How to create brand guidelines: structure, template and checks
To create brand guidelines yourself, first identify who will use them and which materials they need to produce. Gather approved brand decisions, document the rules for logos, colours, typography and copy, include source files and test the guide with a real task. The scope depends on the work: a website and sales proposals need different examples from a chain of retail outlets.
This process is for a business owner or marketer handing a brand identity to colleagues and contractors. If the name, positioning or logo is still under discussion, record it as an open decision. Detailed guidance on an unapproved identity will need revising when the identity changes.
To prepare your brief, download the brand guidelines brief in Russian — CSV or English brief — CSV. The file has nine fields with prompts. Answers are blank; complete them with your team before requesting a project estimate.
Brand guidelines help teams agree on working rules. They do not guarantee more revenue, greater recognition or a particular amount of time saved. This guide provides a suggested structure, a project brief template and checks for handing materials to designers and website developers. Use them when preparing the guide yourself or discussing the scope with a contractor.
1. Choose the scope of the guide
Terms such as 'brand book', 'brand guidelines' and 'logo guidelines' can describe different deliverables from different contractors. List the results you need before comparing proposals.
| Your task | What to prepare | What can be a separate project |
|---|---|---|
| Use an existing logo correctly | Logo variants, sizes, spacing, backgrounds, restrictions and source files | Positioning and designing a new logo |
| Apply consistent styling to a website, documents and advertising | Visual guidelines covering the logo, palette, typography, graphics and examples | Full brand research and every future advertising layout |
| Share visual and messaging decisions across teams | A brand guide covering audiences, key messages, tone of voice and visual rules | Detailed research, media planning and website development |
For a small business, start with recurring tasks: presentations, sales proposals, email signatures and service pages. If there are many documents, select the ones used most often. Add a section where the team regularly makes a decision; other materials can follow when there is a need.
Assess completeness by user role. A writer should find copy rules, a designer should find the right file and its restrictions, and a developer should find fonts and screen colours. A manager checks whether the example meets the agreed business task. This list is more useful than a requirement to produce forty pages.
2. Gather source materials and decisions
Create a shared inventory with statuses such as 'approved', 'needs checking' and 'to be developed'. An old logo from a presentation and a new file from a message should not quietly become equally valid alternatives.
Before writing the rules, gather:
- the company name and rules for writing it;
- a description of the product, audience and customer task;
- substantiated advantages and permitted claims;
- current logo variants and source files;
- colours, fonts, graphics and photographs already in use;
- examples of documents, website pages and advertising that need consistency;
- the person responsible for approval and the people who will use the guide.
Describe the brand in plain language. For a hypothetical B2B company: 'We supply equipment for production facilities, help select the configuration and agree on commissioning requirements.' This gives writers something concrete to check against. A slogan about leadership cannot replace product information and working conditions.
If you use brand archetypes, treat them as a tool for discussing character. An industry does not determine a single correct tone. Test the chosen style in messages for your own audience: can readers understand the offer, and is the level of formality appropriate?
3. Build the structure of the brand guide
Start with a contents list and the expected result of each section. Here is a suggested working structure:
| Section | What to document | What the user can do |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose and audience | Who the product is for, what it promises and how those claims are supported | Explain the offer without inventing advantages |
| Tone of voice | Forms of address, terminology, formality and copy examples | Write a message in the agreed style |
| Logo | Variants, minimum sizes, spacing, backgrounds and restrictions | Choose the right file for a placement |
| Palette | Colour roles, combinations and specifications for the intended medium | Style a screen or brief a print supplier |
| Typography | Font families, weights, hierarchy, alternatives and licence information | Build a document or page using available fonts |
| Graphics and imagery | Selection and treatment rules for photos, illustrations and icons | Prepare new material using clear criteria |
| Templates | Presentations, proposals, service pages and other required formats | Produce routine material without rebuilding it |
| Governance | Version, owner, file links and change process | Find the current rule and suggest a correction |
The public Ya Team brand guide separates brand foundations from design tools, including colour and typography. It illustrates how one brand organises its materials. Your company does not need to copy its scope, visual techniques or decisions.
Check the connections between sections. If a proposal template uses a font missing from the rules and file folder, the guide already contains a contradiction. If the tone is described as calm and specific, advertising examples should reflect that description.
4. Explain visual rules through their use
Show the chosen logo variants on backgrounds where they will actually appear: a website header, document, avatar or photograph. State minimum sizes and spacing for the required situations. Illustrate restrictions with specific changes, such as distorted proportions, reduced legibility or an outdated variant.
Assign a role to each colour. A primary brand colour, background, text, link and error message serve different purposes. For screens, agree on values and combinations. For print, agree on specifications with the supplier for the relevant production conditions. One set of numbers cannot guarantee identical results on every material.
For fonts, record the name, weights, purpose and file source. Check the terms for website and document use, and how files can be shared with contractors. If a font is unavailable in office software or on the recipient's device, agree on an alternative. Test Cyrillic characters where relevant, numbers, long headings and tables.
For imagery, include permitted examples and explain the choices. Replace 'use modern photographs' with the required subjects, retouching rules, cropping guidance and permitted text overlays. Every example must be material the company is entitled to use.
