Guide · The basics
What is a brand book?
A brand book is the reference guide to a brand: one document or website that sets out what the brand stands for, who it is for, how it sounds and how it looks — from mission and values to logo, colours and typefaces. Everyone who communicates on the brand’s behalf uses it to make the same choices.
By the Brandbooks team8 min read
What is a brand book, exactly?
The name says it: a book about your brand. You’ll also see it called a brand guide, brand guidelines, a brand bible or a brand manual. The format varies — a PDF, a printed booklet, a website — but the job is always the same: to record what the brand is, so it doesn’t depend on whoever happens to be working on it that week.
A good brand book has two halves. The first half is about the brand itself: why it exists, who it serves, how it differs from the alternatives and what kind of character it has. The second half is about how that brand is expressed: logo, colour, typography, imagery, tone of voice, and how it all comes together on a website, a poster or a package.
That first half is what separates a brand book from a list of visual rules. Someone who only knows that the main colour is orange can follow the rule. Someone who also knows why the brand wants to feel warm and approachable can make good decisions in situations the brand book never anticipated — a new social channel, a job advert, a stand at a trade fair.
What is the purpose of a brand book?
A brand book isn’t an archive document. It earns its keep in the day-to-day work of everyone who makes something for the brand.
Consistency
Website, print, social and presentations feel like they come from one sender, even when different people and agencies make them.
Faster work
No more emails asking ‘which blue is it again?’ or ‘does anyone have the logo with a transparent background?’. The answer is already there.
Better briefs
An agency or freelancer who receives your brand book starts from your brand instead of a blank page. That saves rounds of revisions.
Onboarding
A new colleague, intern or marketer can read in an hour what others built up over years.
Protecting the brand
Stretched logos, off-brand colours and almost-right fonts creep in far less when the rules and files are easy to find.
Growing without dilution
A new location, a second product or an extra agency doesn’t water the brand down, because everyone works from the same source.
Brand book vs brand guidelines, style guide and design system
In practice these terms are used interchangeably. Each still puts the emphasis somewhere slightly different — which helps when you’re working out what you’re looking for, or what you’ve been asked to deliver.
| Term | Emphasis | Typical contents | Usually made for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand book | The whole brand: strategy and expression | Mission, values, audience, personality, tone of voice, logo, colour, typography, imagery, applications | Everyone who communicates on behalf of the brand |
| Brand guidelines | Most common term; often the same as a brand book | Varies widely: from a few pages of logo and colour to a complete brand manual | Teams, agencies and partners |
| Brand style guide | The visual identity and how to apply it | Logo usage, colour codes, typefaces, grids, image style, templates, files | Designers, printers, web developers, marketing |
| Editorial style guide | How to write | Spelling, grammar, capitalisation, house terms, voice | Writers, editors and content teams |
| Design system | Building blocks for digital products | Components, design tokens, code, interaction patterns | Product and engineering teams |
Not sure what someone means? Don’t ask about the word, ask about the contents: is it only about how the brand looks, or also about what it stands for?
Who uses a brand book?
People often assume a brand book is only for designers. In reality the readership is much wider, and it decides how you should write it: clear enough for someone without a design background, precise enough for a specialist.
- Inside the organisation: marketing and communications, but also sales (proposals, decks), HR (job ads, onboarding), customer service (tone in emails) and the leadership team that has to guard the brand.
- Outside the organisation: agencies, freelance designers and copywriters, the printer, the web developer, the sign maker, and partners, resellers or franchisees who put your logo next to theirs.
- New people: colleagues, interns and agencies who have just started and need to understand how the brand works, quickly.
What’s in a brand book?
A complete brand book usually covers twelve parts, which fall roughly into three groups. How deep you go in each depends on the size of the brand: a freelancer starting out is fine with a light version, an organisation with several agencies and channels wants everything worked out.
- The brand: brand foundation (mission, vision, values), audience and positioning, brand personality and tone of voice.
- The identity: logo, colour, typography, graphic language, photography and image style and layout.
- In practice: applications such as website, social, print and packaging, plus files and governance: where to find the logos and fonts, and who keeps the brand book up to date.
