A Guide to Creating The Brand Bible [With Examples]
Brand Bible: A Comprehensive Guide
A brand bible isn't just a set of rules; it's the playbook for your business's identity. It's where the visual vibe of your brand gets its groove, and trust us, it's way more than just aesthetics.
This brand bible is your ticket to nailing that consistent, cohesive strategy that etches your brand into minds everywhere. Think of it as your secret sauce to making your brand not just seen, but remembered.
In the world where brands are the new rockstars, having a kickass brand is your backstage pass to standing out in your scene and industry. Let's dive into how crafting a brand bible turns your business into the headliner.
Successful brands like Wendy's or Apple. One glimpse at their colors, logos, and vibe, and you're in their world. They're not just major brands; they're legends in our cultural lexicon.
Take Nike's swoosh, for instance. It's more than a logo design; it's an icon that screams who they are and what they stand for, without saying a word. That's the power of a brand that's not just seen but felt.
Their brand isn't just known; it's part of our collective memory. That's the magic your brand bible can conjure.
That is the power of branding and its consistency through creating a brand bible.
The marketing industry and brand consultants all agree that a strong branding program should have detailed and complete guide with a modern design that lays out the design process with strong visual reference, for the design group to follow when facing particular challenges. cohesive guideline is like having the ultimate playbook for your business's game. It's all about blasting a crystal-clear message and look to your audience, making sure they get the real you, every single time.
But hey, it's not just about looking sharp. It's about your crowd and your crew getting the full download on what your company's aiming for. It's like giving them a VIP pass into your brand's world.
Ready to amp up your brand's vibe? Hit us up. Our startup branding services are the backstage pass to making your brand the headliner it's meant to be.
Let's make some noise together. 🤘🔥
What is a brand bible?
Your brand bible? Think of it as the ultimate mixtape for your company’s brand vibe or brand essence. It’s what keeps your tune consistent across every stage – be it your website, social media, ads, emails, you name it. Brand thinking, a concept popularized by Debbie Millman, emphasizes the strategic aspect of creating a brand bible.
But it’s not just about hitting the right notes. It’s your roadmap to the big-time vision of what your brand’s all about, making sure you never drift from what sets you apart in this wild industry.
This isn’t just any resource; it’s the encyclopedia of your company’s identity elements. We’re talking a full-on brand kit that guides every riff and roll of your business.
A brand bible should include the following elements:
Brand messaging:
This includes the key branding statements and phrases that represent your brand, as well as any official taglines or slogans.
Logo guidelines:
These guidelines will include all of the rules for using and managing your company's logo, including color palettes, size requirements, fonts, and more.
Design and branding guidelines:
This section will include all of the styling, design, and branding rules for using your company's visual elements, such as photos, images, icons, and more.
Brand style guide:
Your brand style guide will outline the tone of voice you want to use across all of your communications and marketing materials. The brand essence guides this tone of voice and overall communication style, ensuring it aligns with the core values and DNA of your business.
This should also include brand-specific language and messaging, including tone of voice, writing style, and more.
If you’re looking to create or update your brand bible, it’s important to involve all key members of your team in the process.
This will ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to managing the overall brand identity of your company.
And by having a clear, consistent brand identity, you’ll be better able to build your brand recognition and increase your company’s visibility in the marketplace.
Do you need a brand bible for your business?
If you’re looking to create or update your branding materials, then the answer is likely yes!
A well-crafted brand bible can help you keep your brand consistent and make sure that everyone on your team is on the same page when it comes to your branding.
So if you’re looking to build a strong, recognizable brand identity for your business, consider working with a professional branding agency to create or update your brand bible today.
What Does a Brand Bible Contain?
Source: Oberlo
A brand bible contains all of the following:
Your Brand logo and color palette
Front and center in your brand bible, like the headliner of a killer concert, is your logo. This is the face of your brand, the first thing people lock eyes with when they dive into your business's world.
Your logo?
Make it original, make it stick in their minds, but keep it real – no need for over-the-top abstract art. It's all about striking that perfect chord. And colors? They're like the stage lights. Pick the right hues, and your logo will blaze bright on any backdrop. Choose wisely, and watch it light up the scene!
Your Brand tagline
A tagline? It's like the chorus of your brand's hit song – a few catchy words that tell the world what makes your business the one and only.
Take Nike's "Just Do It." It's not just a phrase; it's an anthem that echoes their top-notch gear and no-excuses attitude towards fitness.
