What is the Content?
Brand Guidelines can run into hundreds of pages depending on the design
and amount of content made available. These guidelines are also being
made available online on the companies’ websites. Irrespective of the
size or where it is being deposited, three basic features are expected
in a brand guideline.
Brand Information
The brand guideline should contain a background into the need for the
rebranding. The guidelines provide further insight into why they have
decided to rebrand and come up with a new identity which warrants the
need for the guideline. It also reiterates what the brand stands for –
its values, vision and philosophy. The brand uses the document to remind
the readers about their key messages and how it should be communicated,
highlighting their heritage and what lies ahead after their rebranding.
All these are the abstract brand identities that will be physically
presented in the next section.
Brand Identities
The brand identity is the visual elements which need to be explicitly
presented. These identities are generally classified into four groups.
Logo
This is a combination of two components – the symbol and the logotype.
Brand guideline clear display what these features are. Users are
expected to use the logo in all communications and to stick to the
arrangement with the exception in some cases like social media profile
where only the icon will be used. The various arrangement of the logo is
also presented, sometimes in black and white or on a darker background.
Brands take pride in the logo and will always emphasise an ‘Exclusion
Zone’ around the logo where no text or image will interfere. This is the
minimum clear space that must surround the logo. This zone ensures that
the impact and legibility of the logo are not compromised in the
application. Users are also warned about ‘Logo Misuse’ as brands want a
consistent appearance of their identity. They warned that the logo
should not be misinterpreted, modified, or added to. No attempt should
be made to alter the logo in any way. They expect the logo’s
orientation, colour and composition to remain as indicated in the
document.
Colour
The consistent use of these colours is encouraged by the brands as it
contributes to a cohesive and harmonious look across all relevant media.
To achieve this, colour palettes are provided as part of the brand
identity, and these are identified explicitly with various colour coding
systems such as the Pantone® colour system, the international standard
for producing colours, CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/Black) for
print, RGB (Red, Green, Blue) for screen and hexadecimal values for
websites. To further ensure that creative freedom, the brand will also
advise users on different colour combinations within the colour
palettes. For some brands that have trademarked their colours or have a
specific shade of colour they use, information about these colours is
also presented. For example, both Queen’s University Belfast and Netflix
have red as their primary colour, but they are of different shades.
Queen’s University Belfast has a primary colour that they describe as
Queen’s Red - Pantone 185c while Netflix described theirs as Netflix Red
– PANTONE 1795 C . This detailed information is necessary to ensure
that brand differentiation and consistency
Typography
The organisation often acknowledges that type is more than a design
element. They see it as a creative element which expresses who they are.
The typographic principles are often based on function, format and
purpose. These fonts could be bespoke fonts, specially designed for the
brand and therefore any user, either internal or external will have to
get the font from the company. Cisco showcased their clean, modern and
simple font, specially created for them. There commercial fonts which
external users may have to buy and use if they want to with the brand.
There are also system fonts which might be used when bespoke and
commercial fonts are not available. These fonts are available on most
word processing software and are free to use, so they do not require a
font licence. Information on the typography also includes size and
weight, Case, Line spacing, Letter spacing (also known as tracking) and
Justification. Some brands can also recommend specific fonts for use
around the world, as far as it aligns with their main font. Non-English
language layouts are also catered for, especially Arabic where right
alignment will replace the left-alignment. Some specific rules are also
often presented with regards to the typography such as not adding drop
shadows, not stretching the type horizontally or vertically and avoiding
hyphenation in general, and especially in headlines.
Image
Information regarding the type, composition and quality of images to use
are provided in the guidelines. Images are considered one of the brands’
identity to effectively engage with the specific audience. Companies
expect those working with their brands to use the image to tell a story
and give the right impression. Specifically, some brands request for
reportage-style photography that embodies a photo-journalistic eye to
capture pure moments. Users are warned to avoid purchasing stock
photography whenever possible as brands want specially commissioned
images to convey their brand identities as it makes its unique, not see
elsewhere and makes the message more coherent. I Love New York Brand
Guidelines specially stated that images used should be photographs taken
in the New York State. Some brands , do have a vast library of approved
photos, freely available for staff and external users, these images can
be used legally, anywhere in the world, in any media. Rules such as
avoiding emotionless images, avoiding images that do not tell a story,
or avoiding images where models are posing are also presented in the
guidelines. Some brands also support the use of illustrations where
images are not available or if there is a need to create an even more
distinctive impression, but it should still be coherent with the overall
brand identity. The use of icons is also allowed for some brands, but
they expect it to be predominantly used in digital applications to aid
navigation.
Brand Integration
Brands give examples of ways in which their brands can be adequately and
consistently integrated across different media. They demonstrate how
different brand identities can be combined to make effective
communication. This also includes demonstrating the use of the grid
lines as an essential organisational tool in visual identity design. The
brands believe that using these examples and guides provided; it helps
deliver their messages in a clean, simple, and direct way. This
integration also includes the sample layout and template for marketing
collateral, Stationery Items, Business Card, Compliment Slip, Envelope,
Pull-up Stand, Building Entrance Plaque, Wayfinding Signage,
Merchandise, Social Media, Microsoft powerpoint presentations and
Website Elements. This list is inexhaustible depending on how large the
brand is and how much touch point they need to integrate and reinforce
their new brands.