In the last episode, we looked at your brand manual — your brand’s atlas. The document that answers every question about your brand when it’s most needed.
Now, today we get practical, maybe technical. We’ll start with the question: what should a beginner brand manual actually contain?
Well, there’s no strict rulebook here. Your manual grows as your business grows, but today we look at the bare bones — the stuff every business needs from day one.
Starting with logo rules. In the visual pillar of your brand, this is always the first and most essential section. Here you set every rule that governs and, most importantly, protects your brand foundation. Logo safe zones, sizing restrictions, what you can and what you can’t do, every variation, every logo rule.
Your next section would be color. This section lays out your color palette and provides all the technical information that will ensure color consistency across every platform, from digital to print to apparel. It indicates your primary, secondary, accent, and complementary colors, each with exact production codes for both digital and print — CMYK, RGB, Hex, Pantone — and sets up ratios for each.
Next up, typography. Your primary font, your secondary font, and the basic rules around spacing, kerning, leading — everything that governs them.
Then photography. Basic quality standards, approved styles, and clear rules around the use of stock photography. Because nothing dates a brand faster than the incorrect use of stock.
Then the big one: your website. Today, a website is the most brand-forward thing you own, and it does more than follow the brand guidelines. It actually sets the standard. Personally, I often work backward from the full web guidelines to build the brand guidelines, or at least work with the two hand in hand. Your website is the most important face of your business. It sets the tone for everything else. But regardless of which comes first, your website needs to follow the guide without exception. That’s what stops a developer from making decisions about fonts or colors at ten o’clock at night based on vibes.
Next are your brand application samples. These are real-life visual examples of your logo, your color, your type, and your photography actually being used, not just described. This is done with photography where possible, and with mockups for the rest.
Next is the non-technical stuff, the second pillar of your brand: your vision, mission, values, and tone of voice. And finally, contact details, of course — who’s actually responsible for brand decisions so nobody’s guessing?
Now, does that feel like a lot? It shouldn’t. You do not need a 200-page corporate Bible. You need a practical tool. You start simple, you use it, and you build from there.
Before we move on, I’ll hit you with a few rapid-fire questions while we’re on the subject.
Who is the brand manual actually for? It’s for anyone who creates anything on your behalf. Internal staff, external designers, developers, copywriters, social media managers, printers. If they touch your brand, they need the brand manual.
Another one: do I need to pay to print 100 of these? No, you don’t. Keep it digital. Use a PDF or a hosted link. It’s infinitely shareable, and it’s always up to date. It costs you nothing to send.
Here’s a tricky one. Do I need an actual brand manager if I already have a brand manual? For most small and even some mid-sized businesses, a clear, comprehensive brand manual does the job for you. It allows you to maintain standards until your brand grows to a point where you really need to employ a full-time brand manager.
Let’s take a quick break from the show. Everything on BRAND:NEW comes from somewhere. This podcast is an extension of a book I’ve spent the last year writing. It’s called The Business Owner’s Guide to Branding — 150 answers to the questions you’re actually asking. Written for business owners, it’s a book that finally translates what goes on inside a brand designer’s head, so you know exactly what you’re paying for and why. Available soon on Amazon in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle formats.
Next up is a question—more a statement—I hear often, usually after the damage is done. My web developer says he doesn’t need a brand manual. Is that true? That is absolutely not true. And frankly, if a developer is telling you that, it’s worth wondering what else they’re guessing at.
Without a brand manual, a developer makes subjective calls on your behalf, usually without telling you. Colors, fonts, spacing, button styles, padding — it’s all guesswork. All invisible to you until the site is already live and everything feels off.
Every website project should start with a brand components section. A section that is built from the rules and elements inside your brand manual. It is the digital key that locks down exact color values, type scaling, spacing, icon rules, and how every component actually behaves. One shared reference that keeps every page consistent, speeds up development, and protects your brand online.
Just a quick one before we wrap. We spoke about the importance of a brand audit. So now I’m opening up a draw for a brand audit slot, live right here in a future episode of BRAND:NEW. It could be your business; it could be a friend that you refer. Dissect it under the microscope. Real brand, real audit, real results, right here on the show. And if you don’t want to wait for the draw, reach out anytime. Either way, the details are in the show notes.
Now, before we go, here’s another quick one, because it kind of ties everything together in this episode. Can you update your brand manual over time? Yes, and you should. Even though it is a book of rules, it is not set in stone. A brand manual is a living document. It grows as your business grows. New sub-brands, new products, new packaging, new channels nobody thought about when you started your business first. It is a living, growing thing. Keep feeding it.
In our next episode, we look at what actually happens when somebody ignores all of this and uses your brand incorrectly.
That’s it for this episode of BRAND:NEW. Thank you for spending a few minutes with me. I don’t take your time for granted. If this helped you, share it with a business owner who needs it. And if you’ve got ten seconds, please leave a rating. It would really mean the world to me.
