Posts tagged: branding

Build a Business Brand with Brand Standards

Building a company’s brand identity means many different things to many different people, but one point that everyone agrees on is that a brand, once defined, must be consistently reinforced.

A brand guideline, or brand standards guide, is the definitive resource that outlines how your brand will be repeatedly represented throughout all communications. It guarantees the quality, consistency, and clarity of your brand whether materials are created in-house or through outsourced design vendors.

A brand guideline is known by a number of different names:
• Communication guide
• Brand standards guide
• Corporate identity guidelines
• Brand standards manual
• Brand style guide
• Brand identity manual
• Style guide

The list goes on. But no matter what you choose to call it, a brand guideline is the set of design rules that tie together the look and feel of all your marketing materials. It is the reference document that contains the rules for visually presenting the position of the company in the market. Use of the guideline creates awareness of the brand and visually differentiates your company from competitors.
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What’s the Big Deal about Brand Standards?

brandstandards

Is your company signaling a big red flag to customers or are you proudly flying a strong brand banner?

Some companies never get to the point where they’re able to define who they really are. That’s a red flag. Lack of clarity about their own identity and what they represent almost always translates into jumbled messages and incoherent impressions to their customers.

Unfortunately, inconsistency and chaos does not breed trust, stability, and customer loyalty. In fact, it quite often has the reverse effect. Customers prefer stability, clarity and transparency. Luckily that’s where Brand Standards come in. It much more beneficial to proudly fly a brand banner than to be a red flag.

A brand guideline, or brand standard as some folks call it, is a big deal. It’s the design, fabric and stitching of your company. It is the definitive resource that outlines how your brand will be repeatedly represented throughout all communications. It is the reference document that contains the rules for visually presenting the position of the company in the market. Use of the guideline creates awareness of the brand and differentiates your company from competitors. Read more »