BRAND guidelines

Ensure consistency across your business

GET ORGANISED!

Brand guidelines bring all your brand details together in one document, so you can find everything you need quickly and easily – every time

Do you want to feel more confident as your business grows?

Do you want to make it easy for your team to stay on brand, but right now you don’t feel like you have any coherence?

Price guide
Brand books on a shelf
Stop! Your intern is about to use Comic Sans!

Does this sound familiar?

YOU NEED HELP WITH YOUR BRANDING – YOUR STYLE, VOICE AND VISUALS

Everything’s all over the place. There’s no consistency.

You’ve tried putting it all together yourself in files, folders and documents, but you’re in a muddle.

You’ve tried doing it yourself, but it’s a mess. You’re not sure if you’ve got all the most up-to-date information. You might have missed something. Now you’re feeling overwhelmed – you don’t have the time or expertise to put it right and you feel that the lack of organisation is holding you back.

  • PERSONAL BRANDING
  • VISUAL STORYTELLING
  • SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS

what DO successful businesses
have in common?

How do they deal with all the ‘stuff’?

a single style sheet for fictitious company "cakes cakes cakes"

BRAND GUIDELINES

A clear, concise set of guidelines that lets team members, customers and clients really know the brand.
All the big businesses have them.

  • Information in one place
  • one document to share

no more faffing about

an editor's desk, notebooks

Do you want to rely on folders full of stuff…

or do you want a sleek, comprehensive guide that frees up your space and time?

I can help you by creating a go-to brand book, full of guidelines specific to your brand.

With a set of brand guidelines you’ll have all you need in one place (no more hunting around for that brand colour you can’t remember the code for, or the font you know you use but can’t remember its name or where you got it).

You’ll have all your branding information in one document to give you peace of mind – no more embarrassed silences when a copywriter asks for your brand voice guidelines, or your printer asks for your main colour CMYK breakdown.  

This one document will make you and your team more productive

Say hello to your brand book

You’ll feel super confident that you can quickly and easily give your team what they need.  Even if you’re a solopreneur, a comprehensive set of guidelines will help you feel more professional, more confident and more in control. You’ll save time by having your own brand bible – a living, breathing PDF reference to your business brand, created by a professional.

Don’t be embarrassed if you don’t know what a brand book is – loads of really clued up business people don’t either.

Together we’ll gather your information

Then I’ll create your brand guidelines

a selection of books on branding
books on branding and colour theory

What is a brand book?

it’s an essential tool to help you establish your brand preferences and your brand identity.

It can be called a brand bible, brand book, brand style guide, brand identity guide or brand guidelines document.

It acts as a key document to help you communicate a consistent brand message to your audience, and acts as a go-to reference for all your communications team, from your social media manager to your content creators and designers.

Inconsistent branding can damage the reputation of your business and create confusion.

help Me!

“This is AMAZING! It’s everything I need for the site, in one place. Do you KNOW how many post-it notes I can shred now?!”

– Louise

Show everyone you mean business

Take the hassle out of organising your brand identity.

Your pdf brand book will be designed for your needs, but can include:

  • Logo – details of your logo type, size, versions, alternate colourways and usage, so you and your team know what should be used, and what shouldn’t. Helping your customers identify your brand immediately.
  • Typography – the typefaces and fonts your brand uses, along with their weights. It’s really important to stay consistent, not just to look pretty.
  • Colour palette – a detailed visual guide to the colours used across your brand.  Know exactly which colours you are using across all aspects of your communication.
  • Tone of voice – brand voice is just as important as visual identity. Help your content creators set the right tone every time.
  • Social media – help your media managers and creators by setting out do and don’ts, give them guidelines to make their lives (and yours) easier.
  • Image use – if you have specific overlays, colourways or presets, it’s vital to stay on brand by making sure your team have the details to hand.
  • Website design – do you have a certain ‘feel’ to your website? Have your details to hand for whenever you need them.

Being organised needn’t be boring.

It’s an investment in your business. A reference point for years to come.

  • No more scrabbling for up-to-date information.
  • No more pretending you know what font your headlines use.
  • No more ‘I’ll get back to you’ when a team member asks for your brand guidelines.
  • No more ‘it’s medium green’ when your new designer asks for your main logo colour.

You’ll finally be in control of your brand identity

Enjoy the peace of mind that you and your team are building a brand your customers will recognise and trust.

“Our brand book pulled all our design elements together so that we could better understand where we were being consistent with our brand (and where we were not). Sara also provided useful feedback on our brand ‘voice’, something which we would only otherwise have been able to achieve through extensive market testing.”

– Helen

why bother?

So why bother with a brand book when you can do it yourself ?

after all you already have your logo designed and know your colours

non-employee of the week mug

By commissioning a professional brand book:

With a set of brand guidelines you’ll have all you need in one place (no more hunting around for that brand colour you can’t remember the code for, or the font you know you use but can’t remember its name or where you got it).

  • You’ll save time – go do what you’re best at.
  • You’ll relieve the pressure – no more rooting around for information your team needs asap.
  • You’ll have all your vital brand identity notes together – logo, fonts, colour palettes, tone of voice, image use and social media preferences.
  • You’ll be able to provide a comprehensive brand identity to designers, managers and anyone working with your company.

Whether you’re a microcompany or a huge corporation (just starting out or a hundred years old), a brand guidelines book will help you feel more confident, more professional and help you stay in control.

A recent report Lucidpress noted that maintaining brand consistency averaged a 33% increase in revenue.

Being Freelance Non-employee of the Week award SJD

READY TO

CONNECT?

Not sure what you need? Don’t worry!

Talk to me and we can figure it out.

My business services can save you time and money. Let’s take the stress out of your business writing.

I’m a professionally trained, Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), I adhere to their code of practice. I’m also a Pro Member of ProCopywriters (the alliance of commercial writers). I’m a Certified Direct-Response Copywriting Specialist, Search Marketing Specialist and Graduate of the Andy Maslen Copywriting Academy, with a first-class degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.

EMAIL ME
a single brand guide or style sheet for fictitious company "cakes cakes cakes"
An example of a brand style sheet

HAVE QUESTIONS?

Sara Donaldson | Northern Editorial

Because each set of brand guidelines is tailored to your business I need to ask you a few questions first. A brand book for a microbusiness is going to be different to an all-in set of guidelines for a big multi-national.

When you email me there is absolutely no pressure. None at all.

Nope. I’ll pull together all your brand details, but you’re best to get a designer to create your logo.

Perhaps. Some designers don’t offer this service at all, some will automatically offer you a basic set of visual brand guidelines, and others may charge extra for a more comprehensive visual set.

A professional set of brand guidelines will tie in with your needs – they might only include visual guidelines, or incorporate both visual and brand voice.

Do you know your colour codes, font families and brand voice? A set of brand guidelines goes much deeper than a simple logo.

Well, it might take a bit of digging to get all your information together, but once you’ve found it, leave the rest to me. I’m experienced at gathering information and bringing it all together. If there’s anything missing, we’ll work through it together. At the end you’ll have a document that will serve you for years to come.

When you run a business, sometimes you have to spend money to make money. By commissioning a bespoke set of brand guidelines you’re investing in professionalism, time saved and the most excellent feeling of having everything in order.

Don’t worry. There’s no such thing as a stupid question. I probably wouldn’t be able to do your job. I can guide you through everything.

If you’re a microbusiness, a brand book will keep you on track and be there for when you need to grow. If you’re an SME it will allow your teams to work to the same set of standards, and if you’re a large corporate business a set of brand guidelines is a vital asset to your company. I work with small to medium independent businesses who care about their history – if that’s you then we’re a good fit.