How to Create a Style Guide
Written by Author on August 2nd, 2010How many times have you mailed business cards to print and received yet another version of your corporate colour? Ever been delighted to see your advert in the latest newspaper and then recognized that the crucial tag line is missing or your logo has been squashed.
There is only one way to avoid this from happening and that is to set up a style guide. Not only will a style guide aid you oversee the reproduction of your logo – it will also help you strengthen 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 : Outline the audience for your Style Guide. Is this for staff to put to work in-house or is this for suppliers and contractors to refer to?
Step 2 : Mark what your output uses are. This is important because you will need 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 needcopy 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 : Insure you layout all the design templates so it is clear how and where the logo and branding lies on all the different pieces of collateral that may be reprinted.
Step 5 : Make certain to include any contributing logos or logos of business that are associated with you. It’s also important that you mail a copy of the layout to these companies to guarantee they approve 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 : Insure that when suppliers are using the Style Guide they apprehend that a proof needs to be commissionedto you to be confirmed as correct.
Get your Style Guide finished and as established 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.
