There is no single rule for the design of brand books and guidelines, so each company chooses the style of information presentation that is closer to its employees, partners and audience. One brand book may look dry and strict, and the second – bright and open. What they definitely have in common is information about the brand, visualization of the corporate style and its placement.
A brand book is a comprehensive description of a brand. It contains information about the essence of the brand, its mission, and philosophy. Thus, a brand book is a kind of “passport” of the brand, which contains all the data that marketers, advertising specialists, company management, and ordinary employees need to work on its promotion and popularization. Developing a brand book is an important condition for the success of the entire brand, because it becomes a kind of plan, a basis that is needed to take further actions. A brand book is a book, so it must have a laconic cover and content that describes the sections and page numbers that correspond to them.
A brand book is also called a company management guide. It is a comprehensive publication that includes not only a description of the brand’s visual symbols, but also many other aspects. After reading this material, the reader should understand the principles of positioning and the basics of the company’s strategy. Figuratively, it includes the following sections:
1. Brand mission and philosophy, introduction. The most complex section, which defines the core of the company’s strategy on the market. Answers the questions “what are we working for” and “what do we believe in”. A correctly formulated mission and philosophy help to make decisions faster, develop new products, and stand out from competitors. It is this information that designers, marketers, advertisers, and other managers rely on when making difficult decisions.
This block tells about the history of the brand, what it is today and how it sees itself in the future. The target audience, its needs, and the style of communication with it are often described here. In order to create a general positive perception of the company among employees, partners, and clients, the positioning, mission, character of the brand, and its main slogan are indicated.
This section creates the atmosphere of the entire brand book, it is not necessary to present information in a dry manner. You can tell in simple language why the company decided to change its image, how the brand philosophy has changed since its creation, or explain the values that are currently a priority.
2. Brand values. The content of this section follows from the company’s mission and philosophy. If the product is supposed to make the world cleaner, then the values may include naturalness, environmental friendliness, accessibility, etc.
3. Symbols and attributes, corporate identity constants. This is one of the most voluminous sections, which is usually done in the form of a guideline. That is why many do not see the difference between these two products. It also provides principles for creating a logo, signs, corporate printing and more.
The main constants of the corporate style are the corporate sign and logo, the colors used, fonts and additional style-forming elements, for example, an ornament or pattern. It is on these whales that the entire corporate style is based, which creates the general unity of the company, differentiates it from competitors and emotionally conveys the mood and values of the brand to its employees and target audience.
Each corporate identity constant is accompanied by text and visually shown how it should be used and, often, how it is strictly prohibited. Remember that a brand book includes rules.
4. The brand’s core message. This describes the exact “message” that the company should convey to its target audience. Its wording may change on the way from the marketing department to potential consumers, but the meaning should remain the same.
5. Distribution channels and methods. Taking into account the philosophy, values, message and character of the symbols, a list of the most promising channels for disseminating information about the brand is formed. This list helps manage the positioning of the product or service on the market.
The titles of the sections, as well as the order of their presentation, may differ from those indicated.
It is possible to create a brand book on your own. At the same time, if a professional contractor helps you create this guide, you will receive a more objective and high-quality information product.
The brand book is developed once and then serves the company for a long time. Only some of its parts are updated. That is why it is reasonable to order a brand book with a modular structure. It is convenient: change the logo – you only need to reprint a few pages, not the entire volume.
A logo book is a detailed description of a logo and a set of rules for its use. It describes all the features of the logo – its size, the ratio of different elements, the color scheme and placement recommendations. The development of a logo and brand style is an important part of the entire brand creation.
A guideline is a manual that describes the rules for using a corporate identity. It specifies the rules for applying a logo and using a corporate identity. The development of a company’s corporate identity is rarely done without creating a guideline. After all, it specifies important instructions, the success of the brand can largely depend on compliance with them. Guidelines are a set of templates and rules for using elements that organize the work process. Thanks to guidelines, a designer is not involved in simple tasks, but a developer is immediately involved. For example, a guideline specifies the parameters of a pop-up window on a website: indents from the text, the location and size of the title and main text, space for the button, how the window will look with less or more text.
A guideline is a complete information product. If it is compiled correctly, then on its pages you will find comprehensive information on the use and reproduction of all elements of the corporate style.
It’s a different matter if your product or service line is at least periodically expanded, or if you operate in a developing market. In such conditions, it is important that all departments of the company act in a coordinated manner and broadcast a single set of values. For this, the information contained in the guideline will clearly not be enough.
A typical mistake is the substitution of the concepts of a guideline and a brand book, when a document that is actually a guideline is called a brand book. It is not so difficult to distinguish these two concepts from each other. A brand book is a broader concept; such a document can also include a guideline. In essence, a brand book is a complete description of the brand – not only external attributes, but also its essence, mission and philosophy.
A guideline is a narrower concept, it concerns only the external attributes of a brand. In turn, a logobook differs from a guideline in that the former contains information about the brand logo (size, colors, shape), while the latter specifies general rules for using the corporate style, media design, and other similar parameters.
A design system is a framework that includes visual components, a code library, and guidelines for use.
Often, beginning designers make a mistake and simplify the concept, implying by a design system only a UI kit – a document that contains graphic elements of the interface, typography and colors.
The design system consists of three levels:
UI kit — the visual language of the product, for which the design system is created. These are colors, fonts, icons, buttons, bullets, toggle switches, sliders, images, animation. Elements can be different and depend on the specifics of the digital product. All of them help to create the visible part of the interface with which the user interacts.
Interface patterns:
UI patterns are systems of components, like UI kits, they can be downloaded and used in your projects directly or modified to suit your tasks.
UX patterns are templates of interaction with the system to achieve a goal, like sets of ready-made screen series (purchase of goods through a basket). It is important to analyze UX patterns, then test them on your projects as is or adapt them to your tasks.