♛Branding

What to Include in Brand Guidelines: The Sections, Length and Format That Work

By Abdullah Zahoor, ChessCraft Studio · 7 min read

Most brand guidelines fail for one simple reason: they describe the brand beautifully but do not answer the questions people actually have when they sit down to make something. Which logo goes on a dark photo? What is the CMYK value for print? Can I set a headline in capitals? A good guide answers those in seconds.

Below is the structure we use when we hand over a brand identity project, section by section, with what to put in each, how long the document should be and which format works best. If you are still deciding whether you need a full identity or just a logo, start with our guide to brand identity vs a logo.

What are brand guidelines for?

Brand guidelines (also called a brand book, style guide or brand standards) are the rulebook for how your brand looks and sounds. They exist so that a printer, a new marketing hire, a packaging supplier or a designer you have never met can produce work that feels like it came from the same company.

That means the audience is not you. It is the busy person who opens the file once, needs one answer and closes it again. Write and design every page for that person.

The sections every brand guideline should include

1. Brand foundations

One or two pages, no more. Include your purpose (why the brand exists), positioning (who it is for and what makes it different), three to five values and a short description of your audience. This gives context for every rule that follows. A designer who knows the brand is “calm, expert and quietly premium” makes better decisions on the cases your guide does not cover.

2. Logo

This is the section people open most, so make it the most complete:

• Versions: primary logo, secondary or stacked version, icon or monogram, and wordmark if separate.
• Colour versions: full colour, single colour, reversed (white on dark) and black.
• Clear space: the minimum empty area around the logo, usually defined by a part of the logo itself (for example, the height of the first letter) so it scales with any size.
• Minimum size: for print in millimetres and for screen in pixels. Below this size, switch to the icon.
• Placement: preferred positions on common layouts such as social posts, packaging fronts and email headers.
• Misuse: a visual grid of what not to do: stretching, recolouring, adding shadows, rotating, placing on busy backgrounds, rebuilding the wordmark in another font.

3. Colour

List every colour with its name and its values for each medium: HEX and RGB for screens, CMYK for print and a Pantone reference if you print spot colours. Show the proportion of use too, not just swatches. A palette where the brand green is meant for accents only looks very different if someone uses it as a full background on every slide.

Include approved text and background combinations that pass contrast checks, so nobody has to test them again. Under WCAG, normal body text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background, so list the pairings that meet it.

4. Typography

Name the typefaces, the weights you actually use and where to get them. Then show a type hierarchy: H1, H2, body, captions, buttons, with sizes, line spacing and letter spacing. Add fallback fonts for situations where the brand font is not available, such as email or office documents, and note who holds the font licence.

5. Imagery and photography

Describe the look of your photography with examples: lighting, colour treatment, framing, the type of people and settings you show, and what to avoid. For e-commerce brands, include product image rules here too: background colour, angles and how lifestyle scenes should feel, so your Amazon listing images and website photography stay consistent.

6. Graphic elements and iconography

Patterns, shapes, borders, textures, illustration style and icon style (line weight, corner radius, filled or outlined). Show how they combine with the logo and type, and how much of a layout they should take up.

7. Tone of voice

Visual rules alone do not make a brand consistent. Describe how the brand writes: three or four voice traits, each with a short “we are / we are not” pair and a before and after example. Add practical rules too: British or American spelling, how you write numbers and dates, words you always or never use.

8. Layout and applications

This is the section that turns rules into results. Show real examples: a social post, a story, a flyer, a business card, an email header, a packaging front, a presentation slide. Each example should show the grid and margins used, so people can copy the structure, not just admire the result.

9. Accessibility

State the minimum contrast for text, the smallest font size for body copy, and that colour should never be the only way to show information. If your audience includes older customers or you sell in regulated markets, this section protects you as much as it protects them.

10. Files, templates and contacts

End with a page that links to the logo pack (SVG, PDF, PNG), fonts or font licences, editable templates and the person responsible for brand approvals. A guide without files sends people to search old email threads, which is where off-brand work begins.

Brand guidelines sections at a glance

How long should brand guidelines be?

There is no correct page count. The right length is the shortest document that answers the common questions. In practice:

• Start-up or small brand: a focused guide of roughly 10 to 20 pages covering logo, colour, type, imagery and a few applications is usually enough.
• Growing e-commerce brand: add packaging, marketplace and social sections, plus voice. This often lands between 20 and 40 pages.
• Large or multi-brand business: a core guide plus separate detailed documents for packaging, digital products or sub-brands.

If a page does not change how someone makes something, cut it or move it to an appendix.

Which format works best: PDF, web page or brand portal?

PDF is still the most practical starting point. It is easy to send to suppliers and printers, opens anywhere and keeps the layout exactly as designed. Its weakness is version control: old copies live on in inboxes long after you update the brand.

A web page or online brand hub is easier to keep current and to search, and it can link straight to downloadable files. It suits brands with in-house teams and regular freelancers.

Editable templates (in your design tool of choice, plus slide and document templates) are the most useful format of all for day-to-day work, because people start from something already on brand.

Many brands use all three: a PDF for suppliers, a live online version as the source of truth and templates for daily content. Whatever you choose, put a version number and date on the cover.

Brand guideline examples worth studying

A few public examples show different approaches well:

• NASA Graphics Standards Manual (1975): the famous “worm” logo manual, now widely reproduced. It is a classic example of precise logo, colour and application rules.
• Mailchimp Content Style Guide: a public, web-based guide focused on voice, tone and writing rules. A strong model for the tone of voice section.
• GOV.UK Design System: a public example of guidelines that include components, accessibility and code, built for many teams working in parallel.

Study them for structure and clarity, not for the look. Your guide should reflect the size and needs of your own brand.

Common mistakes that make guidelines go unused

• Too much theory, too few examples. People copy examples. Show them.
• Missing print values. A palette with only HEX codes leads to guesswork at the printer.
• No rules for real channels. If you sell on Amazon or post daily on social, those channels need their own pages. Our social media image sizes cheat sheet is a useful companion for the social section.
• No owner. Someone has to approve exceptions and update the guide.
• Files not included. Rules without the logo pack and templates get ignored.

Checklist: is your brand guide complete?

• Brand purpose, positioning, values and audience on one or two pages
• All logo versions, colour versions, clear space, minimum sizes and misuse examples
• Every colour with HEX, RGB, CMYK and Pantone (if used), plus proportions
• Approved text and background colour pairings that pass contrast checks
• Typefaces, weights, hierarchy, fallback fonts and licence notes
• Photography and product image rules with do and do not examples
• Icons, patterns and graphic elements with usage rules
• Tone of voice traits with before and after examples
• Real application examples showing grids and margins
• Links to the logo pack, fonts, templates and a named brand contact
• Version number and date on the cover

Questions