ust as your brand’s message should be consistent throughout all platforms, so should your brand’s image. A style guide can be created to make sure your brand’s image is represented correctly by all employees, contract workers, or outside entities.

So what is typically included in a style guide?

Your Logo.

First and foremost your style guide should show which logos should be used. Full color, one color, black and white and white should all be included.

As a general rule you should have 2-3 fonts that represent your brand. Think of it in terms of what you use for your headings, subheadings, and paragraph text. Include acceptable weight and sizes for each font choice.

What palette do you use? You should include 1-2 main colors and up to 10 or so set secondary colors. Your color scheme should have the correct CMYK and RGB numbers for each color. And if you really want to make your designer happy, you can go even further by providing the correct PMS and HEX Color Code as well.

Photo Style.

Think about what kind of photographs you always want to be associated with your brand. Only black and white? All candid? Also think about what emotions should these photographs invoke: fun, serious, moody, etc. Make sure you have the right emotions associated with your brand.