Brand Guide vs Style Guide: Key Differences Explained

Brand guides and style guides are essential tools for businesses, but they serve different purposes:

Brand Guide:

• Company's identity blueprint

• Defines mission, values, and brand personality

• Covers visual identity (logo, colors, fonts)

• Used by everyone in the company

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Style Guide:

• Writing and design rulebook

• Focuses on content creation details

• Covers grammar, formatting, and specific word usage

• Mainly used by content creators and designers

Quick Comparison:

Both guides are crucial for maintaining consistency, which can boost revenue by up to 23%. For startups and tech companies, these guides can be game-changers in standing out and connecting with audiences.

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What Are Brand and Style Guides?

Brand guides and style guides are two different tools that businesses use. Let's break them down:

Brand Guide: Your Company's Personality Manual

A brand guide is like your company's DNA. It's a blueprint that shows who you are at your core. Here's what it includes:

• Your mission and vision

• Brand values and personality

• Target audience

• Visual identity (logo, colors, fonts)

• Voice and tone

Take Airbnb's 2014 rebrand. Their guide didn't just show off a new logo. It explained their "Belong Anywhere" idea, helping their 3,000+ employees worldwide get what Airbnb is all about.

Why does this matter? Well, consistent branding can boost revenue by up to 23%. It helps create a unified experience for customers, making it easier for them to connect with your business and pick you out from the crowd.

Style Guide: Your Company's Writing Rulebook

A style guide is more like your company's grammar teacher. It focuses on the details of content creation, making sure everything you put out looks and sounds the same. It covers:

• Writing rules (grammar, punctuation, formatting)

• Specific words to use (or not use)

• Visual guidelines (fonts, colors, layout)

Google's style guide is a great example. It tells writers exactly how to sound "Googley" across all their products.

MailChimp takes it a step further. Their guide breaks down writing rules by content type, like emails and blog posts. They emphasize clarity and empathy, saying: "At Mailchimp, we've walked in our customers' shoes, and we know marketing technology is a minefield of confusing terminology."

Who Uses These Guides?

Brand guides are for everyone in the company. They help keep the brand consistent.

Style guides are mainly for content creators and designers. They make sure all external communications look and sound the same.

Why Both Matter

These guides aren't just for big companies. For startups, setting these rules early can be a game-changer. Look at Slack - their unique brand voice, shaped by a solid style guide, helped them stand out. In just two years, they went from 16,000 to 2.7 million daily active users.

So, whether you're just starting out or you're a tech giant, both brand and style guides are key tools. They help create a lasting impression and drive growth. They're not just fancy documents - they're the backbone of a strong, consistent brand that connects with your audience and sets you apart.

Parts of a Brand Guide

A brand guide isn't just a document. It's your company's identity blueprint. Let's break down its key parts:

Company Purpose and Values

This is where you spell out what drives your business. It's the heart of your brand guide.

Take Walmart's mission: "Create and steward a unified brand experience that enables Customers, Associates, & Communities to achieve a better life." It's simple, but it packs a punch. It guides everything they do.

Your guide should nail down:

• Mission statement: Your big goal

• Vision: Where you're headed

• Core values: Your guiding principles

These aren't just fancy words. They're the backbone of your brand's personality and how you connect with people.

Visual Design Rules

This part sets the rules for how your brand looks everywhere. It's often the first thing people notice about your brand.

Here's what to include:

Logo Usage: Spell out how to use your logo. Cover size limits, space around it, and okay variations. When Airbnb rebranded in 2014, they were super clear about how to use their new "Bélo" symbol.

Color Palette: Pin down your brand colors. List your main colors, backup colors, and accent colors. Include RGB, HEX, and CMYK codes. Here's a fun fact: using a signature color can boost brand recognition by 80%. So getting your colors right is a big deal.

Typography: List your brand fonts. Include styles, sizes, and forms. This keeps everything looking the same across the board.

Imagery Style: Set guidelines for the kinds of images, illustrations, or graphics that fit your brand look.

Parts of a Style Guide

A style guide is your company's writing rulebook. It keeps your communications consistent and on-brand. Here's what it includes:

Writing Rules

These guidelines ensure your content is clear, professional, and uniquely "you." They cover:

Voice and Tone

This is how your brand "speaks." For example, the University of Utah Health's guide says:

This helps writers nail the right tone across all communications.

Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation

These rules keep your content error-free and consistent. Decide on:

• American or British English spellings

• Oxford comma usage

• Em dash rules

Formatting

This covers how to write dates, when to use bullet points, and more.

Cleveland Clinic takes their writing rules seriously. Jenn Lonzer, their Health Library Manager, says:

Font and Text Rules

These guidelines make sure your text looks as good as it reads. They include:

Typeface Selection

Choose fonts that match your brand image. For example:

Typographic Hierarchy

This organizes your text visually. Use different sizes and weights for headlines, subheadings, and body text. One expert puts it this way:

Spacing

Set rules for leading (line spacing), tracking (letter spacing), and kerning (space between specific letter pairs).

Your style guide should be a living document. Aha Media Group says:

Set a reminder to review and update it annually to keep it fresh and relevant.

Main Differences

Brand guides and style guides are different tools with distinct roles. Let's break it down:

Big Picture vs. Daily Use

Brand guides are about your company's identity. Style guides? They're for everyday content creation.

Brand Guides: Think of these as your company's DNA. They're all about your mission and values. When Airbnb rebranded in 2014, their guide didn't just show a new logo. It explained their "Belong Anywhere" idea to their 3,000+ employees worldwide.

