Brand book: contents and practical handover

A brand book records approved design decisions and explains how to use them. It should answer common questions quickly: which logo belongs here, how should this heading look, and where is the correct file?

Its usefulness can be checked with a new application. Give the document and agreed resources to the person responsible for the next presentation, package or post. Can they complete the task without reconstructing the rules from a conversation with the designer?

Try a practical handover task

Ask someone who did not develop the identity to create a typical social graphic and presentation page. Use the document and files that will actually be available after handover.

Review the result and the questions raised. Record missing explanations and improve them. This is a proposed test, not a claim that a client has already achieved a particular completion time or score.

What does a useful brand book contain?

It connects approved rules, the relevant resources and examples of the team’s real work.

Chapter	Practical contents
Logo	Main signature, variants, clear space, tested sizes and unsuitable uses
Colour	Values and roles for the intended media
Typography	Families, hierarchy and agreed alternatives
Imagery	Subjects, light, crops and selection examples
Layout and forms	Repeated spacing and information relationships
Voice, when included	Usable wording examples and terminology
Applications	The formats the team needs to produce

For Arabic and English work, add the approved names and actual examples in both scripts where required. A Latin specimen is not a test of an Arabic paragraph or mixed-script product name.

Which components need their own rules?

A useful structure covers the mark family, colour roles, typography, imagery, layouts, applications and file directory. Connect each rule to an example rather than imposing a page target.

Apexor’s documented guidelines cover logos, colour, typography and applications from merchandise to an Instagram profile. The record supports those components, not an invented PDF length or public download. See the Apexor project.

What can be left out?

Rare situations need not be designed exhaustively in advance. State who decides when a new case arises and how an approved addition enters the document.

A long brand history or an explanation for every colour choice may add little to a production task. Keep the document focused on decisions people need. A smaller set of rules that can be found and applied is more useful than many irrelevant sections.

How long should the document be?

Length follows the applications, examples and responsibilities. Several teams or production partners may require more explanation, but a large page count does not establish usability.

Use realistic questions as the measure. Can someone locate the appropriate logo or presentation layout? Does the instruction resolve the task? Expand the document where those checks reveal a gap.

Which files belong with it?

The document describes the system; usable resources let people apply it. Agree the required logo versions, appropriate vector and raster exports, colour resources and production templates.

Record where fonts are obtained and who confirms the necessary licences. A font visible in a sample is not automatically a redistributable resource.

Original working files, editable templates and final exports are different deliverables. Name them in the proposal instead of treating “source files” as a complete specification.

When is a short rules sheet enough?

A person producing a few materials alone may only need a concise reference. A larger document becomes useful when several people or suppliers make decisions for the same brand.

The threshold follows collaboration and complexity, not company size alone. A small business with a printer, web developer and social supplier may have more coordination needs than a larger team using one fixed format.

Distinguish identity, guidelines and templates

The visual guidelines document the appearance and its use. Wider brand identity also concerns the intended position, communication and behaviour. The document can summarise those foundations without replacing their development.

Templates are another deliverable: they prepare actual production tasks. A presentation template and the chapter explaining typography have different jobs.

Before commissioning the book, identify its users. A printer needs different information from a person writing a social post. Both should find their task without reading every strategic paragraph.

Explain logos through real applications

For each agreed logo version, show its use and link to the appropriate file. A row of similar signs without instructions leaves the main choice unresolved.

Clear space and minimum size should be tested on the actual mark. Include light, dark and visually complex backgrounds where relevant. Show unsuitable uses with an explanation and a workable alternative.

“Do not change the logo” is not enough when a user needs to know which approved version fits a difficult area.

Use the actual family of marks

Apexor’s APX//R monogram, APEXOR wordmark and triangular icon solve different application requirements. The file directory should connect the chosen rule to the approved resource.

Do not invent millimetre limits or production tolerances from a portfolio image. Confirm those against the original artwork and the intended use. If an Arabic signature is required for another project, document its own tested limits rather than copying the Latin values without review.

Give colours both values and roles

Define what each colour does: main brand field, text, background or emphasis. Identical palettes can produce very different results when those roles are left open.

Provide the values needed for the agreed media. Digital values and print instructions are not interchangeable; important print applications may need production approval.

Include text/background combinations at actual sizes. A bright accent can work on a large area while performing poorly as small text. A useful colour chapter explains these decisions rather than displaying swatches alone.

Chimbá: digital colours are not a print approval

Chimbá’s documented deep green #02570f and coral #f2787d can be named precisely in a digital guide. Their roles still need explanation alongside the numbers.

A hex value is not an approved print profile. The selected material, process and production reference require their own checks. The Chimbá project supplies a real palette example, not a universal production instruction for another brand.

Prepare typography for long and short content

Show a usable hierarchy for headings, body text and supporting information. Include short and long examples using the actual language content.

For Arabic and English, check apparent weight and size, line lengths and mixed-script names. Keep telephone numbers and email addresses readable inside the relevant direction of text.

Office templates may need agreed fallback fonts. State where typefaces are obtained and who checks their permitted use. Do not distribute third-party files merely because they appear in the design sample.

