Once you have your company strategy designed, whether you’re already in business or not, it is time to put the pieces together and create a uniform brand. Every type of company will be different, of course, but there are certain guidelines to follow that run across the board.
Here is your brand guideline checklist:
- Color Scheme
- choose your colors (2-3 primary, and 4 secondary that follow a similar theme)
- best to choose one color, then a variation, either lighter or darker of it, and additionally a shade, white, grey, brown or black.
- choose you colors and stick to them; they will be your basis to everything.
- along with your colors, identify a few textures you will use and stick to that will give an overall feel to your brand (distressed wood, brick, galvanized metal, etc)
- Your Logo Means everything!
- Find a symbol that relates to your brand and displays what you want to convey to your audience.
- this doesn’t mean finding a mascot, though that does work for some companies, but rather something that conveys a feeling.
- color scheme needs to stay consistent
- create a few variations of your logo that can accommodate size restrictions online, overlay on images, work for social media profile photos, and overall be a recognizable icon.
- Imagery
- Choose some stock photography or hire a photographer and gather images that convey that same feeling across all channels.
- You’ll want your website and social media to be filled with imagery that directs back to the brand.
- Consistency
- in everything you do, you need to be consistent to build a loyal audience
- think of any huge brand: Apple, Starbucks, Nike, McDonalds, Pottery Barn, etc…. They all have a consistent model whether you are online or in any physical space across the world! They know that to keep an audience you need to deliver what the audience wants and knows, and that is consistency. Someone is in an area they don’t know and they want a cup of coffee, they go to a Starbucks because they know it will be clean, have the drinks they want, wifi, outlets, parking etc.
- Find out what your audience will love you for and stick to it!