any French-language rules come from your own team or translator.

PDF plus a living web page

I deliver the guidelines as a PDF for suppliers and as a simple web page for your team. The web version can link to the logo files, fonts and templates, and it is easy to update when you add a service or change a detail. That matters: guidelines that are never updated quickly become guidelines nobody trusts.

Building on the identity

Guidelines document an existing identity. If your colours, fonts and logo versions are not yet settled, the first step is a visual identity; the guide follows naturally. If everything exists but is scattered across old files, I gather it, resolve contradictions and fill the gaps.

To make sure the guide is actually used, I can run a short session with your team. It covers where to find files and templates, the most common mistakes, and who to ask when something is unclear. For broader skills, marketing training for teams is available too.

How it is delivered

Brand guidelines are written and designed with a trusted partner. I lead the content, review every rule against how your marketing really works, and manage the contract and deadlines. Three rounds of revisions are included, and all files are yours to edit and share.