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What is a brand manual and why do I need one?
What is a brand manual and why do I need one?
November 24, 2009
Does your business have a brand manual? Perhaps you're not quite sure what a brand manual is or why on earth you need one. Let me shed a bit of light on the situation.
Your brand manual is the guide that keeps all of your design on the straight and narrow. It's the document that shows you what your 'house fonts' are, which palette of colours best represent your business. And it shows everyone who designs for your business how to make sure that each piece of collateral look like it's come from the same company. No easy task I can tell you!
It would be easy to accuse brand manuals of making your business design boring, stifling even. But that's not what they're for. Brand manuals allow your designer to be more creative by focusing on the bits they can add value to, rather than changing the font for the sake of being different. Brand manuals help keep your business identity intact. They help you build trust and reassurance with your customers because everything you produce has a common style or theme. That doesn't mean it needs to look the same, but just like it's come from the same company.
Every business needs a brand manual. They will save you time, they'll save you money and they will help you project a better image. What's not to like?
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Comments
Hi, it's a value conversation that you run.
well I was in my way to create a new branding and marking manual for a telecom company, above article is my first google search result and I'm looking for more to help me in what I'm looking to create.
appreciate if you have more hint or links which can provide more help.
by the way I'm media designer
Reagrds,
Thank you Arif
very knowledgeable.
arif mridha.
Hi Misha (and apologies for the delay in my reply). I'm not sure how essential case studies are - as really this is an internal document rather than a brochure, but we would always include a company's mission statement and vision at the outset because it then focuses the reader (ie. Graphic Designer/ member of staff) on all the elements of the business.
I think you're exactly right when you say it's not just about the visuals but also the feel, because ultimately the subconscious feeling a piece of design creates is just as important as how it looks.
You convinced me to make one, but I have a question for you: I've searched for some examples of Brand Manuals and in those examples there are much more details than what font must be used or which colour palette. Some of them also state things such as brand history, mission statement, strategy, vision etcetera. They also give some case studies. So are these really necessary? Do you recommend to implement those things? They not only state the visual things, but also about the feeling that the brand wants to transmit. What is your opinion?
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