Creating Cohesion: The Power of Brand Guidelines

As a Junior Art Director at BOLD, I design various forms of media for our diverse CPG clients. I have designed websites, landing pages, social media ads, Amazon listing content, race car skins, awards made of metal, brochures, and other intriguing projects.

So at this point, you might say, that’s nice, but what does that have to do with brand guidelines? The answer: Everything.

To effectively fulfill my role for a client, I must ensure that the work I design embodies their brand’s look and feel. For a brand to appear visually captivating, cohesive, and elevated, it requires explicit guidelines. Robust brand guidelines encompass numerous elements of curating a brand’s visuals, including the logo, colors, imagery/photography usage, voice and copy styles, as well as do’s and don’ts.

Guidelines not only enable designers like myself to create polished and unified work, but they also ensure internal consistency and alignment across all channels and advertising efforts. With that being said, I would like to provide some insight into my personal experience with brand guidelines and highlight aspects that I find particularly valuable as a designer who relies on them.

Simplify success by working efficiently

Success comes more easily when designing for new clients if they have comprehensive brand guidelines. When clients share their brand guidelines with us, we enter a mutual agreement where we are accountable for ensuring that any work produced for them reflects their brand identity. Detailed guidelines concerning color usage, logo application, and font utilization (what I consider the essential minimum) significantly enhance one’s ability to generate creative work for them. However, the capacity to execute a brand’s look and feel is contingent upon the internal comprehension of its guidelines.

I once created work for a client based on a brief, as well as their established (and detailed) visual guidelines. However, during the presentation, multiple individuals from the client's team expressed in-house disagreement regarding the look and feel of the work. While I adhered to the guidelines as instructed, their internal perspectives differed, and they couldn’t agree on a proper interpretation of their guidelines.  Here is my advice regarding the importance of guidelines. As in the example above, when there is disagreement about them, make sure to set time aside with your team so that everyone is on the same page about the brand’s guidelines. The guidelines could be adjusted and clarified if the team cannot agree. This brings me to my next point…

Brands change (and that’s okay)

Brands evolve, much like styles do. After all, powdered wigs were fashionable in the 1700s but would be considered out of place today. So, what should you do when you believe your brand's look and feel needs to be modified? Refer to your brand guidelines. Why? Because they serve as an excellent starting point. If you don’t have any, create guidelines based on your brand's current appearance. This enables you to conduct a comprehensive brand audit and critically evaluate the visual elements that fall short while championing those that excel.

Once you have established your brand's new visuals through a guidelines document, be sure to upgrade any visuals currently in use (logos, webpages, social media, email content, etc.). You don't necessarily have to remove old content (previous social media posts), but doing so helps ensure that your new visuals take precedence in search results. Once your visual content is upgraded, be consistent with your guidelines. Avoid instances of internal conflicts regarding how the brand should look - especially after investing considerable effort. If it’s specified in the guidelines, it should be followed.  But well-defined guidelines can also mean flexibility to explore because...

You gotta know the rules to break them

While this is true, you must keep in mind that this can only be done effectively if your brand has established visuals that have achieved recognizable status. You cannot establish visual guidelines and immediately begin bending the rules. Solidifying your brand visuals to the point of creative redundancy is crucial before exploring beyond the set boundaries. This allows you to introduce fresh perspectives without disregarding existing visual rules. However, exercise caution and precision when doing so. Frequent changes can lead to visual chaos and undermine the desired visual harmony. If you appreciate these new changes, update the brand guidelines accordingly to maintain consistency moving forward.

Embrace Consistency to Create Your Best Brand Look

Adhering to this understanding of brand guidelines will facilitate everyone's work when all is said and done. You will derive satisfaction from the projects you undertake and appreciate your brand's consistency. And remember, it’s acceptable to be meticulous, as the stronger the rules you establish, the easier they are to enforce and execute.