What is a Brand Style Guide?

I was going to start this by saying that I don’t like being a bubble-burster.

But when that bubble perpetuates racking up business expenses with little return on investment, feeling lost even when you’ve hired all the right “experts” and going around in that circle without a clue how to get out…well, I’m happy to pop that bubble for you.

Here’s the thing: We often think of branding as three things: a logo, a color palette, and a list of fonts. But then we find ourselves STUCK when we have to go make a Facebook ad or a webinar presentation because we have NO direction on how to use these things together. So that brand you paid good money for? It’s not pulling its weight. That style guide you were given? It’s not a style guide, it’s a glorified list of color swatches and typefaces.

What other brand designers mean when they say you’ll be getting a “Style Guide:”

What a Style Guide actually is:

A style guide is a giant brand document that outlines all the rules and formulas you need to create content. It covers your logo, your colors, your fonts, yes, but it also covers how to use them together, patterns, icons, graphics, language, photography, and MORE.

If you’ve ever struggled using the “brand” you’ve been given, the solution isn’t a rebrand—it’s asking your brand and your designer to do more for you and expanding on what you already have!

Want guidance on doing this yourself? Try the Balanced Brand Lab Kit, a course created to help you develop your own brand style guide.