--- title: Brand Guidelines — definition for local service businesses | Siite description: "Brand guidelines explained: what a brand guide contains, why it is more than a logo file, and how it keeps a service business recognizable everywhere." url: "https://siite.co/dictionary/brand-guidelines" type: static generatedAt: "2026-11-02T14:48:47.468Z" --- Design & UX # Brand Guidelines The rulebook for how your business looks and sounds: logo, colors, fonts, photos and tone. It keeps the website, signage, printed materials and anything else with your name on it looking like one company. Also goes by Brand guide, Brand style guide, Brand book [![Siite](/images/layout/logo.svg)Written by Siite](/about/)Updated November 2, 2026 ## Entry contents [All Terms A to Z←Browse the full dictionary](/dictionary/) Brand guidelines are the written rules for how your business looks and sounds. They cover the logo, colors, fonts, photography and tone of voice, and say what is allowed and what is not. For a local service business the brand shows up on far more than a website: signage, printed materials, invoices, your [Google Business Profile](/dictionary/google-business-profile/) and, for some businesses, vehicles and uniforms. Guidelines are what keep all of those looking like the same company. > **Briefly explained** > > - The rulebook for your logo, colors, fonts, photos and voice. > - More than a logo file. It says how the logo is used. > - It covers signage, print and other physical materials too. > - A short guide people use beats a long one nobody opens. ## What goes into brand guidelines? Most guides cover the same core sections. - **Brand foundation:** What you do, who you do it for, your values and any tagline. - **Logo:** The approved versions, minimum size and spacing, with do’s and don’ts. - **Colors:** The palette, with exact codes for print and screen. - **Typefaces:** A few fonts, and where each one is used. - **Photos and icons:** The style of imagery, ideally your real team at work. - **Voice:** How you write, from the service pages to a reply to a review. ## What does a local service business add? The places where your brand actually meets customers. Which ones apply depends on the business: some have vehicles on the road, others a reception area, printed materials or both. - **Signage and print:** Building and reception signs, letterhead, quotes, appointment cards and invoices. - **Website, email and online profiles:** The website, email signatures, social media profiles, and the profile photo, cover image and exact business name on Google and in directories. For many businesses this is where most customers meet the brand first. - **Vehicles and uniforms, if you have them:** The approved layout, logo placement and colors, and where the phone number and website go. The business name deserves a rule of its own. If the sign says one thing and the listings say another, you also have a [NAP consistency](/dictionary/nap-consistency/) problem. ## Why does consistency matter? Because customers trust what they recognize. A customer who saw your sign or your vehicle, then finds a website in different colors under a slightly different name, has to work out whether it is the same company, and some will not bother. Customers learn to recognize a consistent look, which makes it easier for them to come back or recommend you. ## How do you create brand guidelines? Start from what you already use. 1. **Collect** every logo file, sign and printed form in use today, plus any vehicles or uniforms. 1. **Decide** which version is correct, and retire the rest. 1. **Write it down** in a short document, with the actual files attached. 1. **Hand it out** to the printer or sign maker, any outside supplier and whoever runs your website and ads. 1. **Update it** when something changes, so the guide does not turn into a record of how things used to look. A common mistake is treating a logo file as the whole job. A logo without rules ends up stretched across the office sign and recolored on the next flyer. ## What do the terms mean? - **Brand identity:** The visible parts of the brand: logo, colors, type and imagery. - **Color codes:** Exact values for each color, so print and screen stay as close as possible. - **Logo lockup:** A fixed arrangement of the logo with the name or tagline. - **Tone of voice:** How the business sounds in writing and on the phone. - **[Wireframe](/dictionary/wireframe/):** The page layout plan the website design is built on. Owner questions ## What owners ask us about Brand Guidelines ### What are brand guidelines examples? +Rules such as: the logo always sits on white or the company's dark color, signs and vehicles use one approved layout, photos show real staff rather than stock models, and the business name is written the same way everywhere. ### How do I make brand guidelines? +Decide which version of what you already use is correct. Write down the logo files, color codes, fonts and the exact business name, then add rules for the places your brand appears, such as signage, print, photos and, if you have them, vehicles or uniforms. Keep it short. ### What are the 7 brand elements? +There is no official list. A typical guide covers the brand foundation, logo, colors, typefaces, imagery, voice and usage rules. A local service business should add the physical places its name appears, such as signage, print and any vehicles or uniforms. ### Is a logo file the same as brand guidelines? +No. A logo file is one asset. Guidelines say how to use it: the smallest size it can appear at, which version goes on a dark background, what never to stretch or recolor, and how everything around it should look. ### Who needs a copy? +Anyone who produces something with your name on it: the printer or sign maker, any outside supplier, whoever runs your website and ads, and the office staff replying to reviews.4.9191 reviewsWhere this turns into work ## One company, everywhere it shows We build a guide sized to a local service business, covering the logo, colors, fonts, signage and photos, and hand it over in a form your printer and web team can actually use. [See the service→](/services/graphic-design-branding/)[Ask us about it](/contact/) ![Mads Buhl, Web Developer at Siite](/images/team/panel/mads-buhl.webp) *Our web developer* ## Related entries - [### NAP Consistency Having your business name, address and phone number written identically everywhere online, so Google can confidently match every mention to the same business.](/dictionary/nap-consistency/) - [### Google Business Profile The free Google profile that controls how your business appears in Maps and the Local Pack — hours, categories, service areas, photos, reviews and messages.](/dictionary/google-business-profile/) - [### Wireframe A stripped-back layout of a page — boxes, headings and buttons, no colors or photos — used to agree on structure and priority before design begins.](/dictionary/wireframe/) - [### Above the Fold The part of a web page a visitor sees before scrolling — on a phone, roughly the first screen, which is where a service business either earns the call or loses it.](/dictionary/above-the-fold/) [All terms A to Z Browse every term A to Z Open the dictionary→](/dictionary/)