Have you ever wondered how Nike and Apple consistently maintain such polish in their advertisements and presentations? This consistency is achieved because they have a clearly defined set of guidelines that govern everything they create, ensuring a recognizable pattern for their audience that continues to spread until it becomes iconic.
A good brand style must be maintained for the brand’s life.
What is a Brand Book?
A brand book is a set of simple rules that acts like a forwardable bible for your company’s design, describing the logo choices, colors, and vibes of your brand. It will be the go-to guide for your branding company, covering logos, colors, and everything that embodies the brand’s vibe.
These rules also encompass guidelines for logos, color codes, fonts, tone, and visuals.
But remember, a brand book is not temporary; it will become your brand’s DNA, so you’ll have to keep it for life.
Examples of Brand Books
Here are some stellar examples of brand books that can help you realize how it works:
• Nike: The mission of Nike is undoubtedly and unashamedly “Just Do It”, and their logo conveys a vibe that is simple, bold, and an untouchable masterpiece. The colors they use are either black, white, or red, which prove to be compelling and versatile. Their tone is bold and motivating, so their branding tries to convey a similar energy.
• Coca-Cola: Coca-Cola is a brand that evokes a sense of pure joy and refreshment. The logo itself is very scripted, iconic, and they will probably never choose to tweak it. Their tone will forever be of a warm, upbeat, and timeless space of fun that never ends.
• Reliance: Reliance comes in with a mission to empower India with quality service at a good value and large access. Their logo is a dynamic R, which has a bold, modern, and versatile feel, enabling them to enter multiple sectors. They typically pair with colors blue and orange, which convey trust, energy, and vibrancy in the bond between them and the customer.
Tips for Designing the Best Brand Book
Here are some tips on how to design the best brand book:
• Start with a purpose: Firstly, define your brand’s mission and the type of customer you aim to attract. You have to state your goals.
• Lock down your visuals: Now, pick 2-4 colors and 1-2 fonts for your brand, depending on the type of company you run and what matches your brand’s vibe. Choosing fonts can be challenging without insight into the market, so it’s advisable to consult a branding company for this purpose.
• Nail down the voice: You should nail down the tone your brand will take for its approach. It can be fun and quirky, but sometimes, for a more professional brand, you may have to apply a bold strategy.
• Keep things clear: When you work on a brand book, you should never ignore some common-sense rules that a branding company chain of command may misunderstand.
• Make it handy: At the end, you should make sure that your brand book is in a convenient format that can be sent to any branding company, and then they can send that to their team in a web-ready format, such as a PDF.
Some Fun Facts
There are many fun facts about brand identity and brand books that you will find fascinating.
• About eighty percent of people recognize their brands by color; that is why people recognize Coke so easily—the red does pop. That is why choosing a unique and recognizable color is crucial.
• The Nike Swoosh logo in 1971 cost about 3500 Rupees but is now worth billions. This is a testament to Nike’s strategic use of branding, particularly in its product line.
• You may not know, but even the smallest cafes will craft brand books along with fonts, vibes, and all in! In this competitive market, any edge that you can get over the competition is worthwhile.
Conclusion
Now that you understand brand books and their impact on the market, you can make informed decisions about logo design, colors, and vibes.
Litmus Branding can help you create a brand book that suits your company. Additionally, feel free to share your favorite brand book with us; we love hearing about it.