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What is a brand book and how to make one: step by step
What a brand book (brand guidelines) is, which sections it needs and how to build yours: brand foundation, logo rules, colors, fonts and real examples.
- What goes into a brand book and why you need one
- How to describe the logo, colors and fonts so people use them correctly
- How to build a brand book as a learning project for your portfolio
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Five steps to a brand book
- 1
Step 1
Understand what a brand book is and what it contains
- 2
Step 2
Start with the brand foundation and tone of voice
- 3
Step 3
Write the logo rules
- 4
Step 4
Describe colors, fonts and graphics as a system
- 5
Step 5
Show it in use and test the brand book in practice
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This guide is for you if you have
Already made a logo
The mark is ready, but you're not sure how to explain to others where and how to use it so it doesn't drift within six months.
An identity project for your portfolio
You want to show not just a logo but a coherent system: colors, fonts, graphics and how they work together.
Been asked to "make us a brand book"
A first request like this from friends, a team or a small business, and you need to figure out what exactly to deliver.
In short
- A brand book is a manual for how a brand looks and sounds, so everyone uses it the same way.
- Typical sections: brand foundation, tone of voice, logo, colors, fonts, graphics, photography and usage examples.
- Rules must be specific: clear space, minimum size, color codes, dos and don'ts.
- Test the brand book on real layouts: if people can't work from it, it doesn't work.
- For practice, take a fictional or volunteer brand and build a concise brand book.
Five steps to a brand book
- 1
Step 1
Understand what a brand book is and what it contains
A brand book (also called brand guidelines or a brand guide) is a document that explains how a brand looks and sounds and how to use its elements correctly. Nielsen Norman Group writes that such guides most often cover colors, typography, trademarks, logos and print media, as well as rules for writing such as tone of voice. A classic example is NASA's 1976 Graphics Standards Manual: it has sections on the logotype, color, incorrect uses of the mark, letterheads and envelopes. Modern brand books follow the same idea. For example, the Dropbox Brand Guidelines have these sections:
- brand foundation (Framework): why the brand exists and what it wants to be;
- voice and tone: how the brand speaks;
- logo and typography;
- iconography and color;
- imagery and motion.
💡 A brand book doesn't create an identity; it describes a finished one. If there's no logo, colors and fonts yet, start with those and come back here.
- 2
Step 2
Start with the brand foundation and tone of voice
The first pages explain what everything else is for. Without them the rules look arbitrary and people start working around them. Describe briefly, in one or two pages:
- who the brand is for and what problem it solves;
- 3–4 personality traits, such as "friendly, precise, calm", and what each means in practice;
- tone of voice: Nielsen Norman Group suggests describing tone on four scales: formal vs. casual, serious vs. funny, respectful vs. irreverent, matter-of-fact vs. enthusiastic;
- example phrases for "we write like this" and "we don't write like this" in typical situations: a greeting, an error, an announcement.
💡 Every personality trait should point to a decision. "Modern" tells you nothing; "we keep it short and skip the corporate jargon" does.
Test your brand book on fresh eyes
The best test for a brand book is someone seeing it for the first time. People in the community share their work and get feedback. Come in, it's free.
Share your brand bookFree. 1,504 designers are already in the community.
- 3
Step 3
Write the logo rules
The logo section is the one people read most often, so it should answer practical questions without you. See how Spotify's guidelines do it: the exclusion zone equals half the icon's height, the full logo's minimum size is 70 px on screen or 20 mm in print, and the green logo goes only on black, white or non-duotone photos, with a black or white logo on other backgrounds. For your brand, describe:
- versions: full logo, short mark, horizontal and vertical lockups, if there are any;
- clear space: the empty area around the mark, defined by a part of the logo itself so it scales with the mark;
- minimum size for screens in pixels and for print in millimeters;
- color versions: on light, dark and colored backgrounds and on photos;
- incorrect use: stretching, recoloring, shadows, rotation, a logo on a busy background; show these as pictures marked "no".
💡 Don't make up the minimum size: shrink the logo on screen and in a test print until it stops reading, then pick a size with some margin.