Make imagery rules help people choose

“Authentic” and “premium” are directions, not complete instructions. Explain subjects, light, viewpoint and crops using suitable and unsuitable examples.

Show how imagery works with text and how it changes between portrait and landscape formats. Identify important areas that should remain visible.

The rules must also fit the team’s resources. If only a small image library is available, explain how it can be used realistically rather than requiring a new elaborate shoot for every item.

PDF, online guide or editable document?

The format should follow the users and update process. None is inherently a complete system.

Format	Useful quality	Responsibility to clarify
PDF	A defined version can be shared	How older copies are identified
Online guide	Central updates and resource links	Access and ongoing maintenance
Editable document	The team can extend agreed sections	Who can change the rules
Short reference	Fast access to essential instructions	Where fuller examples live

A downloaded structure can help organise the document, but it does not contain your brand decisions. Keep the chapters that answer real needs and fill them with approved rules.

Rules and production templates are separate

A PDF records decisions. An online edition can keep them current. Editable files support the production of new materials.

Kate Sun’s project documents carousel and story templates as distinct outputs. It illustrates why a proposal should name those resources separately from the rules document. A portfolio screenshot does not establish a particular editable file format. See the Kate Sun project.

Keep rules and resources current

Name a person responsible for collecting changes and marking the current version. State where the approved edition lives, and identify obsolete templates.

Links should lead to the same resources the team is expected to use. Clear names such as main logo, negative version and profile image are more helpful than ambiguous draft numbers.

Add rules when real recurring tasks justify them. An isolated question need not create another chapter; repeated uncertainty may need an example or clearer instruction.

What should the handover include?

Guidelines should explain each rule with a correct example, a relevant unsuitable use and a link to the file. This makes instructions more actionable than an isolated sentence about spacing.

Agree the version, responsibilities and handover exercise. Editable templates, font licences and the document remain distinct parts of the assignment.

The visual identity elements guide explains the underlying system. This article focuses on making its instructions usable after development.

Test with someone outside the design process

Give a typical task to someone who did not create the identity. Provide only the resources intended for later use.

Observe file selection and questions. A polished result achieved only through personal assistance does not demonstrate that the instructions are sufficient. Record what was missing and improve it.

Then try a different application. That helps distinguish copying one prepared example from understanding a reusable rule. Keep the exercise proportionate to the business rather than making it a separate major project.

Specify the documentation assignment

Name the chapters, format, related templates and example tasks in the proposal. A page count alone does not describe what the team will be able to do.

Clarify who updates the material, which editable files are supplied and what introduction is included. Documenting an existing identity is a different assignment from developing a new one.

Alkeme Design does not infer a separate universal documentation fee from the complete identity price. The fixed proposal should describe the actual work.

Explain grids and information hierarchy

A grid establishes relationships between headings, text, images and supporting information. Demonstrate recurring principles on common formats instead of trying to anticipate every page size.

A product card may prioritise brand, product name and variant. A presentation may prioritise a title, chart and explanation. The guide should allow those differences while preserving the common visual relationships.

Test sparse and dense examples, including a second line and another image. A grid is useful when it supports real content and makes the priorities understandable.

Demonstrate applications with real content

A useful sample set can include a product card, a longer text application and a small signature format. Check line breaks, image replacement and required information.

Pucca Diana documents the logo across a favicon, animated introduction and card. Those applications illustrate a family of marks. They are not a fabricated report of a new user’s performance with the files.

For a bilingual Gulf team, select comparable practical tasks in Arabic and English. Record the actual questions raised rather than assuming the second version behaves identically.

Explain voice through actual wording

If language is part of the assignment, show terminology, forms of address and treatment of specialist words. Include a real heading or offer description.

A quality such as “clear” should lead to examples of vague language and a more specific alternative. In Arabic and English, natural wording may differ while preserving the approved offer and intention.

A visual manual does not automatically include a complete copy strategy. State whether the language is being developed or whether the guide simply records already approved names and messages.

Offer a short reference for recurring questions

A concise reference can collect core rules and file links with an obvious version marker. It helps occasional users without forcing every exception onto one crowded page.

Link to detailed examples when needed. The short reference and the full guide should point to the same approved resources, including the appropriate script versions.

What should you receive from the studio?

Guidelines belong to Alkeme Design’s complete identity, which costs $4,400 (≈ AED 16,150) to $24,000 (≈ AED 88,150). Logo and brand essentials start from $1,400 (≈ AED 5,150) and provide shorter application rules.

The proposal defines which documents, templates and files are delivered. A complete identity price is not a fixed page rate for a manual describing a system that already exists.

Handover, usage terms and cost

A practical handover connects the rules, resource directory, current version, responsible person and relevant licensing information. Usage terms are defined in the agreement; a rule from another country is not substituted for reviewing the actual resources and uses.

Our complete identity costs $4,400 (≈ AED 16,150) to $24,000 (≈ AED 88,150). For acceptance, use a genuinely new application created from the supplied instructions. Send your current identity and the tasks your team needs to perform to define whether the assignment is new development, documentation or both.