Why a Style Guide is Important

Hello again,

Thank you so much for staying tuned in to our blog.  This week we’re going to discuss why it is important for any business to have a style guide.  Not only is it important for a business to have one to for themselves to maintain their brand identity, but when working with a third party, such as ourselves, it lets us know the information that we need in order to produce what is asked.

What is a style guide you might ask?

A style guide is your brand’s identity – it consists of the key elements below:

·      Color Schemes

·      Font

·      Logo

·      General Guidelines

To be more specific, here is more information on what you should include in your style guide:

Color Schemes

Color Schemes are the combinations that your business uses.  To ensure that the colors are true to what your vision is, you should choose these colors and provide as much detail as possible. 

First, choose the colors in standard pantone codes and HEX (CMYK) codes.  This way any third party producing marketing or packaging for you will be able to get the closest match.

Next, state in which combination you’re willing to use.  If it’s a black background (common with banners) then what color font?  What about vice versa?  If it’s a colored background, what color text then?  Being as specific as possible here, will prevent back and forth later on.  Try to think of as many instances as possible.

Pantone color books link below:

http://rgb.to/pantone/coated/page/1

Pantone to HEX (CMYK) conversion link below:

http://goffgrafix.com/pantone-rgb-100.php

Font

What font or fonts does your company use?  This can be a standard font or your own personal font.  It’s essential you provide this information and also what context to use them in.  Is everything going to be uppercase or lowercase?  Is the case of your font going to be a signature of the brand and where does it apply?  It’s very important to provide as many instances as possible because this can affect things from your business card to your website.

Logo

Your logo may seem simple, but it may not work for every circumstance.  For example, if your logo is rectangular, it may not work if the work space is a square?  It’s best to anticipate these possibilities and have rules set into place ahead of time to guarantee that your brand is reflected how you want it to be.

General Guidelines

This is where you indicate how things should appear.  Is everything on your website going to be on a template?  If so, what does the template look like?  Is there a specific place you want your logo to be placed at all times?  If you’re selling product, in what order do you want things to appear and in what scale? 

You may not know everything at first, but as your business grows, keep your style guide as a living document and input the circumstances that you experience into them.  Remember that your style guide is the basis for your brand identity and providing one is essential to look your best.

Thank you for reading.

Please feel free to provide any comments or questions.