Brand book development
Rules anyone can work by without asking you every time: live examples, do and don’t pages, templates and specifications.
03 03 service 3 of 3 in Brand Identity
What’s included
- Rules for how the brand behaves, not a folder of logo files
- Colour, type, layout and imagery documented on real examples
- Do and don't pages for the mistakes people actually make
- Templates for slides, documents and social, so nobody redraws them
- Digital and print specifications kept in one document
- Written so a new designer can follow it without calling you
Who it’s for
- Companies where every department invents its own version of the brand
- Businesses working with several contractors at once
- Teams whose brand lives in one person's head
In short
A brand book is a set of rules by which anyone can work with your brand without asking you every time — not a folder with logo files. Colour, typefaces, layout and images are documented on live examples, “do and don’t” pages cover the mistakes people actually make, templates for presentations, documents and social networks save redrawing, and screen and print specifications sit in one document. It is written so a new designer or a contractor can figure it out without calling you. The price is counted in hours.
Guidelines, brand book or design system: what is the difference
Three documents about rules — for different scopes and different people.
| Criterion | Logo guidelines | Brand book | Design system |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it covers | the logo and its use | the whole brand on every carrier | the interface of a digital product |
| Who uses it | printers, sign makers | marketing, designers, contractors | product designers and developers |
| The form | a few pages | a document with examples and templates | a component library in design and code |
| When you need it | right after the logo | when more than one person works with the brand | when the product has dozens of screens |
What is inside a brand book
Everything needed to apply the brand correctly — with examples, not just descriptions.
Foundation
- Positioning and the brand’s character in a few lines
- Tone of voice with examples of phrases
Visual system
- Logo: versions, clear space, minimum sizes
- Colours in RGB, HEX, CMYK and Pantone
- Typefaces, sizes and hierarchy
- Grid, graphics, photography and illustration
Do and don’t
- The mistakes people actually make — shown, not described
- Allowed and forbidden backgrounds and combinations
Templates and specifications
- Presentations, documents, social media posts
- Specifications for screen and for print
A brand book people actually use
Most brand books end up in an archive. Here is what keeps one in daily use.
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01
Short
Rules on a page, not essays about the brand’s philosophy.
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02
On examples
Every rule shown on a real carrier: a post, a slide, a sign.
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03
With templates
It is easier to take a ready template than to follow a rule.
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04
Easy to find
An online version with a contents list, not a 200 MB PDF in someone’s email.
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05
Written for newcomers
A new designer or contractor figures it out without calling you.
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06
Kept up to date
With a date and an owner, so new rules do not live only in chats.
Common brand book mistakes
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A folder of logos
Files without rules — and everyone uses them their own way.
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A hundred pages of philosophy
Nobody reads it, and the brand keeps drifting.
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Only perfect examples
Without “don’t” pages people repeat the same mistakes.
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Screen only or print only
Colours look different on screen and on paper — both need specifications.
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Written once and forgotten
The brand changes, the document does not — and it stops being trusted.
Questions about brand books
How much does a brand book cost?
The price is counted in hours and depends on the number of sections, carriers and templates. The sum is fixed before the start; the estimate is free.
Can you make a brand book for an existing identity?
Yes: we collect what exists, fix the gaps and contradictions and write the rules down.
In what format will it be?
A PDF for print and an online version that is easy to share and update.
Do you make templates?
Yes — presentations, documents and social media posts, so the team does not redraw them.
How is it different from a design system?
A brand book covers the brand on every carrier; a design system covers the interface of a digital product, in design and code.
Online form
Discuss
a brand book
Tell us what brand materials you have and who works with them — staff, contractors, partners. We will suggest the scope and estimate the work. The consultation is free.