Guide · Step by step
How to create brand guidelines in 7 steps
To create brand guidelines, work through seven steps: gather what already exists, define the brand foundation, settle the visual system, write rules with examples, show real applications, prepare the files, then publish and maintain. Below: what each step involves, how long it takes and which tool fits.
By the Brandbooks team8 min read
Before you start: three decisions
Brand guidelines are not a design project; they are a reference. They should answer the questions designers, printers, marketers and partners ask when you’re not in the room. So decide three things before you open a document.
- Who are you writing for? An outside agency asks different questions from a colleague building a slide deck or a printer looking for a CMYK value. List your readers and what they come to find.
- How deep do you go? A light set of guidelines with the basics for each part is often enough for a small or new brand. A full brand book is worth it when many people work with the brand on their own. What to include in brand guidelines shows the difference part by part.
- Who owns it? One person or role who answers questions, approves exceptions and keeps the guidelines up to date. Without an owner, they go stale within a year.
How to create brand guidelines, step by step
This order works whether you’re documenting an existing identity or building a new one. With a new identity, steps 2 and 3 take longer; the rest stays the same.
- 1
Audit what already exists
Collect every logo file, colour code, font, template and a pile of recent work: website, social, print, presentations, ads. Lay them side by side. You’ll quickly see where things are already consistent and where everyone uses their own version, such as three different blues or a logo once cropped out of a PDF.
Ask colleagues which files they actually use. They are often not the files the agency originally delivered.
- 2
Define the brand foundation
Write down why the brand exists, who it’s for and how it behaves: mission, vision, core values, audience, positioning and personality. Short is fine; vague is not. This part gives every rule further on a reason. See it worked out in Onda’s brand foundation.
Already have a strategy document? Bring over the conclusions, not the whole document.
- 3
Settle the visual system
Document the building blocks: logo and variants, colours with HEX, RGB, CMYK and Pantone values, typefaces with weights and fallbacks, graphic elements, image style and tone of voice. For an existing identity, this is where you make the decisions nobody made before: which of those three blues is the real one?
Have a printer or designer set or check the CMYK and Pantone values. An automatic HEX-to-CMYK conversion often prints differently.
- 4
Write rules with examples
For each building block: when to use what, what’s allowed and what isn’t. Put an example next to every rule, and for the important ones a wrong example too: a stretched logo, a colour pairing with too little contrast, a photo with a heavy filter. Phrase rules so someone can follow them without having to ask you.
Not sure a rule is needed? Ask whether anyone would do it differently without it. If not, cut it.
- 5
Show real applications
Show the system in the things the brand actually makes: a web page, a social post, a business card, a presentation, an ad. For each application, point out which rules you can see at work (grid, colour proportions, image style), so someone can repeat it for a format that isn’t in the guidelines yet. Browse Onda’s applications for an example.
No photos of print or signage yet? A mock-up shows how the design looks in real life. In Brandbooks you can generate them with AI from your own designs (this uses AI credits).
- 6
Prepare the files
Supply every logo variant for screen (SVG, PNG) and print (PDF or EPS, CMYK and Pantone), plus fonts or a link to where to get them, icons and templates. Label each file with what it’s for. Check the font licence: may agencies and partners use the typeface too?
- 7
Publish and maintain
Share the guidelines with everyone who works on the brand, in one fixed place. Add a contact person and the date of the last change. Update as soon as something changes, and plan a yearly check: are the files still right, are there new channels, which questions keep coming back that the guidelines don’t answer?
Don’t send round a new PDF with every change. One link that always points to the latest version stops old copies from circulating.
How long does it take to create brand guidelines?
Mostly it depends on how many decisions have already been made. Writing things down is rarely the hard part; deciding and getting sign-off is. As a rough guide:
| Situation | What you do | Indicative timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Existing identity, light guidelines | Document what exists, the basics per part | A few days |
| Existing identity, full brand book | Audit, make decisions, write rules and applications | A few weeks |
| New identity including guidelines | Strategy and design first, then document | Several months |
Indicative ranges, not a standard. The number of people involved and rounds of approval matter more than the number of pages.
