Let SUURV Turn Up the Volume on Your Brand.

So, you've put a lot of effort into designing your logo, crafting your message, building a website, and creating promotional materials. This is a Herculean task by any definition. However, if you don’t have branding guidelines, none of this will remain consistent over time. For example, imagine MacDonald’s Golden Arches appearing in slightly different shades of yellow all over the world. The reason this doesn’t happen is because they have strict guidelines on how their brand is deployed.

How Do Branding Guidelines Work?

Simply stated, they are a set of rules and instructions on how to use all the aspects of your creative brand on any platform. Anyone on your team or outside your organization will have the tools they need to maintain consistency and continuity across your market. The guidelines themselves are usually spelled out in a PDF document. It explains how your brand functions in the marketplace and how its many components come together to create your brand identity.

What Are Brand Guidelines Composed Of?

At a minimum, brand guidelines incorporate these three components:

• The color scheme you've chosen for your company.
• The various fonts and font families that are connected to your brand's typography.
• The many iterations of your logo design and their intended uses.

In addition, there may be other elements spelled out in the guidelines depending on the business:

• Graphic assets: images other than your logo
• Symbols: bullet points, icons, special characters
• Wordmarks: in cases where the logo is a word… as in Google.
• If your brand has a defined tone of voice for its communications and content, it is also included.

Are Branding Guidelines Really Necessary?

You may be asking, “Why do I need a set of standards on how to use my brand? Honestly, it boils down to how dependent your business success is to the strength of your brand… and we define “brand” here in the broadest sense. From SUURV’s experience, it’s a rare situation where branding doesn’t matter much. On the other hand, a lack of success is often the result of poor branding.

In practice, branding guidelines can be utilized as a tool to maintain brand coherence. No matter how big or small your business is, having a set of branding guidelines can strengthen your culture and keep it on a firm foundation.

Breaking News! Sloppy brands don’t inspire confidence in the marketplace. But they do the following things well:

• Protecting Brand Integrity
• Providing Guard Rails and Standards
• Giving Tools to Those Who Promote Your Brand
• Reducing Confusion

Who Can Provide You with Branding Guidelines?

We’re very glad that you’ve asked this question. The ideal time to get started is whenever you realize it would be beneficial to your organization. Whether you are just starting to grow your business or are well-established, SUURV can help.

One of our core values is to help you succeed, so we put in the extra effort. Let's talk more about this. Please call (210) 874-5900 or fill out our contact form by clicking here.

Dig deeper: What Are the Key Elements of Branding Guidelines And Why Your Business Needs Them, and Amplify Your Brand Authority in 2024: Key Strategies.