5. Demonstrate tone of voice in routine messages
Define how to address readers, which terms to use, how to explain complex subjects and the limits of humour. Test the rules in three situations: a service description, an answer to a question and an error message. General adjectives rarely help a writer choose a specific sentence.
| Situation | Hypothetical example | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Service description | 'We will select equipment after reviewing the facility requirements' | Includes a task and condition without an unsupported promise |
| Enquiry clarification | 'Tell us the model and operating conditions so we can check compatibility' | Explains why the information is needed |
| Form error | 'We could not send your enquiry. Try again or email us' | Gives the reader a clear next step |
These examples describe a fictional company and illustrate the checking method. Prepare your own copy using real conditions and contact details. Claims such as 'best', 'guaranteed' and precise performance figures need evidence the team can provide.
6. Prepare requirements for the website
Brand guidelines provide the visual and writing foundations. A website also needs interaction states for links, buttons, form fields, messages and mobile navigation. Agree which belong in the digital section of the guide and which will be designed as part of the interface project.
| Element | What to add to the brand materials | Check on the page |
|---|---|---|
| Headings and body text | Hierarchy, weights, limits and long copy examples | Headings and descriptions remain readable on a narrow screen |
| Colours | Permitted text and background pairs, and accent roles | Text is distinguishable in the actual combination |
| Buttons and links | Labels and states, including focus and unavailable controls | Users can identify actions and the current focus |
| Forms | Labels, errors, submission and confirmation states | Messages explain the result and next step |
| Images | Proportions, cropping, captions and placement options | Important content remains visible on mobile |
WCAG 2.2 Level AA requires a minimum text contrast ratio of 4.5:1, or 3:1 for large text, with exceptions including text in logos. W3C explainsthat other text is not exempt simply because a colour is specified by brand guidelines. Contrast is one accessibility check, not proof that a website meets every criterion.
Document pages, functions, integrations and acceptance checks in separate technical specifications for a corporate website. If existing page addresses change, use the website migration plan. Brand guidelines do not replace those documents.
A brief template for creating brand guidelines
Copy and complete this table before working with a designer. Mark unknowns explicitly: they determine which investigation or approval is needed.
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Purpose of the guide | Which recurring decisions it should help users make |
| Users | The specific marketers, writers, designers, developers or partners |
| First phase formats | The documents, screens and materials required |
| Approved decisions | The name, positioning, logo and other existing materials |
| Open decisions | What needs checking or developing |
| Handover deliverables | The guide, templates, source files and file and licence information |
| Approval owner | Who consolidates comments and approves each section |
| Check | A new task someone will complete using only the guide |
| Updates | Where the current version lives and who maintains it |
For a hypothetical equipment supplier, the first phase covers a website, proposal and presentation. The logo is approved, but copy rules and document fonts are missing. The scope therefore includes tone of voice, typography, a screen palette and three relevant templates. Packaging and retail signage remain outside this phase. The brief sets boundaries without accidentally expanding the project.
If contractors propose different deliverables, compare the individual results and exclusions. The guide to reviewing website estimatesexplains this approach. Apply the same principle of consistent input to brand guidelines, using your own list of formats and files.
What to hand over with the finished guide
Include a file inventory with links and intended uses. Open the files using the recipient's account: the author's access does not prove that the whole team can use them.
| Material | Handover check |
|---|---|
| Guide | Contents, version, date, owner and working links |
| Logos | Required variants are available; vector files open and retain their proportions |
| Fonts | Names and weights match the templates; usage terms have been checked |
| Templates | Text and images can be replaced without breaking the layout |
| Images and graphics | Sources, restrictions and permitted uses are clear |
| Website materials | Colour roles, element states and an implementation owner are defined |
A PDF is useful for reading, while an editable file supports future changes. An online guide makes section links easier, but still needs an owner and backed-up assets. Choose the format around the team's working process rather than presentation effects.
Test the guide and maintain it after handover
Give someone who did not help prepare it a new routine task, such as building a sales proposal or styling a service page. Ask them to record every question that required a spoken answer. Recurring questions reveal missing rules or awkward navigation.
Check the result against the guide: the correct logo is used, fonts are available, the copy follows the agreed tone and images are appropriate. For a website, check mobile layout and interaction separately. Record each issue with an example, the required change and an owner.
Assign a version owner after handover. Keep a log of substantial changes: what changed, when it applies and which templates need updating. Mark old files as archived. Review the guide when a new format is required, the brand changes or a contradiction is found; there is no universal mandatory interval.
Measure usefulness through your own tasks: follow-up questions, returned layouts and approval time for comparable materials. These observations do not prove sales growth. To discuss digital deliverables, bring your completed brief to the website redesign and rebranding service .
If you need a visual identity, templates and a finished guide, complete the brief before discussing brand guidelines development.
FAQ
Can I create brand guidelines for free?
You can document rules yourself using approved materials. This takes time and file checks. If positioning, a logo or templates need developing, a free editor does not perform that work for you.
How many pages should brand guidelines contain?
Enough to cover the agreed tasks. Check that the rules are complete and assets are accessible. Page count does not show whether a new colleague can produce the required material.
Can I use a ready-made template?
Yes, as a starting structure. Remove irrelevant sections, add your own examples and check files and restrictions. Another brand's visual elements and rules do not become suitable for your company because they appear in a template.
Do I need new brand guidelines when redesigning a website?
First identify which decisions are changing. If the identity stays the same, digital rules and new templates may be enough. If the brand itself changes, approve those changes before updating the guide and related materials.
Sources
Sources checked on 11 October 2026. The brief template and handover tables are working recommendations. Hypothetical examples do not describe NBM-IT projects.
This update removes unsupported promises of a 33% revenue increase and hundreds of hours saved. Assess the impact of brand guidelines using data from the individual business.