An inspirational example of how the structure and layout of an online brand guidelines should look.
° 01 Not Your Mother's digital brand guidelines
The brand guidelines are clearly very colorful for a brand with such a vibrant color scheme. As they say "Color is a key part of Not Your Mother's expression and attitude."
Guidelines themselves contain extensive sections on logos, typography, and colors, divided by subsections. Assets (e.g. variations of logos) can be downloaded directly from the preview, which is great.
In some cases, the animation is used to extend and make guidelines more interactive.
Overall: The guidelines are detailed enough to be useful, but not overwhelming.
° 02 Biteable digital brand guidelines
"A not so serious guide to some fairly serious stuff". Indeed, this is a very playful set of guidelines that walks you through all the information a designer should know.
There isn't much about the organization's mission and values, but the logo is described in detail. Beginning with the logo design, different colour schemes, examples with backgrounds, and even animations.
Assets and source files cannot be downloaded directly from the guidelines, you must request access first. This is good for a bigger sense of privacy.
The Social media and Internal Comms section includes guidelines applicable not only to designers, but to other marketing teams as well.
Overall: Guidelines for branding that are made for a wider team with a strong sense of privacy.
° 03 Tomtom digital brand guidelines
In terms of a brand, Tomtom represents practicality and smartness. Likewise, their brand guidelines. There are plenty of examples for each brand asset. From logo use in a variety of ways to MS Teams background images. Downloads are available right away from brand guides, but if something is missing, an email address is provided.
A special mention goes to the Video & Motion section, which features detailed examples of logo transitions and the smart use of symbols in videos.
Overall: Practical and smart guidelines, as previously mentioned.
° 04 Flax+Kale digital brand guidelines
The brand itself is built on the unique use of semantics. Typography, spelling, and the visual look of the texts are all integrated into many different ways and forms. There is no wonder that Typography is the most extensive section of the guides.
The visuals have an energy of movement that can be felt from a static version of the logo and clearly seen in the Motion Graphics section.
Every dynamic brand will always have a work in progress. As for Flax+Kale, it's Audio Branding, which has yet to be seen by the public.
Overall: Energizing and pretentious, with a brand book that echoes that energy
° 05 Polarsteps digital brand guidelines
Polarsteps is a lifestyle brand that represents exploration and adventure. In order to achieve this, every aspect of the brand appearance must be consistent, from the logo to photography to mobile app design. Viewing and downloading of core elements is available to the public, but internal design assets are password-protected.
Through Values and Mood boards (Aesthetics), guidelines provide a deep dive into a brand's concept. Video helps convey emotions about a brand to anyone who is working with it.
Overall: An easy-to-understand brand guide that's visually appealing and esthetic.
Create brand guidelines online
Create your own digital brand guidelines with Corebook - an online brand guidelines platform for branding teams. The features it provides are:
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