Ready to make your brand POP? Like, really grab attention and scream, “This is me!”? Then grab your beverage of choice because we’re diving into visual branding, and I’m sharing my secret weapon: a one-sheet brand guide that’ll make your business shine brighter than a disco ball! ✨

Why a Visual Brand Guide Is Your Secret Sauce

Think of your visual brand guide as your brand’s ultimate cheat sheet – a quick reference that keeps everything looking consistent and professional. It’s like having a style compass, ensuring your brand looks amazing even when you’re not the one directly at the helm. Extra helpful for those working with VAs or teams – no more brand bingo!

Why the One-Sheet Magic Works:

Let’s be honest – who has time to wade through a 50-page brand bible (it’s helpful to have one of these too)? A one-sheet guide is quick, easy to digest, and keeps the essential elements at your fingertips. Easy to share, easy to use – a win-win!

What to Include in Your One-Sheet, you might wonder:

Here’s the must-have info for a killer brand guide:

• Logo Love: Showcase your primary logo and any variations (submark, icon, light and dark alternates).
• Color Crush: List your brand colors using hex codes (#codes designers adore). Specify primary, secondary, and accent colors. Consistent colors = instant recognition. Remember Starbucks’ green? Exactly.
• Fontastic Fonts: Show off your fonts for headings, body text, and any special accents. Visualizing them together ensures consistent typography.
• Imagery Inspiration: Include examples of your image style – photography, illustrations, or a mix. This conveys your overall aesthetic. Are you bright and whimsical, or dark and moody? Show it!
• Brand Voice Snippet: Briefly describe how you “talk” to your audience. Sassy? Playful? Informative? This keeps your messaging consistent across your website, social media, and emails. You might also choose to include your mission statement or brand elevator pitch.
• Bonus Round! Squeeze in patterns, textures, or a mini mood board if space allows.

Creating Your One-Sheet Brand Guide (Easy as Pie!):

1. Gather Your Goodies: Collect logo files, color codes, font names, and image examples. Everything in one place makes designing a breeze.
2. Canva is Your BFF: Seriously, Canva simplifies this process. Tons of customizable templates, or start from scratch. (Psst… I’ve created a FREE Canva template just for you! Grab your copy here)
3. Plug and Play: Drag, drop, type, and add – it’s like a fun digital puzzle!
4. Share the Love: Download as a PDF and share with your team, designers, and anyone involved in your branding.

My Personal Brand Guide Glow-Up:

I spent my career working with start-ups and mid-size corporate companies before I started my own business. We always had a brand bible for all internal and external stakeholders to make sure nothing was displayed or written in a way that wasn’t aligned with the brand. In some cases we worked with partner brands where we would be in breach of our partnership with the incorrect display of their branding.

When I started Wicked Marvelous everything was in flux and building a consistent brand identity wasn’t at the top of my list – even though I knew it would help – because I was doing ALL THE THINGS. But once I sat down and created my simple one page reference guide, everything came together – instant cohesion, a professional look, and my online presence finally felt me. Bonus: it saved me tons of time and headaches!

Now anytime I make changes to my branding (it happens – I strongly believe your brand grows and changes with your business), I update my brand reference one-sheet so I don’t mix old and new.

Your Next Step:

Download my free Canva template (it’s ready and waiting!) and start creating your own one-sheet brand guide. You’ll thank yourself later! 😉 Stuck or have questions? Drop a comment below, or shoot me an email. I’m here to help!

Want to tackle your bigger brand bible, so you never have to go looking for your assets and resources? Check out the Brand Bible Bootcamp.