The Instruction Manual Your Business Needs
and how brand guidelines can empower your team.
Brand Guidelines: The Quick Start Guide for Your Business
When was the last time you really enjoyed reading an instruction manual?
In college, I took a class called Technical Writing. Throughout the course, we learned how to write without flair or fluff. We wrote Instructions for Assembly and How-To Guides. It was far from exciting, but it taught me how to write with purpose.
Every time I buy a new gadget or see the Instruction Manual for a new hairdryer fall out of the box, I think about the time and energy that Irvina, Senior Technical Writer for Revlon, took to make sure those step-by-step instructions captured every possible use-case scenario. And how so many people, including myself, will likely never read the words she wrote.
Thankfully, and in large part thanks to companies like Apple and Google reinventing best practices in user experience, so many products now have Quick Start Guides. How refreshing it is to look at a few little pictures in four quick steps to figure out how the new wireless router works.
But what do instruction manuals and quick start guides have to do with branding?
Brand Guidelines: Your Business’s Instruction Manual
Brand guidelines are to your business what instruction manuals are to your gadgets. They provide clear, precise instructions on how to bring your brand to life—whether through visuals, tone of voice, or even the placement of your logo. But much like those thick booklets inside product boxes, they can sometimes feel overwhelming or tedious if not created with care.
That’s why the best brand guidelines act more like Quick Start Guides. They’re designed to be user-friendly, digestible, and actionable, helping teams quickly align on the essentials without drowning in unnecessary details.
Why Brand Guidelines Matter
Without brand guidelines, your team might:
- Use inconsistent logos or colors, diluting your visual identity.
- Struggle to write in a consistent voice, confusing your audience.
- Create marketing materials that feel disjointed from the brand’s personality.
And let’s be honest: in today’s competitive landscape, consistency is king.
Research shows that consistent presentation of a brand can increase revenue by 33%.
What Makes Great Brand Guidelines?
Just like a great instruction manual, the best brand guidelines are:
- Clear – Avoid jargon and focus on actionable instructions. For example, include hex codes for colors or do’s and don’ts for logo usage.
- Concise – Prioritize essentials over exhaustive rules. A guide that’s too long will be ignored.
- Visual – Leverage mockups and real-world examples. Seeing how a logo looks on a website or ad is more helpful than describing it.
- Flexible – Allow for some creativity within boundaries. A rigid document can stifle innovation.
In fact, we penned an article about what goes into great Brand Guidelines here.
But to see these best practices come to life, check out some of our favorite client work for The Canopies and Cristina Young.
Think of Brand Guidelines as Empowerment Tools
When done well, brand guidelines empower your team to confidently and creatively execute your vision. Instead of feeling like restrictive rules, they become a source of inspiration—tools that provide clarity and freedom to create within a consistent framework.
So, as you craft or refine your brand guidelines, think of Irvina and her instruction manuals. And then, channel your inner Apple designer and ask yourself: How can we make this simpler, faster, and easier to follow?
Because in branding, as in life, the clearer the instructions, the more beautiful the results.
Looking to simplify your brand guidelines? Made in July specializes in creating clear, strategic, and inspiring frameworks that your team will actually want to use. Let’s talk.
