Branding · Checklist
Brand guidelines checklist: what to include
7 min read · Updated July 2026
A logo is not a brand identity, and a folder of files is not brand guidelines. This checklist covers what a usable document contains — written from the perspective of the people who have to apply it: printers, signage crews, gifting suppliers and the next designer you hire.
1. Logo system
- Primary logo, plus horizontal, stacked and icon-only lockups.
- Minimum size for print and for screen.
- Clear space defined in a relative unit, not millimetres.
- Approved colour versions: full colour, single colour, reversed and mono.
- Explicit misuse examples — stretched, recoloured, drop-shadowed, placed on busy photography.
2. Colour, specified for every medium
This is the section that saves the most money. Give HEX and RGB for digital, CMYK for offset and digital print, Pantone for spot colour, and where relevant vinyl or thread references for wraps and embroidery.
Also state hierarchy: which colour dominates, which supports, and what percentage of a layout the accent should occupy. Without that, a two-colour brand becomes a five-colour brand within a year.
3. Typography
- Primary and secondary typefaces with weights actually licensed for use.
- A fallback system for email, Office documents and web-safe contexts.
- Hierarchy: heading, subheading, body, caption, with line-height and tracking.
- Arabic typeface pairing if the brand operates bilingually in the UAE.
4. Graphic language and imagery
Patterns, shapes, iconography, illustration style and photography direction — the elements that make the brand recognisable when the logo is cropped out. Include sample photography and a short written brief so future shoots stay on tone.
5. Layout and applications
- Grid and margin principles for print and digital.
- Worked examples: stationery, presentation, social post, signage, packaging, uniform and vehicle.
- Templates the team can edit — decks, letterheads, social frames — not just static images of them.
6. Governance
Say who approves new applications, where master files live, and how to request an asset. Guidelines without an owner drift within two quarters.
When we produce brand materials in-house, this section is the one printers and fabricators read first — it is what lets a signage batch, a gift run and a fleet wrap end up the same colour.
Frequently asked questions
What should brand guidelines include?
At minimum: logo variants and clear space, colour values for screen and print, typography and hierarchy, imagery direction, graphic language, layout principles, and worked examples of correct and incorrect use.
How long should a brand guidelines document be?
Length is not the measure — usability is. A tight 20-page document people actually open beats a 120-page manual nobody reads. Larger organisations with many teams need more; a single-office business rarely does.
Do I need Pantone colours in my guidelines?
If anything will be printed, signed, wrapped or embroidered, yes. RGB and HEX alone cannot be reproduced reliably on physical substrates, and that is where most brand inconsistency originates.
Who uses brand guidelines?
Your internal team, freelance designers, agencies, printers, signage suppliers and gifting vendors. Write for the least familiar of those readers.
How often should guidelines be updated?
Review annually, and always after adding a major new touchpoint — a retail space, a fleet, a product line — so the rules cover what the brand now has to do.
Need guidelines your suppliers can actually follow?
We build identity systems documented for production — because we produce the applications ourselves and know exactly where vague guidelines fail.