The Rules of Brand Guidelines (and why they’re important)
So, you’ve just unveiled your brand-new look, with brand guidelines in place. It’s sharp, it’s polished and it’s the kind of branding that makes people stop mid-scroll and think, ‘Wow, these people really have their act together.’
And then, someone on the team decides to swap the brand font for “something more fun.” The logo gets stretched in a way that makes it look like it’s trying to run off-screen. Suddenly, and before you know it, your carefully crafted brand is slipping through your fingers. That’s why brand guidelines exist…but only 30% of businesses actually use them with 77% of businesses making off-brand content. Yikes!
They’re not here to stifle creativity or make life harder. But they are here to keep your brand strong, recognizable and looking like it knows what it’s doing.
So, let’s break it down. Here are five reasons why following your brand guidelines is one of the smartest things you can do for your business.
1. Brand Consistency Equals Brand Trust
People really like reliability. We like our favorite coffee to taste the same every time. We want our go-to burger joint to get the order right. And we expect brands to show up looking and sounding the way they’re supposed to.
When your brand is consistent – and by that I mean the same fonts, same colors, same tone of voice, everywhere – then people will start to recognize and trust it. But if every ad, email, or post looks like it came from a completely different company, well…that trust will fade. And trust is your most valuable currency.
2. Look Professional, Feel Professional
Imagine you’re hiring someone to build your dream home and you’re met with two options:
🏠 Builder 1 shows up in a crisp uniform, a neatly organized set of blueprints in their hands and a clear plan.
🏚️ Builder 2 rolls up late in a rusty truck, scribbles your floor plan on the back of a napkin, and says, “We’ll figure this out as we go.”
Who do you trust more? Your brand works the exact same way. A tight, cohesive look gives off an air of professionalism. A mix-and-match mess doesn’t quite give that same impression.
3. Brand Guidelines Help Your Team
When a business doesn’t follow its own brand guidelines, it feels like playing a game with people where nobody knows the rules. It is chaos! Marketing is saying one thing, sales is saying another, and customer service is throwing a wild card.
Brand guidelines keep everyone internally on the same page. Whether it’s your website, a social post, or a printed brochure, it all sounds and looks like it came from the same trusted source externally.
It’s not about rules for the sake of rules, it’s about giving your team the tools they need to tell the same great story, every time.
4. Protect Your Investment
Branding is an investment! It’s not just about giving your business a logo and a color palette. You spent time, money, and energy working with professionals (ahem… Bluebird Branding) to create something super special.
Letting people tweak and tinker with it because they feel like it will always create a disconnect between what the brand should actually look like and what has been created without guidelines in place. Follow them, however, and your brand remains polished, powerful, and built to last.
5. Don’t Make It Harder To Stand Out
Your competitors are working just as hard as you are to grab attention. If you start watering down your brand, straying from your colors, messing with your logo, using a different tone every time, then you risk blending into the noise.
A strong and consistent brand slices through the clutter. It helps people spot you in an ocean of the ordinary. If you’re constantly changing things up…then it’ll be a fight to stand out against your competitors!
Final Thoughts
Here’s the kicker: Following brand guidelines doesn’t stifle creativity, but rather gives your creative freedom a little more structure. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
So, before you go swapping fonts or adding extra colors, remember: Your brand guidelines aren’t a suggestion, but the secret to keeping your brand strong, memorable, and – dare we say – iconic.
Stick to the plan, and your brand will thank you.
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