And guess what? These taglines aren't just for show. They're rocking out as social media bios across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – you name it, for businesses big and small. Your tagline should be a catchy hook, easy to remember, but not a complex puzzle. Keep it snappy, make it stick.
Your Brand mission statement
A mission statement is a sentence that describes your business' purpose in the world.
For example, Nike's mission statement is "To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world."
Your Brand Values
Your values are the beliefs that you hold most dear. When a client asks what your company's values are, they're not asking you to recite a laundry list of things like punctuality, quality, and customer service.
Instead, they want to know your fundamental beliefs as an organization and why those beliefs matter.
Your Brand’s Visual Identity Guidelines
These design elements make up your visual identity. They include your logo, color palette, typography, and imagery.
Your brand's voice
The way you talk in a business setting is just as important as what you say (or don't say).
It can be challenging to determine precisely how to "sound" in the beginning stages of developing your brand voice but once you find it, stick with it!
Your Brand Personality
Your brand's personality is the unique identity that defines who you are as a company.
It's more than just your logo, colors, and fonts—it's how you communicate with customers (and everyone else).
Your brand personality can be playful or serious, traditional or modern, but it should always be consistent across all platforms.
Why do you need a brand bible?
Most companies have brand bibles to ensure a successful brand system because it helps them manage their branding across different media channels. A brand bible is crucial for building, designing, and sustaining brands over the long term.
Not only does it define the aesthetic and voice of a company but is crucial for sustaining brands in a market where consistency distinguishes successful businesses from transient ones.
It ensures that the company’s content appears consistent and professional and aligns with your ideal customer persona.
A brand bible also helps streamline workflows between departments such as sales, marketing, and creative services by ensuring everyone uses identical assets when creating content for each campaign or project.
As markets evolve, the role of the brand guide becomes even more critical in sustaining brands by providing a clear and consistent framework for adapting to new trends without losing core identity.
It is absolutely essential when it comes to marketing and selling your brand.
Integrating social media scheduling into your brand bible ensures consistent, strategic content dissemination across platforms, reinforcing your brand identity and enhancing engagement. This practice helps maintain a unified brand voice and maximizes the impact of your digital presence.A good brand bible will help you:
Create the perfect logo for your business
Create a consistent image for your company
Manage your branding online and offline, including social media profiles
Give a brief overview of your brand by identifying the key values, goals, and personality of your business
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Examples of Brand Bibles
We'll look at five different brand bible examples, from Twitter to Apple.
It can be overwhelming to start a brand bible, but we hope this post will give you ideas and brand guidelines on how to start and what to include.
For some help in creating a brand bible, finding a branding agency can be the next step in your branding journey. Let's take a look at some examples.
Herb Street - Brand Bible Example
Our first example is one of our clients, Herb Street.
As we take a look through this brand guideline, we see their colors, aesthetics, and overall brand as a whole.
Herb Street’s brand guideline includes everything from its purpose to a brand summary.
When we look deeper and flip through the gallery, we see what the company is all about.
They are relaxing and calming, especially with the use of their colors.
We created this brand bible to encapsulate their brand personality, from identifying their color palette and font pairings to helping them with their visual brand identity.
This gives their company and customers a direct visual resource of who they are and their company goals.
It showcases transparency and builds trust.
We’re pretty proud of this one!
We can create one for your business, too.
Make sure to get in touch for all your marketing and branding needs.
Traditional — Brand Bible Example
Twitter Brand Bible Example
Next, let’s take a look at Twitter’s brand guidelines.
We are instantly introduced to their brand colors when we look at the document.
Their guideline communicates a message that is already tied to their brand identity.
As we proceed through the document, we see how Twitter highlights its core brand elements.
From their logo rules and guidelines to their Twitter social icons.
For example, on page seven, they specify to keep the logo in blue or white only.
Throughout the document, they highlight:
Logo
Logo pairing lockups
Tweet treatments
Twitter marks
Legal: Twitter trademark guidelines
This guideline is simple, direct, and a basic approach to creating a brand bible. It gives an overview of their Twitter trademark.
Twitter also provides access to their brand guide to everyone. When creating a brand bible, planning out what you will highlight is something to note.
See the entire brand bible here.
Slack Brand Bible Example
Slack, the communication platform, is next on our list. Debbie Millman, Chief Marketing Officer at Sterling Brands, has worked with over 200 of the world's largest brands and co-founded the world's first graduate program in branding at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
As we scroll through, we see a slide presentation to showcase their brand bible. They present a table of contents of the information they will detail. It’s split up into three sections:
Section 1: Defining our brand
Section 2: Design elements
Section 3: Governance
Section one covers who they are, how they describe the need for Slack, and their overall persona and brand personality.