I’m Donovan. This has been BRAND:NEW. I’ll see you in the next episode.
WHat GOES INTO A ‘BEGINNER’ brand manual?
In the last piece, I walked through your brand’s atlas — the document that answers every question about your brand when it’s needed most. Today we get practical. Maybe even a little technical. The question on the table: what should a beginner brand manual actually contain?
There’s no strict rulebook here. Your manual grows as your business grows. But there is a bare-bones set — the stuff every business needs from day one. Here’s how I break it down.
LOGO RULES
In the visual pillar of your brand, this is always the first and most essential section. This is where you set every rule that governs, and most importantly protects, your brand’s foundation: logo safe zones, sizing restrictions, what you can and can’t do, and every approved variation.
Here you set every rule that governs and, most importantly, protects your brand foundation.
COLOR
This section lays out your color palette and provides all the technical information needed to ensure color consistency across every platform, from digital to print to apparel. It indicates your primary, secondary, accent, and complementary colors, each with exact production codes for both digital and print — CMYK, RGB, Hex, Pantone — and sets up ratios for each.
This section lays out your color palette and provides all the technical information that will ensure color consistency across every platform, from digital to print to apparel.
TYPOGRAPHY
Your primary font, your secondary font, and the basic rules around spacing, kerning, and leading — everything that governs how your type behaves.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Basic quality standards, approved styles, and clear rules around the use of stock photography. Because nothing dates a brand faster than the incorrect use of stock.
Nothing dates a brand faster than the incorrect use of stock.
YOUR WEBSITE
Then comes the big one: Your website.
Today, a website is the most brand-forward thing you own, and it does more than follow the brand guidelines — it actually sets the standard. I often work backward from the full web guidelines to build the brand guidelines, or at least work with the two hand in hand. Your website is the most important face of your business. It sets the tone for everything else.
Regardless of which comes first, your website needs to follow the guide without exception. That’s what stops a developer from making decisions about fonts or colors at 10 o’clock at night based on vibes.
That’s what stops a developer from making decisions about fonts or colors at 10 o’clock at night based on vibes.
BRAND APPLICATION SAMPLES
These are real-life visual examples of your logo, your color, your type, and your photography actually being used — not just described. This is done with photography where possible, and mockups for the rest.
the non-technical pillar
Next is the second pillar of your brand: your vision, mission, values, and tone of voice.
contact details
And finally, contact details. Who’s actually responsible for brand decisions, so nobody’s guessing?
Does that feel like a lot? It shouldn’t. You do not need a 200-page corporate bible. You need a practical tool. You start simple, you use it, and you build from there.
You do not need a 200-page corporate Bible. You need a practical tool.
A FEW QUESTIONS
Before moving on, a few questions worth answering directly.
Who is the brand manual actually for?
It’s for anyone who creates anything on your behalf — internal staff, external designers, developers, copywriters, social media managers, printers. If they touch your brand, they need the brand manual.
Do I need to pay to print 100 of these?
No. Keep it digital. Use a PDF or a hosted link. It’s infinitely shareable, and it’s always up to date. It costs you nothing to send.
Do I need an actual brand manager if I already have a brand manual?
For most small and even some mid-sized businesses, a clear, comprehensive brand manual does the job. It allows you to maintain standards until your brand grows to a point where you really need a full-time brand manager.
For most small businesses, and even some mid-sized ones, a clear, comprehensive brand manual does the job for you.
“My Web Developer Says He Doesn’t Need One”
This is a statement I hear often, usually after the damage is already done: my web developer says he doesn’t need a brand manual. That is absolutely not true. And frankly, if a developer is telling you that, it’s worth wondering what else they’re guessing at.
Without a brand manual, a developer makes subjective calls on your behalf, usually without telling you. Colors, fonts, spacing, button styles, padding — it’s all guesswork, invisible to you until the site is already live and everything feels off.
Every website project should start with a brand components section in place — a section built from the rules and elements inside your brand manual. It is the digital key that locks down exact color values, type scaling, spacing, icon rules, and how every component actually behaves. One shared reference that keeps every page consistent, speeds up development, and protects your brand online.
Without a brand manual, a developer makes subjective calls on your behalf, usually without telling you.
Your Brand Manual Should Grow With You
One last question that ties everything together: Can you update your brand manual over time? Yes — and you should.
Even though it is a book of rules, it is not set in stone. A brand manual is a living document. It grows as your business grows: new sub-brands, new products, new packaging, new channels nobody thought about when you first started your business. It is a living, growing thing. Keep feeding it.
A brand manual is a living document. It grows as your business grows.
This piece is a companion to Episode 13 of BRAND:NEW — you can listen to the full conversation, including the audio version of this transcript, above.
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