Brand Book, in the modern sense, is a guide to the use of corporate identity. Now brands used in business, advertising and marketing, although the first attempt of branding used in animal husbandry. The hosts put on his animal skin brand, so as not to confuse the animals in the pasture. In most states of America, the law requires stigmatizing animals and registering a stigma, before using it. So the first brand books represented a description of the brand, the rules for its location, the name of the owner of the “brand” and a list of types of animals that have been branded. Such brand books exist to this day, many states provide them in a free access. In addition to the distinctive function, branding animals and creating a separate brand book for each brand serve as an auxiliary tool for law enforcement agencies dealing with theft and abuse of animals. It is noteworthy that for the American user the term “brand book” to this day refers only to livestock. And what we call a brand book, is the – “Style guide”.
What is a corporate Brand Book and why do most developing companies need it?
Under the corporate style we understand a set of all elements that indicate a belonging to the company. In creating the corporate image of the company there are no insignificant details, every millimeter and every nuance is taken into account.Any deviations, distortions and independent color solutions that differ from those prescribed in the manual are a violation of the corporate identity. Briefly speaking, brand book is a set of technical requirements for designers engaged in the creation of original models, as well as performers, implementing material implementation of branded products.
The content of the brand book depends on the characteristics and scale of the firm’s production. Brand book is not regulated by generally accepted mandatory standards, it can be serious and concise, such as for large companies manufacturing cars, technical equipment, or designed in a playful manner, like the software for communication and video calls Skype.
But, even despite such freedom in the design of the brand book, there are certain mandatory standards. The simplest brand book should contain:
- Information about company colors, their combinations;
- Brand name and its geometry;
- Logo, its text and color solutions;
- Variations of the corporate background;
- Information about the main and additional brand fonts;
- Examples of all kinds of branded products and advertising designs.
In itself, brand book is also a printing product, to a certain extent, advertising products. It is also issued in accordance with its own description. Layout of brand book is a time-consuming and responsible task, because the success of the company depends on its quality among potential customers and employees, therefore, as a rule, they do not save brand building and never trust this business with amateurs.