• Primary Colours: These are the core colours of your brand, typically 2-3 in number, and they should embody the essence of your brand identity. For example, in healthcare settings, blue often evokes trust, calmness, and professionalism, while green symbolises healing, nature, and growth. White represents purity, cleanliness, and simplicity. In commercial spaces, blue can convey trust, reliability, and stability. Gray represents sophistication, professionalism, and neutrality. Red, on the other hand, can evoke energy, passion, and excitement.

• Secondary Colours: These colours provide accents and flexibility to your palette, adding visual interest and highlighting key elements, such as call-to-action buttons. In healthcare settings, consider incorporating soft pastels like light pink, lavender, or mint green to complement the primary colours. For commercial spaces, explore vibrant accent colours like orange, yellow, or turquoise to inject energy and dynamism.

• Colour Codes: To ensure consistent colour reproduction across all platforms, both digital and print, your branding pack must include precise colour codes. These include HEX Codes, used for digital applications like websites and social media, RGB Codes, used for digital displays and monitors, and CMYK Codes, used for print applications.

• Primary Fonts: Your branding pack should define your primary fonts, ensuring consistent usage across all communication channels. Body text should be highly readable and easy on the eyes, with well-spaced characters and clear letterforms. To add visual interest and emphasise specific elements, incorporate a third font for accents like logos, subheadings, or call-to-action buttons.

• Font Files/Licenses: Ensure you have the appropriate font files (usually in .ttf or .otf formats) for all the fonts specified in your branding guidelines. Be mindful of font licensing agreements, as some fonts are free for personal use while others require commercial licenses. Using unlicensed fonts can lead to legal issues and copyright infringement. Clearly define how each font should be used within your branding guidelines, specifying appropriate font sizes, line heights, and letter spacing for different applications.

Brand Guidelines Document

This is the central hub of your brand identity. It serves as a comprehensive manual that ensures consistent brand application across all touchpoints. It should be a living document regularly reviewed and updated as your brand evolves. This document should clearly outline the following:

• Logo Usage: The guidelines should specify minimum and maximum sizes for logo usage to maintain clarity and prevent distortion. Clear rules for spacing around the logo should be defined, ensuring it has enough breathing room to be visible and impactful. The document should also guide users on the proper placement of the logo within different design elements, such as letterheads, websites, and product packaging. For example, it could specify whether the logo should always be placed in the top left corner or centred.

• Colour Application: The guidelines should define acceptable background colours for the logo, specifying whether it should always be used on a white background or whether it can be used on coloured backgrounds. The document should also determine whether the logo can be used with overlays, such as shapes or textures, and if so, provide clear guidelines for their application.

• Typography Hierarchy: The guidelines should establish a clear hierarchy for font usage, specifying which font should be used for headlines, subheadings, body text, and call-to-action buttons. Appropriate font sizes should be defined for different applications, ensuring both readability and visual appeal.

• Image / Illustration Styles: If applicable, the guidelines should define the preferred style for images and illustrations used in marketing materials. Ensure that image and illustration styles are consistent with the overall brand colour palette.

• Business Cards: Professional business cards reflect the brand identity and provide essential contact information.

• Letterheads: Letterhead templates ensure consistent branding on official correspondence, enhancing professionalism and brand recognition.

• Envelopes: Matching envelope designs complement letterheads and maintain a cohesive brand experience.

Social Media Assets

In today's digital age, social media plays a crucial role in brand communication. Your branding pack should include a suite of professionally designed social media assets to ensure a consistent and engaging presence across various platforms. These assets typically include:

• Profile Pictures: Consistent profile pictures across all platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) reinforce brand recognition and create a unified online presence. These should incorporate the brand logo or a relevant visual element.

• Banners: Eye-catching banner images, such as Cover Photos for Facebook and Twitter, should reflect your brand's personality and messaging. On LinkedIn, professional and visually appealing Header Images should showcase your brand's expertise and values.

• Post Templates: Pre-designed templates for image posts ensure consistent visual style and brand messaging across your social media feeds. If applicable, templates for video content can help maintain a consistent look and feel for video posts and stories. Engaging templates for social media stories allows for creative and interactive content.

Imagery Style

Visual consistency is key to a strong brand identity. The branding pack should guide the preferred style for images and illustrations used in marketing materials. This includes specifying whether the preferred photography style is professional, candid, lifestyle, or product-focused.

Furthermore, the desired illustration style should be defined, such as flat design, line art, or realistic illustration. Crucially, the guidelines should emphasise that image and illustration styles must remain consistent with the overall brand colour palette and the established visual tone and messaging.

Website Favicon

A favicon is a small icon (typically 16x16 pixels) that appears in the browser tab next to the website's name or URL. While seemingly minor, favicons play a significant role in brand recognition and user experience.  The branding pack should include the favicon in the appropriate file formats (such as .ico or .png) for easy implementation on your website.

• Brand Reinforcement: A well-designed favicon reinforces your brand identity and makes your website instantly recognisable.

• Professionalism: A professional-looking favicon contributes to a polished and trustworthy online presence.

• User Experience: Favicons help users easily identify and navigate to your website among a multitude of open tabs.

• Key Phrases: Establish a set of key phrases that encapsulate your brand's unique value proposition and resonate with your target audience. These phrases can be effectively used in marketing materials, social media posts, and customer interactions.

• Tone Guidelines: Define the desired tone of voice for your brand. Is it formal or informal? Friendly or authoritative? Confident or humble? Provide examples of appropriate and inappropriate language to guide your team in all communication efforts.

• Taglines: Craft a memorable and concise tagline that captures the essence of your brand in a few words. Taglines should be used consistently across all marketing channels for maximum impact.

• Mission Statement: Clearly articulate your company's mission, outlining its purpose, core values, and the impact it aims to make on the world.

• Vision Statement: Define your long-term aspirations and the future you envision for your company.