A Beginner’s Guide to Creating a Style Guide

A style guide is a set of standards designed by you and your company that will enforce specific elements of your brand, including voice of content, colors, fonts, and other design elements. Essentially, it will ensure that your brand is consistent in its messaging across the board.

Although a style guide can be time consuming to create, you will be thankful that you have one because it will make your life a million times easier down the road. Ideally, when you are at the point of creating a style guide, you have already decided on a logo, colors, fonts, etc.

Here are the essential elements you’ll want to include when creating a style guide:

Overview of the company – Give a brief description of who you are, what you do, and your history.

Voice – Explain your brand personality and the voice that you want your messaging to have.

Fonts – List your main font and your secondary font (if applicable) that are either part of your logo, or are the fonts you use to represent your brand in print and design materials.

Colors – Show your color palette—give the exact pantone colors of your brand so you are sure that every time you create something the colors are cohesive.

Logo Placement and Size – Give some examples of different sizes and placements for your logo that are acceptable. For example, you may wish to specify if you want a certain amount of padding around your logo, or if you don’t want it to be scaled so small that it’s hard to read.

Imagery – This is where you would show specifically what kinds of images and icons you use to represent your brand.

Do’s and Don’ts – Show a few examples of what is acceptable and what is not, including fonts, colors, and logo treatments.

Once you’ve created a detailed style guide for your brand, you’ll be better equipped to represent your brand consistently and effectively. This helps validate your organization and build credibility among your customers, which is always worth the effort put into a style guide.