Why is a brand charter important for your brand image?

What is a graphic charter?

As mentioned, a brand charter is an essential part of your branding. It is a document that brings together all the standards necessary for your visual identity to be consistent. This file gives a lot of guidance, including how to use your logo, so that all your employees are on the same page.

The aim of the graphic charter is to make your brand immediately recognizable to the public. It ensures consistency between every communication tool produced by your company, helping to create a strong, memorable brand voice.

What a brand charter should contain

Your graphic charter is responsible for a consistent and professional visual communication. It therefore includes several key elements that define your identity.

Logo

Your logo is the heart of your brand image and often the first component in the graphic charter. This section specifies the colours allowed for the logo and the possible simplified versions. For example, if your logo includes a tagline, there may be an alternative version where only the icon is used. This information can be found in the graphic charter, along with details on the permitted formats, such as proportions, minimum size and the exclusion zone to be respected around the design.

To ensure the logo is visible in all circumstances, the designer of the graphic charter also indicates the necessary contrast rules between the logo and its background. These guidelines are intended to ensure that the logo remains readable and retains its impact, regardless of the medium.

Color palette

Your color palette is another very important piece of your graphic charter. The latter must indicate the HEX, RGB and CMYK codes of the colors that fit into your visual identity. If your palette includes Pantone colors, the document must also mention their codes. These codes allow you to faithfully reproduce your colors on different media, whether digital or printed. Typically, a palette consists of three to five colors, selected based on their meaning and complementarity with the overall visual identity of the brand.

Typography

What fonts do you use on your site or in various communications? They must be included in your graphic charter, with precise indications on their use. Which fonts correspond to the titles, subtitles, and main texts? Should the characters be bold, uppercase or italic? What colours are associated with each use? These are the details that help ensure consistency across all the content your company designs.

Graphics

Your graphic charter can also mention guidelines for the choice of images and illustrations in your communications. Like what:

• Illustrations should be realistic or abstract
• Photos should be black and white or bright color
• Patterns or textures are recommended for backgrounds

If your brand image includes icons or pictograms, the graphic charter also specifies how to use them. A bit like the logo, it indicates the colors in which they can be found as well as their dimensions.

This document may also include information on the graphic design of web interface components. Do your buttons have rounded or straight corners? What animations should occur when clicking on a hyperlink or hovering over it? How should forms be structured and displayed?

This information about your visual identity simplifies the work of graphic designers and developers by providing them with a clear and uniform basis for all creations.

Why and how to change a graphic charter

Have you been in business for many years and you want a more modern look? It may be time to update your brand image and, at the same time, your graphic charter by integrating aspects that reflect current trends. This update may also be necessary as part of a strategic realignment or rebranding to better reflect your most recent goals and values.

Unless you're doing a complete rebranding, you're better off keeping a few graphic components that are reminiscent of your old branding. This will help your customers recognize your company while gradually adapting to your new visual identity.

By the way, don't forget to communicate these changes! Inform your employees in advance so that they can familiarize themselves with the new brand guidelines before it is launched. Also send your updated graphic charter to those who will have to use it. When it comes to advertising to the public, having a marketing strategy will certainly serve you well. This could include a social media campaign or special ads highlighting your new visual identity.

Examples of graphic charters

Are you looking for inspiration to design or improve your graphic charter? Why not look at what these three major companies are doing?

Adobe

The company has put a graphic charter online specially designed for developers who integrate Adobe brand products into their creations. This document specifies the permitted uses of the logo and those to be avoided, ensuring that the brand's identity is respected, regardless of who uses it or what the context is.

Netflix

In its graphic charter that is accessible online, Netflix shows the different ways to use its logo. These guidelines are especially useful for video editors, allowing them to incorporate the logo into their designs, adhering to brand standards.

Starbucks

Starbucks' brand guidelines are much more than a tool for designers. It is a real gold mine of information about the company's identity. It covers all of the graphic components we've mentioned in this article but also includes information about the company's voice. This charter is enriched with many concrete examples to illustrate how each aspect of the brand image is applied in different contexts.

A well-designed graphic charter strengthens your brand image and makes your team's work easier. Need a logo before creating a graphic charter that represents your company? Try FreeLogoDesign now!

Roxane has always written and dreamed of making a living from her pen. Now a web editor, proofreader and author, we can say that it's mission accomplished!