Which identity decisions belong in the brand book?
The supplied logo files and current materials show which visual decisions need rules. We review those artifacts alongside your audience, niche and positioning. That evidence helps separate settled choices from open design questions.
Our review records 4 inputs: project context, identity files, current materials and required applications. The guide covers 5 visual layers: logo, color, typography, graphic elements and imagery. For each layer, we define its role and show how the team should apply it. Logo guidance can document versions, clear space, sizes and permitted use. Color rules distinguish the corporate palette’s core and supporting roles. Typography guidance records primary and secondary fonts.
Graphic elements can include patterns, icons, illustrations, shapes and decorative details. Imagery guidance describes the intended style for photography and other visual materials. The scope can also include examples for social media, presentations, websites, business cards, advertising banners and print.
If the identity is already established, the work can focus on clear documentation. If important choices remain open, we can develop or refine the visual direction before writing usage rules. For related design outputs, see banner and video banner design or landing page design.
How should the guide map to real project materials?
The formats your team produces determine which examples the guide should contain. Start with the materials contributors create most often. Then identify where current instructions leave room for different interpretations.
List the applications in practical terms: social posts, presentation pages, website screens, business cards, banners or print pieces. Mark each as current, planned or out of scope. This gives us a working boundary. It also helps prevent examples from becoming decorative pages without a clear use.
We compare each proposed rule against the supplied applications. A logo variant should work in the format shown. Palette guidance should make the intended color roles clear. Imagery notes should help a contributor select suitable material, rather than relying on a vague mood description. Where an example depends on a specific channel, label the format so readers can understand its purpose.
The guide is a visual reference, not a product interface specification. If the project needs website or application development, clarify that boundary during scoping. The brand book can inform web and mobile application development. The implementation work remains a separate design and build scope.
What signals that a team needs documented visual rules?
Different versions of the same logo across current materials are a clear signal. So are inconsistent color choices, unclear font roles or repeated questions from external designers.
A brand book can also help when a project is preparing a new identity. It can support an established look that is expanding into additional channels. Use this short review to identify the task:
- Existing identity, unclear application: document the rules and show relevant examples.
- Existing logo, visual issues: discuss refinement before finalizing guidance.
- New direction required: scope the visual work before documenting usage.
- New formats planned: name them so the guide can address their needs.
A settled identity usually needs less exploration than a project still deciding its visual direction. Bring examples of what should remain and what should change. This helps us focus on your team’s actual decisions. It also avoids treating every asset as a redesign request.
For a broader view of connected creative work, visit the design, video and development studio. If the next deliverable is motion, the guide can also inform 2D animated video production.
What moves from the first review to the final PDF?
The project moves from context review to visual direction, documented rules and handover. The term is up to two weeks. The sequence reflects the agreed scope and the feedback your team provides.
We begin by checking the project description, audience, positioning, current identity and required applications. We then develop or refine the visual direction. Once the core choices are aligned, we document usage rules and prepare examples for the formats included in the brief. This order gives the team a chance to resolve visual decisions before the guide records them.
Keep 1 person responsible for consolidating feedback. Send current logo and identity files, examples of existing materials, product or website references, and the application list. Comments are most useful when they identify a specific page, rule or example. Explain the decision needed.
Our review uses 3 checkpoints: supplied context, aligned visual direction and final documented rules. We use 2 review rounds as a planning default. At handover, you receive the final PDF and source materials. We check that the rules and examples match the agreed scope. If your team needs implementation alongside the guide, discuss whether that work belongs in a separate web and mobile application development brief.
How can contributors use the guide during production?
A contributor can use the relevant page as a reference when starting or reviewing an asset. The guide gives designers and partners a common basis for logo versions, color roles, typography, graphic details and imagery choices.
Before assigning work, confirm 3 practical points: where approved source files live, who reviews exceptions, and which applications the guide covers. Include the relevant page or example in the design brief. That makes the instruction easier to apply than sending a PDF without context.
During review, compare the draft with the documented rule. Check the logo version, the stated color and type roles, and whether the imagery follows the described direction. If the application is not covered, record the gap. Then decide whether the guide should be extended. Use the real output format when checking important examples, such as a small social image or a printed piece.
The guide provides a shared visual reference for repeated work. It can also inform connected creative briefs, including banner and video banner design. Keep the source materials with the PDF so future contributors can locate both the rule and the files needed to apply it.
Where can a brand book not control the finished appearance?
A brand book records intended visual use, but a platform or production format can change how an asset appears. Display conditions, image cropping and print output sit outside the guide’s control. Check important applications in their actual context.
For a useful review, place the example beside the relevant rule. Confirm that the logo version is approved, the format is covered and the visual hierarchy remains legible. If a design uses an unlisted format, ask whether the existing rule applies. Otherwise, determine whether the guide needs an added example.
This check also helps keep feedback concrete. Name the page or asset, identify the rule in question, and state the channel or production requirement. The team can then separate a request for a new application example from a request to change the identity itself. Keep the approved files and the PDF together during handover. That helps contributors work from the same source materials.
Send your current identity files, existing examples and intended applications to GeoMarketing Experts. We will review the materials, clarify the open decisions and confirm the brand book scope.
How it works
- 01. Share project contextSend current identity files, project positioning and examples of existing materials. List the applications the guide should address.
- 02. Confirm the scopeWe review what exists and clarify whether the work needs documentation, refinement or a new visual direction.
- 03. Develop the visual directionWe shape or refine the visual system, then align the core choices with the agreed brief.
- 04. Document rules and examplesWe specify how to use the identity and prepare examples for the applications included in scope.
- 05. Review and hand overAfter feedback and final checks, you receive the brand book PDF and source materials.
Frequently asked questions
Which files should we gather before the first brand book review?
Gather the current logo and identity files, examples of existing materials, a short project description and the list of applications you need covered. Include audience and positioning notes, plus any production requirements. One person should consolidate team comments so the initial review has a clear record of open decisions.
Can the scope keep our current logo and refine only its use?
Yes. The work can document an existing logo, or include refinement as part of the visual direction. Share the current files and identify what should remain or change. We can then clarify whether the brief needs usage rules only or also requires logo refinement.
What arrives in the handover besides the PDF?
You receive source materials alongside the final PDF. The guide can include logo rules, palette and font guidance, graphic and imagery direction, plus examples for the applications agreed in scope. Confirm the required formats during scoping so the handover reflects what your team needs to use.
Can the guide show our identity across different formats?
Yes. Examples can address social media, presentations, websites, business cards, advertising banners and print. Tell us which formats are current priorities and which are planned. That helps us select examples tied to actual team tasks, rather than adding formats without a clear use.
How long should we allow for brand book development?
The stated term is up to two weeks. Work moves from reviewing your context to developing or refining the visual direction, documenting rules and handing over the PDF with source materials. Sharing the requested files and consolidating feedback helps keep the agreed sequence clear.
Will the guide make the identity look identical in every format?
No. The guide sets intended use and examples, but display conditions, cropping and print output can affect appearance. We document rules for the agreed applications. Your team should check important assets in their actual format and raise any uncovered application for review.
Tell us about your project
Answer four quick questions and a manager will send you a plan, timing and a price range within the hour. Everything stays confidential.
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