- A small business style guide can be one or two pages.
- Write exact color codes, and check that text on each color is readable.
- Use two or three fonts, and check each font's license before you use it in a logo.
- Keep the logo files in one shared folder, and build templates so people use them.
A brand style guide is a short document that records your logo rules, exact colors, fonts, and tone of voice. For a small business, one or two pages is enough. Its job is simple: whoever makes your next sign, post, or web page should be able to match your look without guessing. Below is a real example, our own Design Studio kit.
What is a brand style guide?
It is a reference sheet for how your business looks and sounds. It answers questions like these: Which blue? Which font? Where can the logo go? How do we talk to customers? Write it once, share it with anyone who makes things for you, and update it when something changes. If you do not have a logo yet, start with how much a logo costs.
How should you set rules for the logo?
Show the logo, then show how to use it. Cover three things: where it goes, how much empty room it needs, and what to use when it is small.
Our logo is called "Harmonized Ransom." It spells "design studio" with each of its 12 letters in a different typeface, in one color, sharing one x-height (the height of a lowercase letter). It sits under a small "Project5pi" chip. The parent wordmark, "Project5pi," is set in JetBrains Mono, in mint #5DE6C8 on a dark chip, #0D1211.
A busy logo does not shrink well. So we made a two-letter "ds" mark for favicons (the tiny browser tab icon) at 16 to 64 pixels. The full lockup is used from about 160 pixels wide. Write down your own small-size rule, and give your logo some clear space so nothing crowds it.
Which colors belong in a style guide, and how do you check them?
List each color with its exact code, not a name like "sky blue." Our print palette, with ink #0D100F and paper #F1F2F0:
| Color | Code | Ink text on it |
|---|---|---|
| Red-orange | #FF5A3C | 6.17:1 |
| Blue | #4D6BFF | 4.43:1 |
| Amber | #FFB000 | 10.44:1 |
| Green | #14B87A | 7.44:1 |
| Pink | #FF6FB5 | 7.46:1 |
The ratios compare the lightness of text and background. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, Success Criterion 1.4.3, ask for at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. We computed ours with the WCAG formula. Ink on blue is 4.43:1, just under 4.5, so we keep text on blue large.
The mint in our wordmark shows why this matters. Mint #5DE6C8 on paper is only 1.37:1, which is unreadable as text. On ink it is 12.4:1. So we use mint as a fill or on dark only. For green text on a light background we use #0F766E, which scores 4.87:1 on paper.
How many fonts do you need, and which are safe to use?
Two or three is plenty: one for headings, one for body text, and maybe one for labels. Name each one and say where it goes. See our type work for how we choose them.
Check the license too. Every font in our logo is under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 or the Apache License 2.0. Both allow commercial use and use in logos. Some Open Font License fonts have a Reserved Font Name. If you change the font file, the changed version cannot keep the original name. Write the license next to each font in your guide.
How do you write down voice and image style?
Voice is how your words sound. Pick three describing words, such as "plain, warm, direct." List a few words you use and a few you avoid. Add one example sentence. Spell out any acronym on first use, as we do.
Image style covers photos and graphics. Say whether you use real photos of your own work, how you crop them, and which icon or illustration style you use. Real pictures of your shop or crew show customers the real business.
What files should the brand kit include?
The guide points to a kit of ready files. Ours has:
- SVG (vector) and PNG lockups for dark and light backgrounds.
- Favicons at 16, 32, 64, 180, and 512 pixels, plus a favicon.ico file.
- A 1200 by 630 pixel social share image.
- An animated logo loop. See our guide to marketing video for how a short logo animation is used.
Keep the kit in one shared folder, and put the folder link on the first page of the guide.
How do you keep people using it?
A guide that sits in a drawer does not help. Make templates for the things you make most, such as a flyer, an invoice, or a social post. Then the right colors and fonts are already in place. Name one person who answers questions and updates the guide. If you are a Rhode Island or New England business without time for this, our studio in Providence can build the guide and the templates with you.
Questions people ask
How long should a small business style guide be?
One or two pages is enough to start. Cover the logo, colors with codes, fonts, voice, and where the files live.
What is the minimum contrast for text?
WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 1.4.3 asks for 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Check text colors against their backgrounds before you set them in the guide.
Can I use free fonts in a logo?
Often yes, but read each license. The SIL Open Font License 1.1 and the Apache License 2.0 allow commercial use and logos. Some fonts keep a Reserved Font Name for modified files.
Which logo files should be in the kit?
Vector (SVG) and PNG lockups for dark and light backgrounds, favicons, and a 1200 by 630 social image. An animated version is a useful extra.
Does Project5pi Design Studio write style guides?
Yes. We do not publish prices. We quote after a short call, based on what your brand already has and what it needs.
Want your brand written down and ready to use?
Tell us about your business. We quote after a short call, from Providence, Rhode Island, or remotely.
See the Design Studio →Project5pi Design Studio · Providence, Rhode Island · hello@project5pi.com
Contrast ratios computed by Project5pi with the WCAG formula. Logo, colors, fonts, and file kit are Project5pi's own work.