When discussing branding services, we often get asked the difference between a brand guide and a voice guide, and why they even matter in the first place. It’s simple really — building a strong brand isn’t just about having a great logo or a catchy tagline (although we love both those things!). A strong brand is about creating an identity that feels consistent and recognizable across everything you do. Whether someone’s scrolling through your social media, visiting your website, or opening an email from your team, they should immediately know, Yep, that’s them.
But how do you make sure your brand feels like your brand every single time? That’s where brand guides and voice guides come in. Think of them as your brand’s playbook — one for the look and feel, and the other for the tone and personality. Together, they help your team stay on the same page, no matter who’s designing, writing, or creating.
Let’s break down the difference between the two, why you really need both, and how to avoid common mistakes when building them. Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to level up your brand game, we’ve got tips to help you nail it.
What Is a Brand Guide?
A brand guide is a comprehensive handbook for all things brand-related. It’s meant to give readers, usually marketers or designers, an in-depth look into a company’s brand identity. It acts as the ultimate reference point for ensuring that your brand’s visual and thematic elements are consistent across all platforms and materials.
As you might expect, brand guides typically outline visual standards for branding, including the following areas listed below.
- Logos and logo use guidelines: Clear rules on size, spacing, placement, and acceptable variations (e.g., black-and-white versions, horizontal vs. vertical layouts).
- Brand-standard colors and fonts: A defined color palette with HEX, CMYK, or RGB values, along with approved typefaces and font weights for headings, subheadings, and body text.
- Typography, typefaces, and spacing: Details on font hierarchy, letter spacing, and alignment to ensure a professional and cohesive look across platforms.
- High-quality visuals and mood boards as examples: Approved imagery, patterns, or design inspirations that reflect the mood and style of your brand.
Brand Guide Example
What Is a Voice Guide?
A voice guide is a set of standards for all brand-affiliated communication. It defines how your brand “sounds” in written and verbal communication, shaping the tone, personality, and style of your messaging. Essentially, it’s the verbal counterpart to your brand guide. A voice guide is the best way to maintain consistency across all forms of written content, especially if you have multiple content creators or collaborate with external creators.
Voice guides are highly customizable per brand but may include any of the following areas listed below.
- Brand voice: Defines your brand’s personality (serious, conversational, playful, etc.) and includes examples of preferred phrases and language to avoid for consistency.
- Brand story and philosophy: The history and ethos of your company, presented in a way that resonates emotionally with your audience.
- Mission, vision, and tagline: A concise summary of your purpose, goals, and the essence of what you stand for.
- Core values: The foundational principles that guide your brand’s decisions, actions, and culture.
- Brand personality/archetype: A detailed breakdown of your brand’s character (e.g., are you the “Caregiver,” “Explorer,” or “Jester” archetype?).
- Target audience/audience personas: A description of who you’re speaking to, including demographics, interests, and pain points.
- Tone for specific channels: Defines how brand voice vs. tone plays out across platforms to tailor your content (e.g., professional tone for LinkedIn, conversational tone for Instagram).
- Standard grammar and style guide guidelines: General rules on punctuation, word usage, and formatting to ensure consistency (e.g., whether you use exclamation points, preferred tense, or industry-specific terms).
Voice Guide Example
What’s the Difference Between a Brand Guide and Voice Guide?
The terms “brand guide” and “voice guide” are often used interchangeably in business settings, but there are differences between them. A brand guide is your go-to guide for visual standards. A voice guide does not include design guidelines, but instead expands on your brand storytelling, messaging, and values. Think of a voice guide as an extension of your brand guide, geared towards content creators and writers.
Why You Need Both!
While brand guides and voice guides serve different purposes, they are two halves of the same whole when it comes to building a cohesive, memorable brand identity. Each guide contributes unique value, but their true power lies in how they work together.
A brand guide ensures consistency in your visual identity. It helps your team and external partners maintain a unified look across all materials — whether it’s a business card, website design, or billboard. Visual consistency isn’t just about looking good; it builds recognition and trust. When customers see the same colors, logos, and design elements repeatedly, it strengthens their connection to your brand.
A voice guide, on the other hand, ensures consistency in how your brand communicates. From blog posts and email campaigns to social media captions and customer service responses, your voice sets the tone for your relationship with your audience. It’s what makes your brand sound approachable, authoritative, fun, or professional.
Without the other, you’re missing a key part of your brand identity. For example:
- Imagine seeing a sleek, modern logo on a website, only to encounter messaging that’s overly casual or off-brand. The disconnect can confuse customers and weaken trust.
- Or maybe you’re reading content on a website with an engaging brand voice, but it’s paired with mismatched visuals. It can put your target audience off or come across as unprofessional.
