How to Create a Style Guide
How many times have you dispatched business cards to print and picked up yet another version of your corporate colour? Ever been thrilled to see your advert in the latest newspaper and then caught that the crucial tag line is gone or your logo has been squashed.
There is only one way to avoid this from happening and that is to create a style guide. Not only will a style guide assist you conduct the reproduction of your logo - it will also help you reinforce your brand recognition – which many argue is one of the strongest selling tools.
We have placed the below steps together for you as a starting point.
Step 1 : Mark the audience for your Style Guide. Is this for staff to utilize in-house or is this for suppliers and contractors to refer to?
Step 2 : Outline what your output uses are. This is important because you will want different logos and file formats for example, black and white publication adverts in comparison to vehicle graphics.
Step 3 : Define the tone for the copy and content required. For example you may wantcopy rules for printed content and then copy rules for website content.
Content rules cover all punctuation rules and how to refer to the business and team.
Step 4 : Make sure you layout all the design templates so it is clear how and where the logo and branding sits on all the different pieces of collateral that may be repeated.
Step 5 : Make certain to take into account any contributing logos or logos of business that are correlated with you. It’s also important that you deliver a copy of the layout to these companies to ensure they agree with the layout of their logo as they too may have their own Style Guide and hierarchy layout rules.
Step 6 : Assure that grammar, spelling and contact details are correct.
Step 7 : Assure that when suppliers are using the Style Guide they understand~know~discern~apprehend} that a proof needs to be dispatched~sent~mailed~commissioned}to you to be approved as correct.
Have your Style Guide finished and as secure as possible. Then have it saved in an email friendly file format and have a couple printed. Once this is done we strongly suggest a training session – whereby your design studio comes in and trains your staff on how to utilize the Style Guide and most importantly your brand.
For graphic design Brisbane, logo design Brisbane and web design Brisbane, contact Bydaughters today. We help your brand build business.
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