Do I need a brand book?

Views: 12148 05 December 2015

The corporate identity manual (brand book) is an essential complement of a company's brand and a necessary tool for the promotion and support of its entire range of visibility in order to emit a coherence image to the general public.

Any company that wants every single detail of its brand to be perfect, must follow a set of rules that explain how the logo operates. These guidelines usually include basic information, such as:

Historical background, philosophy, vision, objectives and core values of the company
Standards for the use of your logo, including the tagline use
Visual examples of correct and incorrect application of the logo
Color palette indication of the logo in all possible forms such as black and white, color, printing and digital use (in eps format for all professional printing applications, jpeg for Microsoft programs, gif for online use)
The type of font (or fonts) authorized for use
Designing of business card, letterhead, brochures, website, social network profile etc.

UTILITY

The brand book is a common reference point for external partners, but also for all the employees. Through that book they can derive the technical information needed to:

limit the possibility of deviating a consistent, strong and easily recognizable coherence image to the general public,
ensure a consensus outcome with high quality standards and
save unnecessary time in explanations and constant corrections.

In conclusion, a corporate identity manual should be flexible enough in order for all of your associates to be creative, but rigid enough to ensure a consistent, strong and easily recognizable image.