In section two, they touch on their core colors, brand architecture, illustrations, and more.
They end it with section three, reviewing their general terms and trademarks.
Slack’s brand bible is well-put, informative, and true to their brand.
When creating your brand bible, the way you present the guideline is also something to keep in mind.
You also might want to ask yourself how it can be accessible.
Is it downloadable? Is it on your website? Is part of it only available to the public?
When creating your brand bible that represents a public persona, these are questions to ask.
See the entire brand bible here.
Medium Brand Bible Example
Medium is the following brand bible example we will take a look at.
Most people readily understand concepts better when a visual example is included.
This is emphasized in Medium’s brand bible. They break their guideline into these sections:
Logo
Brand Colours
Typography
The Grid
User Interface
Iconography
Applied Examples
We see their brand unfold in each section.
For example, in the typography section, we know the importance of their readability, presentation, and quality.
They dive into the hierarchy of type and structure of type.
Medium’s brand bible is detailed, minimal, and represents who they are.
As you create your brand bible for your company, it's good to note the length of your brand bible, too.
We mentioned in the beginning that it can change as your company grows.
How you structure the brand bible matters, too.
You may want to ask yourself if it is readable, detailed enough, and if it fits your brand.
See the entire brand bible here.
Optus Brand Bible Example
Next on our list for a brand bible example is Optus.
For some background, Optus is a phone company that rebranded itself.
They went from a corporate look to a more personalized and brighter aesthetic that appeals to a larger audience.
Featuring two custom typefaces, they’ve rebranded their company to be memorable. It evokes a happy mood with its chosen colors and illustration.
As we take a look through their brand guideline, we see how the use of their logo and colors are already embedded with how they communicate.
They are friendly and cheerful, especially with their graphics and illustration, creating a sense of trust with their audience.
Their brand bible speaks very much to their brand personality and communication.
They display the sketches of their brand icon, too.
Showing progress is an honest way to build trust with an audience.
They also include videos throughout their guideline.
With business, rebranding is something to consider if your company has changed and you are seeking a new direction.
Like Optus, it worked in their favor.
They have changed their brand personality and are building their brand identity again.
With this, they shift their brand story in a new direction, and with a brand bible at their hands, they can see how far they’ve come.
See the entire brand bible here.
Apple Brand Bible Example
Our last example is a household name: Apple.
Apple is instantly recognizable and embedded in our brains.
It’s the power of a brand that stays consistent and understands its audience.
Let’s take a look at their brand bible.
This is their guideline for their channel affiliates/Apple-certified individuals and their marketing resources and identity guideline.
Taking a look at their marketing resources and identity, we see how things are broken down:
App Store Badges
Product Images
Photography + Video
Messaging + Style
Legal Requirements
Each section has been detailed, the same for their other guideline. For example, they go into specifics on email signatures.
Being a household name, it is no surprise how detailed their guidelines are.
As a reminder, it is okay to not have every aspect planned out if you're just starting your business or looking for a new direction.
Every detail will change and come about as you grow.
But make sure that you have the necessary important information flushed out so that you have a strong base to build from.
That wraps up our brand bible examples!
What’s next?
The next step to creating your brand bible after seeing examples and getting inspired is to write down everything that your company wants to be.
Writing down everything can help clarify and identify your company story.
This story can then translate to a brand bible you're able to create yourself or approach a digital branding agency about.
At The Branded, we feel passionate about creating brand bibles. As seen in our first example, we’ve created brand bibles for clients in different industries.
Once you plan out your ideas and visions for your brand bible and guidelines, but find that you require more direction, you can always count on us to help you.
We hope these examples and guidelines inspire you to create a cohesive brand bible for your company.
A brand bible is an integral part of a brand's identity
The brand bible is perhaps one of the most comprehensive branding documents.
By documenting everything—from your logo to taglines, color palettes, and even your fonts—the brand bible serves as a one-stop shop for everything relating to your brand.
A brand bible will help you create a strong brand identity, communicate effectively with clients, and forge a deeper connection with customers.
The more thorough and well-organized your brand bible is, the more effective it will be.
Do you need help creating your brand pillars?
By examining brand treatments within the brand bible, graphic designers can utilize brand design fundamentals to reinforce the brand's identity and promote long-term success.
Don’t have one? hire us!
Checkout our blog here https://www.brandedagency.com/blog/brand-pillars-guide