- 4
Step 4
Describe colors, fonts and graphics as a system
The point here isn't to show pretty swatches but to explain what each thing is for. Someone who opens the brand book should be able to make a layout without asking you:
- colors with roles: primary, secondary, background, text, accent; for each, screen codes (HEX and RGB) and, if the brand is printed, print values agreed with the print shop;
- color proportions: what covers most of the area and what appears only as an accent;
- fonts and hierarchy: which fonts for headings and body text, sizes and weights for each level, where to get the font and whether its license allows this use;
- graphics and photography: icons, patterns, illustrations, photo style, with "yes" and "no" examples;
- grid and spacing, if the brand has many similar formats: posts, presentations, banners.
💡 If you work in Figma, set up colors and text levels as styles: they're available on all plans and update everywhere in the file at once. Publishing them as a library for other files requires a paid plan.
Brand book growing and getting confusing? Show it to the community → - 5
Step 5
Show it in use and test the brand book in practice
The last section is examples: the brand on real formats. This is where you see whether the rules work together. For a learning project, take a fictional brand, a volunteer initiative or friends with a small business, and put together:
- 3–5 formats: an avatar and a social post, a business card or letterhead, a banner, a presentation cover, a sign or packaging;
- a test on another person: give someone the brand book and ask them to make one layout from it; every question they ask points to a gap in the document;
- delivery format: a PDF for reading plus a source file (for example, Figma) with the logos, colors and fonts;
- a version and date on the cover, so it's clear the document is current.
💡 In your portfolio, show not only the brand book pages but the path: what the brief was, which options you rejected and why. That's what portfolio reviewers are interested in.
You're not alone with these questions
We counted what people ask about most in our community. Learning, portfolios and Figma are the top three. A brand book is one of the most convincing portfolio formats because it shows a system, not a single picture.
Messages by topic in Spaceberry Community, July 2024 — November 2026. Keyword search.
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How is a brand book different from a logo and an identity?
A logo is just one element of a brand. A brand identity is the whole visual system: logo, colors, fonts, graphics and photo style. A brand book is the document that describes that system and explains how to use it: clear space, minimum size, color codes, dos and don'ts. You create the identity first, then record it in the brand book.
How many pages should a brand book have?
There's no set page count: it depends on how many formats the brand uses and how many people work with it. For a learning project or a small business, a concise document is enough, as long as it covers the brand foundation, logo rules, colors, fonts and a few usage examples. Test it by asking someone to make one layout from it.
Which app should I use to make a brand book?
Any app where it's easy to lay out pages and export a PDF: for example, Figma, Canva or a presentation editor. Figma is handy because you can set up colors and text levels as styles right in the brand book file. Whatever you use, deliver the logo source files, color codes and font names along with the PDF.
Can I look at real brand books?
Yes, many companies publish their brand guidelines openly. Good examples are the Dropbox Brand Guidelines (from brand foundation and tone of voice to motion), the Spotify Design & Branding Guidelines (detailed logo rules) and the historic 1976 NASA Graphics Standards Manual. Links are in the sources below; take one apart before you build your own.
Is the Spaceberry community paid?
No. Spaceberry Community is a free Telegram community supported by Spaceberry Foundation, a non-profit organization. All you need to join is a Telegram account. Inside are 1,504 designers who discuss each other's work, plus regular design games: the same brief for everyone, a deadline and a community vote. Conversations are in Ukrainian.
Get feedback on your brand book
Join 1,504 designers who learn, share their work and play design games. Show your brand book and find out whether it's easy to work from. The community talks in Ukrainian.
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Updated · Spaceberry Foundation
Sources:
- Nielsen Norman Group — Design Systems 101
- Nielsen Norman Group — The Four Dimensions of Tone of Voice
- NASA — Graphics Standards Manual NHB 1430.2 (1976), PDF
- Dropbox — Brand Guidelines
- Spotify for Developers — Design & Branding Guidelines
- Figma Learn — Guide to styles in Figma
- Figma Learn — Guide to libraries in Figma