- What is a Brand Guidelines Document?
- Brand Coherence
- Logo Design
- Emotional Impact
- Identity Protection and Projection
- Hosting Your Brand Guidelines PDF
- Tiiny.host’s Advanced Professional Features
- FAQ: Brand Guidelines Examples
You always want your brand to tell a consistent story.
Carefully controlling your brand’s identity brings huge advantages to your business.
Let me ask you three questions:
- When people encounter your brand, do they get a good feeling about your business?
- Does every interaction with your brand deliver a consistent and memorable experience?
- How do you control your brand’s appearance, message, and personality?
Only you can answer questions one and two. But I can offer an answer to number three:
Create, host, and share a brand guidelines document.
A brand guidelines document…
- defines your business identity’s look, feel, and desired perception.
- encapsulates your values, voice, and positioning.
- ensures that anyone presenting your brand to the world knows how and why to do it right.
Let’s look at what a brand guidelines doc contains, how it’s structured, and how to host and share it for easy access by anyone who might need it.
What is a Brand Guidelines Document?
A brand guidelines document is a source of truth. It is often published as a PDF.
Your brand guidelines define anything that requires a consistent presentation to the public. It clearly lays out how to handle logos, fonts, writing tone and voice, and your overall message.
We’ll view some examples from well-known companies to see what a good brand guidelines document is made of.
The North Face maintains a model brand guidelines document.
Let’s see what’s inside.
This table of contents gives you a good idea of what kinds of topics are covered.
Each section discusses each topic in great detail, is clearly explained, and shares specific examples. Every section is laying down specific guidelines for how professionals must present their brand.
Brand Coherence
Brand coherence means a consistent message is always presented whenever and wherever The North Face is mentioned.
The above examples aren’t suggestions. They are rules to be followed by professional graphic artists, writers, and anyone else using The North Face’s official brand identity in any medium. They are subject to copyright and trademark laws internationally, and usage is strictly controlled.
The guidelines ensure that every aspect of the brand works harmoniously together to create a unified perception in the minds of consumers.
- visual design (like logos and colors)
- messaging (including tone of voice and content)
- customer experience (impression, feelings, perceptions)
Brand coherence makes a brand easily identifiable. It always tells the same story each time. This consistency builds recognition, trust, and loyalty with the audience.
Logo Design
Great care is taken to design and present a company’s logo.
Slack has a logo called the “octothorpe.”
Again, the guidelines give a detailed explanation of the logo’s design and usage. This particular example takes up several PDF pages of description and examples.
Even the colors and types of backgrounds to be used are defined.
Emotional Impact
McDonalds is famous for delivering a feel-good experience. This is a carefully crafted and maintained perception.
Identity Protection and Projection
Apple Computer is notorious for protecting its image. See how strict its brand guidelines are on who and what can be used.
Hosting Your Brand Guidelines PDF
Hosting and sharing your brand guidelines PDF with our service, Tiiny.host, offers many advantages.
Tiiny.host is dedicated to being the simplest way to host and share a PDF, website, presentation, or almost any web project.
You get a fully automatic hosting experience in three quick steps.
Let me show you how it works.
Hosting
- Provide a name for your brand guidelines website.
- Drag and drop your PDF onto the form.
- Click the “Upload file” button.
Sign in or register for a free account, and your brand guidelines PDF will be live online in seconds.
Sharing
Note in the graphic above that you can begin sharing your brand guidelines site immediately.
You are given two options in the “Share via” section at the bottom of the dialog.
Copy link: Copy your website’s URL to the clipboard and paste it into email, social media, chat apps, documentation, colleague communications, or anywhere else you wish to provide the link.
QR code: One click generates a visual QR code.
Use your QR code to make it easy for anyone to visit your brand guidelines. Point their camera at the QR code, tap the link, and they are delivered right to your PDF.
Tiiny.host’s Advanced Professional Features
As a professional, you are concerned with security, speed, accessibility, and editing or updating the brand guidelines when necessary. You’re also committed to low-cost yet high-quality solutions.
Our free tier allows you to host a free web project (say, a PDF) for as long as you have a current (free) account with us.
As you progress up the subscription tiers, you access additional affordable advanced features for your hosting and sharing.
Custom branding and website visitor analytics are available, starting with our Tiny tier.
Our Solo and Pro accounts add even more powerful features.
- Password protection
- Custom domains
- Edit mode
- Integrations with Zapier
- Additional websites
Visit Tiiny.host today to try us for free. Just drag and drop your PDF. Boom.
Do you have any questions? Reach us at Tiiny.host/help.
FAQ: Brand Guidelines Examples
Why are brand guidelines important?
Brand guidelines ensure consistency across all brand representations, helping to build recognition, trust, and a coherent brand identity. They serve as a reference for anyone who works with the brand’s assets.
How do I create brand guidelines?
Start by defining your brand’s core elements: logo, color scheme, typography, imagery, voice, and tone. Use these to develop a detailed guide that covers how each element should be used.
What’s the best way to host my brand guidelines?
It makes sense to host your brand guidelines on your company website, preferably in a dedicated section for brand resources. Automated hosting services like Tiiny.host are also an excellent way to save money and time.
