Brand standards are crucial for every company from small mom and pop shops to large corporations. A guide helps internal personnel, consultants and vendors know how to properly use the company’s logo, colors and style.

A brand standards guide can be as simple or elaborate as a company needs. The bare minimum should include the logo and icon usage (acceptable color usage, space around the logo, size requirements), color-palette with the PMS, CMYK and RGB breakdown, and fonts. Other items typically include letterhead, email signature, photography standards and style, tone of voice, icons, merchandise, interior office design, brochure design, website design, business cards …pretty much everywhere the brand lives.

See below for examples from the Small Giants brand standards guide:

Our art director and design team lead, Jana Berrelleza, emphasizes that a brand standards guide is a living document – meaning it will be modified. The guide should be updated any time there is a modification to the brand’s design, or if a new item or standard is added. Jana also suggests that one person should champion updating the brand standards guide and distributing a PDF version to anyone in the company that creates, designs or orders items that the brand lives in/on.

If your firm needs guidance on creating brand standards, email info@smallgiantsonline.com to schedule a meeting with our design team, which will you take you through the brand standards experience.