Which tool should you use to make a brand book?
You can make brand guidelines in almost any program. The difference is in how easy they are to read, share and keep up to date.
| Tool | Good at | Less good at |
|---|---|---|
| Word or Google Docs | Anyone can open and edit it; quick to set up | Limited layout; colours and logos stay pictures; versions get mixed up |
| PowerPoint, Keynote or Google Slides | Visual, familiar, easy to present | Hard to search; files aren’t included; usually sent round as a PDF |
| Canva | Easy to start, attractive templates, simple sharing | Little structure for a reference; colour codes and downloads per variant are up to you |
| InDesign, exported to PDF | Full control over design; suited to print | Only designers can update it; every change means a new PDF |
| Online brand guidelines tool | One link, always the latest version, copyable colour codes, downloads and search | You work within the tool’s structure; usually a subscription |
Want an outline on paper first? The brand guidelines template can be pasted into any of these tools.
PDF or online brand guidelines?
A PDF is fine when the guidelines are a snapshot, for example at the handover of a new identity. The trouble starts afterwards. A new logo variant arrives, someone forwards the old PDF, and six months later three partners are working from three versions.
Online brand guidelines solve that with one link that always shows the published version. Readers copy colour codes instead of retyping them, download the right logo file and search the whole guide. That’s why we built Brandbooks: you start from a blueprint with the parts already in place, edit in a draft and publish when it’s right. Still need a PDF for a printer or a client? Export one in A4 or A5, with bleed and crop marks if needed.
Would you rather have a designer or agency do it? Read what brand guidelines cost first, for what to expect and how to brief them.
Common mistakes when making a brand book
Starting with the design
Designing a beautiful cover first and only then working out what goes inside. Start with your readers’ questions and the content; the design follows.
Incomplete colour codes
Only HEX, or CMYK without Pantone. Every reader who needs a different code will convert it themselves, and then the colour no longer matches.
Rules without reasons
“Logo always top right.” Why? A rule with a reason is followed more often and is easier to judge when someone asks for an exception.
Only good examples
Without a wrong example, nobody knows where the line is. Show what’s not allowed too, especially for the logo and image style.
Files kept somewhere else
Guidelines that say which logo to use but not where to find it. Put the downloads next to the rules.
No owner or date
Without a contact person and a version date, nobody knows whether it’s still correct. Outdated guidelines are worse than none, because people trust them.
Frequently asked questions
Can I create brand guidelines myself?
Yes. If the identity already exists (logo, colours, typefaces), documenting it yourself is very doable with a clear structure. If the identity still has to be designed, you need a designer. The guidelines themselves can then be made by you or by the designer.
How much does it cost to create brand guidelines?
Doing it yourself mainly costs time. If you hire someone, the price depends on scope and on whether the identity already exists. Brand guidelines cost gives indicative ranges and what to look for in a quote.
What is the difference between brand guidelines and a brand style guide?
A brand style guide usually focuses on the visual identity; brand guidelines or a brand book also describe the brand itself: values, audience, personality and tone of voice. In practice the terms are often used interchangeably. See what is a brand style guide.
Is there a free brand guidelines template?
Yes. Our brand guidelines template is a copyable outline of all twelve parts with what to fill in for each. Paste it into Word, Google Docs or Notion, or use it as a blueprint in Brandbooks.
How many pages should brand guidelines have?
There is no fixed number. A light version for a small brand can be short; a large organisation with many channels needs more. Aim for every page to answer a question someone actually asks. What to include in brand guidelines covers each part.
Can AI create brand guidelines for me?
AI can help with first drafts of copy or with organising your material, but the decisions about your brand are yours to make. Brandbooks only uses AI for mock-ups of your own designs. More in AI brand guidelines.