Style Guides: These are like your company's grammar teacher. They focus on the details of content creation. Google's guide tells writers exactly how to sound "Googley" across all their products.

Side-by-Side Look

Here's a quick comparison:

Brand guides are about strategy. Style guides? They're about daily use.

Condensed Branding, a branding agency, says:

This shows how one brand guide can lead to many style guides for different uses.

Both guides matter for consistency. A 2019 Lucidpress study found that consistent branding can boost revenue by up to 23%. That's real impact.

For startups and tech companies, these guides can be game-changers. Look at Slack. Their unique voice, shaped by a solid style guide, helped them stand out. In just two years, they went from 16,000 to 2.7 million daily active users.

How to Use Both Guides

Let's talk about making your brand and style guides work for you. It's not just about creating fancy documents - it's about weaving them into your company's DNA.

Required Documents

You need two key documents: a brand guide and a style guide. Here's what to include:

Brand Guide:

• Company purpose and values

• Visual design rules (logo, colors, typography)

• Brand voice and personality

Style Guide:

• Writing rules (grammar, punctuation, formatting)

• Font and text rules

• Guidelines for different content types

Take a look at Mailchimp's style guide. They break down writing rules by content type and focus on clarity. They say, "We've walked in our customers' shoes, and we know marketing technology is a minefield of confusing terminology."

Team Training

Creating guides is step one. The real challenge? Getting your team to use them.

Make it easy to find Put your guides online where everyone can access them. Shopify does this well - their style guide is public, making it easy for internal teams and partners to use.

Train your team Don't just email out the guides. Run workshops to walk your team through them. Atlassian has a brand team that regularly trains employees across departments.

Use real examples Show how to apply the guidelines using actual company materials. It makes the training more practical.

Keep it going Brand training isn't a one-time thing. Schedule regular refresher sessions. As Honey Creative says:

Make it fun Turn guideline knowledge into a challenge. Create quizzes or contests to test understanding. It can boost engagement and help people remember the rules.

Set the example Make sure leadership uses the guides in their communications. When the bosses follow the rules, it shows everyone how important brand consistency is.

The goal isn't just following rules - it's creating brand champions. When your team gets your brand, they become your best marketers. As the Quill Team puts it, "By creating a solid brand foundation with new employees, you'll be creating your best brand advocates."

Conclusion

Brand guides and style guides aren't just fancy paperwork. They're the secret sauce behind successful companies. Here's why they matter:

Brand guides are your company's DNA. They define who you are at your core. Take Airbnb's 2014 rebrand. Their guide didn't just show off a new logo. It explained their "Belong Anywhere" idea to 3,000+ employees worldwide. That's powerful.

Style guides are your daily playbook. They keep your content consistent across all channels. Google's guide, for example, tells writers exactly how to sound "Googley" in all their products.

Why should you care? Because consistency builds trust. And trust = money. A 2019 Lucidpress study found that consistent branding can boost revenue by up to 23%. Not too shabby.

But here's the thing: these guides aren't set-it-and-forget-it. They need regular updates to stay fresh. Sarah Engeset, a Design Strategist, puts it this way:

Sounds great, but where do you start? That's where expert help comes in. A brand consultant can:

• Define your brand values

• Create a compelling brand story

• Develop a strategy for consistent messaging

The team at Evolv, branding specialists, notes:

Your brand isn't just your logo or colors. It's the entire experience you create for your customers. Your brand guide and style guide help you deliver that experience consistently, every single time.

So, whether you're a tiny startup or a tech giant, solid brand and style guides are smart investments. They help you stand out, build trust, and drive growth. Don't underestimate them. As Chris Foss, a branding expert, says:

FAQs

Brand Guide vs. Style Guide: What's the Difference?

Think of a brand guide as your company's DNA and a style guide as its wardrobe. Here's the breakdown:

Brand Guide: It's the big picture. It tells everyone what your company stands for and believes in. When Airbnb changed their look in 2014, they used their brand guide to explain their new "Belong Anywhere" idea to thousands of employees.

Style Guide: This is the nitty-gritty stuff. It tells you exactly how to use your logo, what colors to pick, and how to write. Google's guide, for example, shows writers how to sound "Googley" in everything they create.

What's in a Brand Style Guide?

A solid brand style guide usually covers:

• How to use the logo

• Color choices (with exact codes)

• Font rules

• Image style

• Icon guidelines

• How to write and sound

• Rules for illustrations

Starbucks takes it a step further. Their guide even talks about how their brand looks different with the seasons.

Are Brand Guides and Style Guides the Same?

Nope, they're different beasts:

• Brand Guide: It's the whole package. It covers your brand's big ideas and identity.

• Style Guide: It's more specific. It tells you exactly how to create stuff for your brand.

As the folks at WebFX put it: "A style guide gives designers specific instructions on things like how to best use the company logo, colors, and fonts. Brand guidelines, on the other hand, are much bigger. They cover the whole brand strategy."

Brand Guidelines vs. Brand Style Guide: What's the Difference?

People often use these terms to mean the same thing, but there can be small differences:

• Brand Guidelines: Usually bigger. They cover your brand's game plan, what you're all about, and your overall look.

• Brand Style Guide: Often more focused on how things look and sound, like using your logo, picking colors, and writing.

For example, NASA's brand guidelines from way back in 1976 were a whopping 60 pages long. They covered everything about the brand. But these days, brand style guides like Zendesk's are usually shorter. They focus on practical stuff like fonts, colors, layout, and how to write.