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Style Guide: building the foundations of a branding strategy

Style Guide: building the foundations of a branding strategy

Among the fundamental branding tools, the style guide plays a crucial role as it strategically defines the stylistic directions needed to maintain the recognisability and consistency of the brand identity across all communication channels.

Structuring this ‘guide-material’ in detail allows not only to outline how the brand speaks, but also how it wants to be perceived, building a dominant and identifying image and generating long-term value.

But what are the main steps to develop efficient brand guidelines for defining the ToV (Tone of Voice) of a brand?

The first step of the journey is to understand the essence of the brand. What is its purpose and why does it exist? (Mission ) Where does it want to go? What are its long-term goals? (Vision ) What are its fundamental principles and what does it stand for? (Values).

Thenext step is to get to know the target audience, first by dividing the market into segments based on demographic, psychographic and behavioural data, then by outlining personas, i.e. detailed profiles of ideal customers, considering needs, desires, shortcomings and preferred communication styles.

Then, it is crucial to make your voice heard, choosing a distinctive and memorable tonal nuance. Imagine you are in a room full of people interacting: some will use formal or sophisticated language, others will indulge in laughter, between snide and sarcastic statements, others will speak quickly and concisely, and still others will speak with pathos and emotional expressions. Similarly, brands need to communicate in a unique way to be remembered and the ToV determines how they present themselves and interact with their audience through written and spoken communication. Tone, at this point, is not only about the words you choose, but also about ‘how you say them’, and at the same time is a reflection of the brand’s key traits, capable of generating a clear and uniform overall image. In order to ensure consistency and authenticity, it will be essential to include in the style guide the adjectives that describe the tone adopted, while defining the keywords that the brand will use regularly, as well as those to be avoided.

In addition, a complete style guide will include sections on visual identity, i.e. on

  1. Logo and usage: specifies all logo variants and the contexts in which they are to be used.
  2. Institutional colours: indicates the official brand colours and their correct application.
  3. Fonts and declinations: lists the approved fonts and provides detailed guidelines for their appropriate use.
  4. Moodboard : uses images and colours that represent the mood or atmosphere of the brand.

At GALORE STUDIO, we firmly believe in the power of a well-structured style guide as the foundation on which we build not only the identity, but also the charisma of the brand. We invest time and energy in clearly defining how each brand speaks and presents itself to the world and to ensure that every possible interaction with the target audience reflects its core values and purpose. For us, a style guide is a dynamic tool that grows and evolves with the brand itself, without ever distorting it; it is the promise of consistency and authenticity in every communication, ultimately revealing who you are and why you matter.

To find out more about Galore Studio and get more details about our approach, write to hello@galore.studio