THE IMPORTANCE OF STYLE GUIDES

As 82% of consumers are now shopping with brands whose values align with their own (Consumer Goods, 2022), consistency is crucial for brand success in 2023. So, if you’re aiming to get customers on board with your brand, a strong style guide is a key part of the process.

So, what is a style guide?

A style guide is a doc which summarises your brand’s visual and written identity, to ensure a consistent theme and tone across all content you post.

Whether you’re a new business or going through a rebrand, style guides play an important role in ensuring you’re communicating well with the customers in your target audience.

From colours and copy to typography and logo, a style guide captures all the elements that make up your brand and pulls them together in one single guidebook to follow. Working closely with your chosen style guide helps to build cohesion and familiarity for your audience to make you a trustworthy figure.

Why do I need a style guide?

Staying consistent with your style of content not only gives all your content a familiar look and feel across all platforms, but also builds trust with the customer. Having a style guide in place makes establishing your brand seamless, as whether it’s a graphic designer or copywriter in your team, everyone is following the same rules and guidelines. This consistency leads to stronger brand recognition for your target audience, so they’re more likely to purchase from you as it feels familiar.

How can I apply my style guide to different content?

The great thing about a well-crafted style guide is that it will be versatile enough to work across all areas of your brand.

On social media, sticking to a refined colour palette and typeface from the style guide makes any content visually recognisable, whether it goes on Instagram or TikTok. Even your caption will be influenced by the tone of voice guidelines set out in the style guide.

For larger creative briefs, the themes set out in the style guide will act as the foundation to build upon. This ensures that there is still flex for your creative execution, but it will retain the essence and spirit of your brand.

Final thoughts

With Pantone’s chosen colour of the year being the bright and vibrant Viva Magenta, 2023 may be the year to go bold and playful with your brand’s style guide if you’re looking to shake things up.

Need a strong brand identity but not sure where to start? Get in touch and let our team of creatives make it happen.