So yes, to set your brand up for success, you need both guides. Think of your brand guide as the “what” of your brand (your look and feel) and your voice guide as the “how” (your message and tone). Together, they amplify your brand’s presence and impact.
Who Uses Brand and Voice Guides?
Having brand and voice guides allows your team to move confidently and efficiently. Whether you’re launching a new product, running a cross-platform campaign, or responding to customer inquiries, these guides ensure that everyone — from leaders to designers to copywriters — understands the brand’s “rules of engagement.” See the list below for the many different people who touch your brand and may benefit from these guides.
- Leadership: Helps leadership ensure the brand stays aligned with their vision and mission, especially when delegating down the chain of command.
- Sales reps: Provides sales reps with consistent messaging and tone for client-facing materials like pitches, presentations, and follow-up emails.
- Customer support reps: Ensures customer interactions — whether through email, chat, or phone — reflect the brand’s personality and tone, building trust and brand loyalty with customers or clients.
- Marketers: Provides a cohesive framework for developing campaigns, ads, and content across multiple platforms. With clear guidelines for visuals and messaging, marketers can focus on what they do best without straying from the brand’s identity.
- Internal creators: Brand and voice guides help reduce confusion and save time. Instead of debating over font sizes or rewriting content to match the tone, teams can focus on creative work, knowing they’re aligned on the fundamentals.
- External creators: Do you collaborate with freelancers, agencies, or contractors? Brand and voice guides act as a blueprint to give external creators the tools to produce work that feels true to your brand.
- Partners or affiliates: Like external creators, these guides give external partners or affiliates clear guidance on how to represent your brand, ensuring consistency in co-branded materials or collaborations.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
When it comes to creating and using brand and voice guides, it’s easy to run into pitfalls that can undermine your efforts. Avoiding these common mistakes can save your team time and ensure your brand stays strong and consistent.
#1. Choosing to Create Just One
Some companies focus heavily on either their visual branding or their voice but overlook the other entirely. A stunning visual identity without a consistent voice can feel hollow, while a great voice without cohesive visuals can seem disorganized. To truly stand out, you need both guides to work in harmony.
#2. Keeping the Guides Too Vague
While broad principles are helpful, overly generic instructions (e.g., “Be professional” or “Make it look clean”) won’t give your team or collaborators the clarity they need. Be specific about what your brand’s tone sounds like, what fonts and colors to use, how to apply your logo across platforms, etc.
#3. Overloading the Guides with Details
On the flip side, overly complex guides can overwhelm your team and discourage regular use. A guide with dozens of pages of design rules and messaging nuances may seem thorough, but if no one reads it, it’s useless. Focus on the essentials first and make it easy to reference.
#4. Not Training Your Team
Creating guides is only the first step. If your team doesn’t understand how to use them, inconsistencies will creep in. Invest time in training employees on how to apply the guides in their work and provide examples of “on-brand” vs. “off-brand” content.
#5. Ignoring Audience Insights
Your guides should reflect not only your brand but also your target audience’s preferences and expectations. Failing to align your tone and visuals with what resonates with your target audience can weaken your brand’s impact.
#6. Using the Guides as One-Size-Fits-All
Different channels and platforms may require slight adaptations of your brand voice or visuals. For example, the tone you use in your newsletter might differ slightly from your Instagram captions. While your guides should set a foundation, allow some flexibility for context.
#7. Treating the Guides as Static Documents
Your brand and voice guides shouldn’t gather dust in a shared drive. Brands evolve, and so should your guides. Regularly revisit and refine them as your company grows or as you explore new marketing opportunities. Additionally, encourage feedback from your team to ensure the guides are practical and user-friendly.
How to Get Started with Your Brand Guide and Voice Guide
To get an idea of what others are doing, research different brand and voice guides. Many companies use document design software like Adobe or Canva to develop their material, but Word or Google documents can work for shorter, simplified guides. Once you have some inspiration, here’s some steps to get started:
- Choose your guide: brand, voice, or both?
- Create your brand story, company values, mission statement, vision statement, and tagline
- Develop a set of core messages that communicate your brand’s identity and value proposition
- Determine your company voice and tone, and what specific writing guidelines to follow
- Research and decide on a brand archetype that fits your brand
- Determine your organization’s brand standards for visual and written content, including logo use, colors, fonts, spacing, etc.
- Consider what extra information might be most helpful to include in each guide, specific to your industry and brand
- Write concise instructional and informational content for each guide
And there you have it folks! That’s a crash course on how to get started with your brand and voice guides. Remember to take the time to develop guides that reflect your brand’s personality, values, and goals so your unique brand identity shines through.
Ready for the next step in your brand journey? Reach out to the Tuuti Team to learn more about our branding services and help create a personalized brand guide and voice guide. We’re already excited to bring your brand story to life!
