Style guides are the bible that every strong brand is built upon. Within their pages lie all the details that marketing agencies, printers, publishers, web developers, and everyone remotely associated with promoting the brand would need to know.
What is the RGB breakdown of the logo? Look in the style guide.
Do we hyphenate the word “e-mail” in our corporate language? Check out the style guide.
Whether it’s 10 pages or 100 (and I’ve seen both), it would be unheard of for a brand of any real significance to embark on a marketing program without having a style guide at the very center of its efforts.
As a believer in brands, and as a developer of them, I have beaten the brand drum for many years, always emphasizing the importance of maintaining brand integrity. Consistency, after all, is one of the strongest devices in a marketing arsenal for building immediate recognition over time, and consistency is one of the biggest benefits that comes with the style guide.
But for all their value, and all the time, thought and effort that goes into their development, style guides are often treated with contempt by marketing professionals on both the client and the agency side who struggle to break free from their constraints. That’s because as marketers we’re a creative species, and our imaginations seek out open canvases. The style guide puts limits that canvas by providing strict guidelines for us to follow – and limits are the Kryptonite to creativity.
This creates a chasm between the “brand police,” whose job it is to ensure that the style guide is followed, and creative marketers who want to break free. The important thing for all parties to remember is that the style guide is exactly that – a guide. It provides information and direction, details when needed and a answers when questions arise. Brand managers need to remember that the marketing department can’t function as a police-state, and while people on the production end of the food chain may need to follow the guide by the letter, creative directors and key strategists should be provided certain lee-way with look, feel and voice. The guide provide what the brand should be conceptually and in certain media, such as advertising, going outside the lines to promote the message can be a benefit.
At the same time, creatives need to work within the general umbrella of the brand, and absorb the guide on a conceptual level. The guide does more than break down colors and fonts – it defines the personality and promise of a brand. Creatives need to work within those boundaries and remember that everything they do is reflection of the brand to the public – not an isolated canvas for them to paint upon.
