November 2019

What is a style guide and why do I need one?

---

You’ve just developed a new logo and branded your business. It looks amazing, you’re proud of what you have achieved, so why then is a style guide so important to the success of your new brand and future marketing?

A style guide is an essential document for you, your team and external partners. It that provides guidelines for the way your brand should be presented. It ensures you keep your brand identity consistent, recognisable and engaging even when you have different contributors developing marketing elements.

You might be able to picture how your logo could look on elements like a business card or embroidered on a uniform but what about more complex items like a brochure, banner or vehicle wrap. Do you really know how to use your branding elements correctly? What are your exact brand colours? What are the correct fonts? Do you use a specific font for content?

Using the guidelines of your ‘brand style guide’ or ‘brand guidelines’ as it is sometimes called, will protect your brand, making sure you develop elements that are consistent and contribute to a strong brand identity.

---

Why is Brand Consistency Important?

By maintaining a consistent brand, you will be able to differentiate your product, deliver key messages, encourage loyalty by building brand authority and trust. If you keep a tight rein on brand consistency, you will be able to influence buyer perception from initial engagement all the way through your sales process.

Consistency across all marketing channels and collateral is vital to brand recognition and long-term loyalty. We are more likely to buy from brands that we know, therefore by maintaining a consistent look and feel across all promotional assets enables your business to be instantly recognised no matter which marketing channel you have implemented.

A comprehensive style guide defines your business or organisations image ensuring a unified brand. We recommend implementing a visual style guide to keep branding consistent across all marketing collateral.

Consistency creates a cohesive experience that consumers can expect each time they interact with your business or organisation. Over time, this builds brand recognition, nurtures customer referrals and strengthens customer loyalty.