Brand Guide Template: What to Include and What to Skip

A working brand guide is not a checklist it is a decision framework. Always include the components creators reference daily (logo, color, type, voice, application examples). Include scope-dependent sections only if they are genuinely needed (full grid system, photography direction, motion guidelines). Usually skip the pretty-but-useless sections that get cargo-culted from other famous brand books and produce a guide nobody opens.

The Include / Optional / Skip Framework

Make Every Visual Count

Always Include

Logo system (variations, sizing, clear space, do/don't), color palette (full values plus accessibility) including both RGB/HEX for digital and CMYK/Pantone for print, typography (web and print), voice and tone, real application examples across the channels you actually use including print channels, where file specs and prep requirements are part of what the guide needs to cover, and governance. Skipping any of these is usually a mistake.  

Optional (Scope-Dependent)

Photography direction (include if you have your own photography program), iconography and illustration system (include if you use them regularly), layout and grid system (include for design-heavy programs), motion guidelines (include if you produce video / animation). The test: will creators reference this section monthly?

Usually Skip

Founder anthem essays nobody reads. Mood-board-only sections without rules. Full brand anthropology (history of the wordmark across decades). Aspirational statements with no enforcement. These sections look impressive in pitch decks and produce zero downstream value for creators. The guide that gets used is lean, opinionated, and example-rich.  

Why Cargo-Culting Other Brands Fails?

Famous brand books circulate as templates Mailchimp, Slack, Spotify, Heineken, etc. They are inspiring; they are also specific to companies that have entire brand teams running them. Cargo-culting their structure produces a guide that is too elaborate for your team to maintain and too generic to help your creators ship work. Build the guide for your team, not for a design blog post. The elements of a complete brand style guide give the right structure to start from scaled to what your team actually needs. Centric designs right-sized brand guides through its branding guidelines service.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should every brand guide include?

Logo, color, type, voice, application examples, and governance. Everything else is scope-dependent or optional.

What should brand guides skip?

Sections nobody references founder essays without rules, mood-board-only sections, exhaustive brand history. Pretty but unused.

Should we copy from a famous brand book?

Use them as inspiration; do not clone their structure. Your guide should be sized for your team, not for design-blog appeal.

How long should the guide be?

Long enough to cover what you actually need; short enough that creators read it. Most working guides are 30-80 pages.

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Conclusion

The brand guide that earns its place is the one creators reference weekly. Include what they need; skip what they will not use; resist the temptation to cargo-cult famous brand books that exist in different contexts than yours. Right-size for your team and your stage. At Centric, we design brand guides that are lean, opinionated, and example-rich built for the creators using them, not for design blog appeal.