Brand Guidelines Template

What should a basic Brand Guidelines document include?

Brand Style Guides or Brand Books can be encyclopedic pieces of work. Or they can be as short as a few sections, especially if you have a budding brand with a single offering. Xtensio’s basic brand guidelines template includes the essentials to establish the minimum requirements to get your brand marketing, sales, and business development efforts off the ground. 

With this starter template, set the basics. Add graphics, visual references, and specifications as needed.

• THE CORE OF YOUR BRAND
  This section is all about your mission, vision, and core values. Keep it brief and authentic. If these notions are not quite clear yet, try completing Xtensio’s brand positioning canvas. Once you land on your brand positioning statement, this will be the mantra that will help guide all efforts that will have your brand name and mark on it. 

• LOGO
  The unique and original graphic mark identifies your brand and is used consistently to reinforce brand recognition in all consumer and business-facing materials. Post your main logo lock up and the few common use cases of a logo, such as seen on a light background vs. dark background. Add a button in this section with a link to download all logo assets from your Creative Cloud, Dropbox, GDrive or other file repository system.

• TYPOGRAPHY
  The choice of fonts is an extension of your brand presence. Use websafe fonts when you can because they will look good on all devices, and because it’s good user experience practice. Websafe fonts are not stored locally, so your web pages load faster which improves site performance. On Xtensio, go to your Style Guide settings to pick among Google fonts or upload your own.

• COLORS
  Consistent use of brand colors reinforces brand visibility and recognition. What is the one iconic color that sets you apart? This is your primary color. Give it a name. Every other color is secondary and should be used sparingly. On Xtensio, go to your Style Guide settings to add colors to your palette.

• MOOD BOARD
  Use this section for any additional reference that is relevant. Whether it’s for photography, copywriting, or web design. Populate your Mood Board separately on Xtensio, then copy it to your brand guidelines with one click.

• BRAND VOICE
  Determine the personality of your brand and the tone in which it will address its audience. Just like a person. This section will help determine the writing style. 

• LINKS TO BRAND PRESENCE
  The beauty of an online Brand Guideline is the ability to bring live digital features into it. Embed URLs, videos, podcasts. 

Each of these sections may grow as your brand grows. Each can lead to long pieces of documentation, examples, and references of their own. On Xtensio you have room to keep adding sections to each one of these elements. But note that too many specifications and rules may create confusion, and hinder the creative process. Sometimes the simplest reference points are the best guides to hit the target. You can also go more granular with style guides and brand guidelines. They can be used for more niche purposes such as guides dedicated to content marketing, or can be created for specific projects such as an awareness campaign or website redesign. We generated an array of editable style guide templates that address some use cases including those for non-profits, startups, and personal brands.

Now get started with Xtensio’s Basic Online Brand Guidelines.