A brand book as a PDF or as a website
For a long time a brand book was a PDF (or a printed book). More and more brands now put it online, as a website with one permanent link. Both formats have their place.
| Online brand book | ||
|---|---|---|
| Up to date | Every change is a new file; old versions keep circulating in inboxes and shared drives | One link that always shows the latest version |
| Search | Ctrl+F, if the PDF contains live text rather than images | Search across every page, with direct links to a section |
| Colour codes | Retyped from the PDF, with room for typos | Copy HEX, RGB, CMYK or Pantone in one click |
| Files | Sent separately or dropped in a shared folder | Downloads next to the rules, always the approved version |
| Access | Whoever has the file keeps it, forever | Per person or via a link; access can be withdrawn |
| On a phone | Pinching and scrolling through A4 pages | Reads like any other website |
| Printing | What a PDF is made for | Also possible, if the tool has a print view or PDF export |
A PDF works fine if your brand rarely changes and a small, fixed group uses it. Once several people, agencies or partners are involved, an online brand book usually wins on being current.
In Brandbooks, a brand book is a website you manage yourself: you work in a draft, publish when it’s ready, and readers always see the latest published version, with the date next to it. You can restore earlier versions when you need to. And if something has to go on paper after all, you export a PDF for the office printer or the print shop.
When do you need a brand book?
Not every business needs a thick brand manual on day one. But as soon as more than one person works on your communication, a brand book pays for itself quickly. If you recognise one or more of these situations, it’s time:
- You’re working with a new agency, freelancer or web developer and keep explaining the same things.
- Colleagues make their own presentations, posts or flyers, and none of them look alike.
- You’ve just had a new logo or a rebrand made and want it applied properly.
- Partners, resellers or franchisees use your logo and colours.
- You’re growing: a new location, a second product or more people on the team.
- Nobody knows for sure which logo file is the right one.
Just getting started? Start small. A light version with your brand foundation, logo, colours, typography, a few examples and the files is already worth a lot. You expand it as the brand grows — as long as you choose a format that’s easy to update.
What a brand book looks like
Three examples for fictional brands, each at a different scale: a full brand book, a light version with the essentials and a campaign playbook. Click through and browse the way a reader would. More examples, and what makes them good, are in brand guidelines examples.
- View live demoFull brandbookA complete brand system for a team or client handover.12 pages
- View live demoBrand essentialsA new or small brand that needs every part covered, without the heavy lifting.12 pages
- View live demoCampaign playbookCampaign guidelines for partners, channels and content — the brandbook stays leading.7 pages
How do you get a brand book?
There are roughly three routes, and you can combine them.
- Make it yourself. Doable if your brand already has a logo and visual identity and you can put the choices into words. The step-by-step guide is in how to create brand guidelines; for tools, see brand guidelines maker.
- Hire someone. An agency or freelancer develops the strategy and identity and documents it. What to look out for and what it costs is in brand guidelines cost.
- With help from AI. AI can help with first drafts of copy and with mock-ups, but not with the choices that make a brand. What does and doesn’t work is in AI brand guidelines.
Frequently asked questions about brand books
What is the difference between a brand book and brand guidelines?
Usually none — the terms are mostly used for the same thing. If people do draw a line, a brand book tends to include the strategy (mission, values, audience, personality) as well as the visual rules, while ‘brand guidelines’ is sometimes used for just the rules for logo, colour and type.
What is the difference between a brand book and a style guide?
A brand style guide focuses on the visual identity: logo, colours, typography, imagery and how to apply them. A brand book goes wider and also describes the brand itself. Many organisations combine both in one document. More in what is a brand style guide.
Is a logo the same as a brand?
No. The logo is one part of the visual identity, and that identity is the expression of the brand. A brand book records all of those layers, so the logo isn’t the only thing people know about your brand.
Does a small business need a brand book?
Not a thick one, but a light version, yes. As soon as someone other than you makes something for your brand — a web developer, a printer, a freelancer — an overview of logo, colour codes, typefaces and files saves time and mistakes. Start with the essentials and add to it later.
How often should you update a brand book?
Whenever something changes: a new logo file, an extra colour, a new channel or a new contact person. On top of that, plan a fixed moment — once a year, for example — to review the whole thing. Show the date of the last change in the brand book itself.
What makes a good brand book?
Short where it can be, precise where it must be. Every rule has an example, every colour a code, every logo a downloadable file, and it says who to ask. See the brand guidelines examples or browse the Onda example.