A
branding book is a listing of all guidelines necessary for proper
promotion of your brand. Depending on the strength of the brand, it
could be only a few pages long, or be a thick volume. International
powerhouse companies use them, but they also benefit small, mom and
pop companies, and everything in between. The book outlines
everything about your logo, colors, feel, tag lines, and anything
else needed in order to post a logo, write about the company, or make
any type of marketing piece. The first step to a solid brand campaign
is to create a book to house all guidelines.
1.
Typography
Branding
includes what you say and where you say it, but also how it looks.
Certain fonts should be consistently used, as should font color,
size, and styles. Different rules may need to be made for use in
print and digital applications, because of how typefaces show in
those different environments.
2.
Images
Pictures
help draw attention to your content and providing rules on how to
place images and which kinds to use is helpful to maintain a
consistent look in your marketing collateral. Decide if they should
all have people in them, or be places. List how they should be
displayed, in sepia, full color, a particular size, with a box around
them, or anything else to help set a distinctive tone.
3.
Tone
The
tone outlined in the branding book refers to the type of language
used to represent the company. For instance, a marketing firm should
be smart and playful, while a law firm is better with
straight-forward and descriptive verbiage. The tone should always be
professional, but can include a wide range of preferred words and
content structure. The tone works to underline the characteristics
that the brand works to promote, such as hip, playful, smart,
reliable, classy, or trustworthy.
4.
Color
The
colors used to represent your company can have a big impact. A lot of
research likely went into your branding stages picking which hues and
tints best represent you. Protect that work and keep the color
palates to a minimum and have strict guidelines on how to use them.
Give clear names to the colors for both digital (RGB) and print
(CYMK), and use Pantone numbers when applicable.
5.
Logo
The
most important step is to perfect your logo. It should be easily
viewed small or large, and there should be formats usable in various
applications (for the printer, for the newspaper, for posting in
emails, etc.). Then there should be rules set for how it should be
placed and how it should relate to the other things around it. It is
also smart to develop a list of acceptable changes that can be made.
Your logo is the main identifier of your brand and should be
protected.
If
you would like to learn more about branding in the Austin area, click here.
