The brand is the heart and soul of the company. It describes who you are, what you do and how you do it. It’s important that the entire team work in unison to present the brand consistently across all marketing channels.

Having and following a Brand Manual will help build both brand equity and awareness. It will explain the message of the brand, helping to express your company’s culture and character. This will result in greater control of its representation in the market.

When dealing with marketers, advertisers, designers, photographers and printers, the brand manual will ensure that they fully understand your message. You will avoid inappropriate use and positioning of logos, careless handling of style elements, incorrect colours, and an inconsistent message. It will safeguard the true design and character of your brand.

Elements a Brand Manual address are:

• Brand description – The story and values of your company and brand.
• Logo – A visual list of the proper usage of the brand and logo. Placement and sizing should remain consistent within each communication vehicle (e.g., website, email campaigns, stationary, brochures, etc.)
• Tone – It’s what you say and how you say it. Are you straightforward and reassuring or cheeky and playful?
• Color – Colour plays a large role in memory retrieval and increases brand recognition. You want to make sure that a consistent colour palette is used.
• Images – The look and feel of all images should be similar in style and support the brand positioning. Does the brand utilize photographs or illustrations?
• Typography – A description of what fonts are used in, how often, and in what contexts.

Using a Brand Manual will protect the consistency of your brand, improve customer confidence, increase your profile and enhance your competitive advantage. You will spend less time worrying about the details, giving you more time to focus on the big picture.