Start with the people who will use the guide
Before choosing a page count, list who produces brand material: staff, freelancers, web developers, printers, sales teams or partner organisations. Then identify the mistakes or repeated questions they need to avoid. A small team may need a short reference sheet; a business with several products and suppliers may need more context and examples.
Business.gov.uk recommends formalising the brand personality and visual identity in guidelines, with guidance on values, logo use, colours, applications and messaging. It also advises asking a professional designer to include guidelines in their package. Treat that as a starting point, not a fixed specification: the guide should fit the decisions and applications the team actually controls.
Cover the identity assets people need to reproduce
Show the confirmed logo versions, minimum sizes, plain space, background treatment and examples of incorrect alteration. Name the colour values required for digital and print use. Identify typefaces, weights, licence limits and fallbacks. Explain how images, illustration, icons and graphic devices should support the identity rather than compete with it.
Include files people can use, not only screenshots of the correct treatment. A guideline cannot solve a missing licence or an inaccessible file. Pair the document with an organised asset package and say which file is intended for which use.
- Logo variants and safe use
- Colour and type specifications
- Image and graphic direction
- Digital and print asset locations
- Licensing and supplier constraints
Show contributors what a useful rule looks like
A compact guide can still work as a practical contents page: start with the audience, brand purpose and decision owner; show the confirmed identity assets and where to get them; explain colour, typography, imagery and voice; then include examples for the channels the team uses. Add a version date and a contact route for questions. Keep the order close to the tasks people perform, so they can find a rule while making something.
To make the index easy to copy, use four columns: section, decision to document, owner and applicable channels. Start with only the recurring decisions people need to make, then remove rows that do not apply to the business.
For a clearly fictional café, an applied logo rule might read: ‘Use the dark wordmark on a pale background. Use the supplied white version on the confirmed dark colour. Do not recolour, stretch or place either version over a photograph; ask the brand owner if the application does not match an example.’ Show the correct files and one correct and incorrect placement beside the rule. This example is a teaching device, not a recommendation for any existing business.
- Logo — confirmed versions, safe area and backgrounds — brand owner — web, social and print
- Typography — confirmed typefaces, fallbacks and licence limits — brand owner — web and templates
- Imagery — subject, crop and text-alternative decisions — content owner — web and social
- Voice — terminology and supported claims — marketing owner — web, proposals and email
- Rule: what to do, in plain language; example: where it applies; owner: who can approve an exception; asset: the current file or template
Add verbal guidance if the business needs consistent writing
A visual guide does not automatically tell a team how to describe the offer. If several people write web pages, proposals, emails or campaigns, include audience context, message priorities, tone principles and examples. State terms the business uses consistently and any wording that could mislead or overstate its detail.
Use examples that show how a principle changes the copy. ‘Be plain’ is too abstract on its own. Show a vague sentence, a easier to understand version and the reason for the change. Keep sample claims factual; do not introduce testimonials or results simply to make the guide persuasive.
Document recurring applications and edge cases
The most useful pages are often the ones that answer what contributors will encounter: how the identity appears on a mobile screen, a partner logo lock-up, a slide cover, a social tile or a monochrome print. Include only applications relevant to the business. If a treatment has not been designed or confirmed, label it as a future decision rather than presenting a mock-up as a rule.
Accessibility belongs in the application guidance. Point web contributors to the relevant WCAG 2.2 criteria for the page, including checks for text contrast, text resizing and motion, and use W3C's image guidance to distinguish informative, decorative and functional images. The exact checks depend on the content and the chosen conformance target. A brand guide can direct people to them, but it cannot prove that a finished website or product conforms.
Make ownership and updates explicit
Name the person who approves identity changes and the team that maintains the current files. Add a version number, date and a short change note. Give contributors a route for requesting a variation when the guide does not answer their situation. Without an owner, different suppliers may save conflicting versions and treat each as final.
Set a review trigger rather than an arbitrary annual rewrite. A new service, product, market, legal name or channel may expose a genuine gap. Minor copy updates may not require a full identity review. The owner can decide which changes affect the system and which are normal content work.
Test the guidelines before calling them complete
Give a new contributor a realistic task and the proposed files. Ask them to prepare one application without live coaching. Note where they hesitate, misread the rules or cannot find an asset. Update the guide where a recurring ambiguity appears. This is a practical usability check, not a customer survey or supporting detail of brand impact.
Keep the final package connected to the design and content systems where it will be used. If the website components, templates and logo files are stored in different places, state which copy is authoritative. The goal is a working reference that reduces repeat decisions, not a long presentation that nobody opens.