Guide 04 · Guidelines
How to write brand guidelines people actually use.
Brand guidelines explain how to apply an identity: the logo rules, the palette, the type system, the voice and the examples. The useful ones are short, specific and live where the assets live. The unused ones are sixty-page PDFs exported once and never opened.
Sample rule · North logo
Use the North wordmark in Ink (#20332F) on Paper and light photography. Switch to the Paper version on Forest or any dark background. Keep clear space equal to the height of the “N” on every side and never render the mark below 24 px tall. Do not stretch, rotate, outline or recolor it.
One paragraph, four decisions covered: background, clear space, minimum size, what not to do.
Who the guidelines are for
Not the designer. They already know. Guidelines are for the sales manager building a deck, the freelancer writing a landing page and the partner adding your logo to their site. Write for the least brand-literate person who will use them, and keep every rule tied to a decision they will actually face.
What to include
A complete set covers five areas. Each can be a paragraph and a few examples; none needs a chapter.
- Logo: variations, which background each goes on, clear space, minimum size, what not to do
- Color: named palette with values, which color is primary and what the others are for
- Typography: typefaces, weights, roles for headings and body, fallbacks
- Voice: three or four principles with a sentence of example copy each
- Examples: two or three real applications, and two or three wrong ones with the reason
How long should brand guidelines be?
As short as they can be while answering the questions people ask. For most small brands that is a few screens, not a book. Length is not thoroughness; a guideline that is read and followed is worth more than one that is comprehensive and ignored. Put the long-form rationale in a separate document for those who want it.
Show wrong, not just right
A wrong example with a reason teaches the rule behind it. These three pairs cover the mistakes most brands see first, using the North mock identity.
Paper on Forest
Sand on Paper
Put the rule where the decision is made
The most effective guideline is a line next to the asset. “Use on dark backgrounds only” beside the white logo is followed. Page 14, section 3.2 is not. GitBrand is built around this: each logo, color and font in a repository carries its own name and description, and the repository FAQ section holds the recurring questions. The guidelines become the interface, not an attachment.
Keep them alive
Guidelines decay when they are exported. Keep one live version with a named owner. When a real question arrives, answer it and add it. When the identity changes, update the guidance in the same session as the assets. Tell collaborators what changed rather than re-sending the whole thing. A repository at gitbrand.com/your-slug keeps the same link through every revision, so nobody is holding an old copy.
Questions about brand guidelines
Do I need a brand guidelines template?
A template helps you remember the five areas. It does not replace writing rules specific to your brand and its real use cases. Start from the questions you have already been asked.
Should guidelines be a PDF?
A PDF is fine as a reference document and as a resource in your repository. The everyday rules work better as short notes beside the assets, where they are read.
How do brand guidelines relate to a brand kit?
The kit is the assets; the guidelines are how to use them. In GitBrand they live in the same repository, which is the point.
Who should own the guidelines?
One named person who can edit the repository. Ownership is what keeps the rules current; a document with no owner is a document nobody updates. On the free plan the owner edits the repository directly; team seats and roles are part of the Premium plan, which is labelled coming soon.
Source
- Google: creating helpful, people-first content. The same principle applies to guidelines: write for the person who has a question, not for completeness.
Put the rules beside the assets
A free GitBrand repository holds your logos, colors, fonts and the one-line rule for each, at a single link. Up to five repositories, no credit card.