The importance of a style guide

How each piece of a company’s visual identity works together to effectively communicate the brand’s essence is important. Good graphic designers don’t begin concepting in isolation. When designing a logo, for example, we take into consideration a client’s company mission, brand personality and message. We think about how the brand’s logo, colors and typography will be used across all channels in print (business card, letterhead, ads) and online (website, e-newsletter, social media).

To ensure brand consistency, we create a style guide. Style guides outline a set of brand standards that govern how your brand – and its marks – are used to maintain their proper look and feel. Take a look at the “Importance of a Style Guide” infographic.

 
 
Check out a few examples of style guides (aka brand standard manuals):

• Google
• Hanes
• Jamie Oliver
• Twitter
• Walmart