What is the difference between a brand book and a style guide?

People use the terms loosely. A brand book often includes strategy and voice as well as visual rules. A style guide sometimes means visual rules only, or an editorial guide for writing. We agree on contents with you up front.

How long should a brand book be?

As short as it can be while still answering common questions. A small business may need only a few pages. A company with sub-brands and many vendors needs more.

Can you create guidelines for a brand you did not design?

Yes. We start by collecting your files and studying how the brand is used. Where rules are unclear, we propose options and confirm them with you.

Do you include templates?

We can. Common templates include social posts, slides, letterhead and email signatures. Linking templates from the book makes it much more likely people will follow it.

How do we keep the guidelines current?

Name an owner and review the book at least once a year. A web guide makes small updates easy. We also offer update support if you would rather hand that off.

Branding Agency

Brand Book Design That Your Team and Vendors Will Follow

Our brand book design service documents how your brand works, so anyone can use it correctly, from a new marketing hire to a sign shop. We cover logo use, colors, type, imagery, voice and templates. The goal is a guide people open and follow, not one that sits forgotten in a shared drive.

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Price

In your free proposal

Based on your goals and scope

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Free

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Why most brand guidelines get ignored

They are too long, too vague or out of date. They live in a file nobody can find. They describe rules but do not link to the files people need.

We design for the person who needs a quick answer. Where is the logo file? What is the exact blue? Can I put the logo on a photo? Each answer should take seconds to find.

That means short sections, clear do and do not examples, and download links next to every rule.

What goes inside the brand book

The contents depend on your brand, but most books include these sections.

Brand foundation – Mission, positioning and personality on one page, so every rule has a reason.
Logo rules – Versions, clear space, minimum sizes, placement on photos and examples of misuse.
Color – Values for print, screen and Pantone, plus approved text and background pairs.
Typography – Fonts, sizes and hierarchy, fallback fonts for tools that lack yours, and licensing notes.
Imagery – Photo style, illustration style and real examples of what fits and what does not.
Voice and templates – Tone rules, a word list, sample copy and links to ready-made templates.

PDF, web guide or both

A PDF is easy to send to a printer or a new agency. A web guide is easier to search, update and keep current. Tools like Frontify, Zeroheight and Notion, or a password-protected page on your own site, all work. We build in whichever your team will maintain.

Many clients want two versions. The full book serves marketing, design and agency partners. A short vendor sheet covers what printers, sign shops and embroiderers need: logo files, color values and clear space rules.

A good brand style guide also has an owner. We help you name one person to answer questions and approve updates.

How we build or update your guidelines

Step 1: We audit your current assets and how people use them. We look at real materials made by staff and vendors, not just the official files.

Step 2: We fill gaps. Many brands have never decided basic rules, such as how secondary colors are used or how the logo sits on photos. We propose rules and test them on real examples.

Step 3: We write and design the book. Step 4: Your stakeholders review it, and we revise. Step 5: We launch it with a short training session and hand the files to the owner on your team.

Brand guidelines cost and timing

Brand guidelines cost depends mostly on your starting point. Documenting a complete identity costs less than deciding rules from scratch.

You get a clear price in your free proposal, after we look at your goals. Cost also depends on page count, whether a voice section is included, the number of templates and how many sub-brands you have.

If your identity has gaps, start with our brand identity design service. If you are in the middle of a change, our rebranding team can build the book into the rollout. A brand book is usually the last step of a wider branding agency project, but it can also stand alone.

Last updated: 18 October 2026

FAQ

Brand Book Design Services: questions

People use the terms loosely. A brand book often includes strategy and voice as well as visual rules. A style guide sometimes means visual rules only, or an editorial guide for writing. We agree on contents with you up front.
As short as it can be while still answering common questions. A small business may need only a few pages. A company with sub-brands and many vendors needs more.
Yes. We start by collecting your files and studying how the brand is used. Where rules are unclear, we propose options and confirm them with you.
We can. Common templates include social posts, slides, letterhead and email signatures. Linking templates from the book makes it much more likely people will follow it.
Name an owner and review the book at least once a year. A web guide makes small updates easy. We also offer update support if you would rather hand that off.